MPR's Lorna Benson reports a study says malt liquor could be factor in higher murder rates. According to the article,
[Principle investigator Rhonda Jones-Webb] said malt beverages are associated with heavier drinking and aggressive behavior. She says that could contribute to higher homicide rates in African American communities.
Could contribute. Later on in the piece, Jones-Webb goes on to clarify her team would need to conduct more research before proving a link between malt beverages and higher homicide rates. Can a report accurately define the link? What other variables are involved?
I'm just going to open the floor to reactions on this. Join this open discussion with your opinion or perspective.
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Comments: 17
So I have to wonder, when does what usually happens in a subset of society within a certain group of people become noted as profiling and when is it an accurate description? And when does an accurate description become a profile??
Now, we have the upscale wine section which is near the gourmet cheese section and hosts 5 p.m. Friday wine tastings. Spirits are neear the wine section.
The Beer section is near the chips aisle.
It is a question of who drinks the most beer as opposed to who drinks wine or spirits which are more expensive. Granted, a wide variety of people drink beer - people of all income levels, but people who cannot afford any other alcohol other than malt liquor are also those who are most often associated with a host of socio-economic ills, only because they are on the lower ends of the SES rung.
Sometimes, as a foreigner, it is very difficult to tune into some of the more off-the-wall articles on here!
The word factor imo, is misleading. Factor: ingredient, component, element, constituent, an abstract part of something. To me, consumption of alcohol leads to bad choices, one of them being to pull the trigger.
Once again, blame something besides the behavior. I guess we've just added another "victim class" in the world of politcal correctness.
The U of MN is wasting time blaming malt liquor and the "evil beer" industry when they should be looking at this.
"Walsh said that police believed that there were witnesses to the incident, but that no one had come forward -- nor had any potential witnesses been identified."
There is your problem folks. How better life would be if people in these neighborhoods actually helped police and stuck up for victims of crime.
The "snitching" problem, or lack there of, is the first step rather than blaming booze, but then, it is politcally incorrect to mention this.
Jeremy Wright's next sermon ????
malt liquor, the secret weapon of the CIA to kill black people *G*
Has anyone contacted the U of MN with feedback about this study? Have you seen blog links or commentary addressing that concern?
Pointless Study: Malt Liquor Drowns Worries
Drinks Targeted at African American and Hispanic Youth
And from SCIENCE DAILY ! ! ! ! *chuckle*
Malt Liquor Beers, And The People Who Drink Them, Are Different
Reactions about the "study" from the MPR website itself *chuckle*
From the other links jJack provided, I see that the 2005 Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in California interviews "concluded that malt-liquor drinkers also consumed more alcohol than other drinkers, in part because malt liquor has a higher alcohol content than beer and is sold in larger containers" More drinking due to portion size?
Kathryn Esplin-Oleski called this a shoddy study. Again, I have to wonder if anyone in the community contacted the U of MN with feedback about this study or called further research into question.