Letter: Using faking crime statistics does nothing to help

The Sept. 29 letter, “In these scary times, who poses the most threat?” makes some very strong claims about the threat white people pose, citing 2010 FBI crime data. The writer claims “90 percent of the murders committed in the U.S. in 2010 were by white males.” However, a quick check on the FBI website shows that this so-called “data” is entirely wrong. In 2010, 32.1 percent of murders were committed by white people (both sexes) — clearly substantially less than the 90 percent cited. Furthermore, from 2010 to 2015 (the most recent data available) white people never account for more than one third of all murders and white is never the race which commits the most murders. I am not claiming that any one race poses more or less of a threat than another. I am simply pointing out that the writer’s claim that white men pose a substantial threat is based on entirely wrong data. Using fake statistics to make inflammatory and false arguments does nothing to advance this country nor promote civil discourse.

Evan Visser

Everett