assess the following assertion: Yes it’s the inter generational mobility that makes them take pride in shooting people and raping and having tons of babies out of wedlock without raising them
The assertion is incorrect, oversimplified, and trades in harmful stereotypes rather than evidence. It wrongly treats low intergenerational mobility as the
cause of pride in violence, rape, and irresponsible fatherhood, implying a direct, almost celebratory causal link. Data from Raj Chetty and broader research show correlations among these issues, but the relationships are complex, bidirectional, and rooted in shared environmental and structural factors—not low mobility "making" people proud of crime.
Empirical patterns (acknowledging disparities without moral essentialism)
- Family structure: Black nonmarital birth rates remain high (~69% of Black births in recent CDC data vs. ~27% for Whites). This contributes to higher rates of single-mother households (~63-66% of Black children in recent years). Chetty's work and related analyses show neighborhood-level father presence (even non-biological) strongly predicts better outcomes for Black boys: higher adult incomes, employment, and lower incarceration/suspension rates. This holds after controlling for parental income.
- Crime and incarceration: Black Americans (≈13-14% of population) account for a disproportionate share of homicide offenders and victims (often 50%+ in FBI data). Black male incarceration rates are far higher, especially from low-income backgrounds (Chetty: 21% for bottom-percentile parental income Black men vs. much lower for Whites). Rape and violent crime show disparities, though most crime is intraracial.
- Mobility link: Low-upward-mobility areas (including many in the Southeast/Georgia metros) overlap with higher crime and family instability. Chetty documents that poor neighborhoods produce worse outcomes for Black boys via mechanisms including father absence at the community level.
These are real group-average differences. However, they do not imply uniform "pride" or cultural celebration as a primary driver. Most individuals in any group do not commit serious violence; concentrated urban pockets and specific subcultures amplify visible problems.
Causality does not run as asserted
Chetty et al. emphasize that
neighborhood environments shape both mobility and these outcomes. Low-poverty tracts with higher Black father presence, lower White racial bias, and better schools produce better results for Black boys (higher earnings, lower incarceration). Moves to such areas causally improve outcomes (earlier moves = bigger gains). Father absence correlates with worse mobility for boys, but Chetty notes community norms/role models matter beyond one's own parents.
Research on mobility and crime often finds
bidirectional or common-cause links:
- High violence/crime in a community hinders mobility (disrupts schools, employment, safety).
- Low opportunity/poor environments can increase strain leading to crime (classic strain theory).
- A 2024 study found county mobility scores strongly predict lower violent crime/homicide, even controlling for poverty, inequality, etc. But this does not mean low mobility causes pride in crime—it suggests shared roots.
Single motherhood and father absence are not simply "chosen" due to low mobility. Historical factors (e.g., welfare policies, cultural shifts post-1960s, economic changes), incarceration removing men from communities, and norms around family formation play roles. Black-White mobility gaps persist even in the same neighborhoods and among married-parent families, showing it's not reducible to family structure alone.
Rape and "pride in shooting people" are extreme criminal behaviors, not representative norms explained by mobility statistics. Attributing them causally to intergenerational economics ignores individual agency, cultural elements in certain environments (e.g., "street code" in high-violence areas per Elijah Anderson), policing, lead exposure, peers, and genetics/behavioral traits that vary. Chetty treats incarceration partly as an
outcome of the same childhood factors limiting earnings—not the reverse causal story in the assertion.
Bottom line
Low mobility, high family instability, and elevated crime/incarceration rates among Black men are interconnected problems that reinforce each other in certain places (including parts of Georgia/Atlanta per Opportunity Atlas). Improving childhood environments—via reducing concentrated poverty, increasing stable two-parent norms where possible, lowering violence, and expanding opportunity—can break cycles, as Chetty's mover studies show. But framing it as low mobility
causing pride in rape, murder, and deadbeat fatherhood is a stereotype that reverses and flattens the evidence. It ignores that many low-mobility individuals do not engage in these behaviors, and that cultural, policy, and behavioral factors matter alongside economics. Solutions require addressing root environmental drivers rather than simplistic blame.
