Military sees 58% decline in African-American enlistees since 2000

[RamboLiberal]

African-Americans, whose longstanding relationship with the US military helped them prove their abilities and offered a way to get ahead, have turned away from the armed forces in record numbers since 2000, a period covering the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the start of the Iraq war.

Defense Department statistics show the number of young black enlistees has fallen by more than 58 percent since fiscal year 2000. The Army in particular has been hit hard: In fiscal year 2000, according to the Pentagon statistics, more than 42,000 black men and women applied to enlist; in fiscal year 2005, the most recent for which a racial breakdown is available, just over 17,000 signed up.

The unpopular Iraq war is the biggest reason, according to military analysts, Pentagon surveys, and interviews with young African-Americans. But they say mistrust of the Bush administration is adding to the problem - along with the notion that black soldiers are being steered to combat jobs, a lingering perception from the Vietnam War.

The decline in enlistment applications among blacks is by far the fastest of any demographic group. Between fiscal 2000 and 2005, white applicants declined by more than 10 percent. Hispanic applicants dropped by almost 7 percent.

The Army Recruiting Command acknowledged that the Iraq war has presented special challenges in the African-American community, but said it continues to reach out to black recruits.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/10/07/military_sees_big_decline_in_black_enlistees/

[ribrepin]

1. I'd say this proves that blacks are smarter than Whites or hispanics

NT

[deaniac21]

12. Asians too!

[EST]

2. Maybe there really is a difference between people of different skin

colors. It looks a bit like humans with more colorful skins are more intelligent and more humane than some others. Hmmm...could that be so?

[liberation]

3. Why would you fight for a country that has treated you and your ancestors like shit?

I always thought as 9/11 as an attack on the massa's house, so much so that they send the slaves to fight --while the massa stayed at home sipping a nice mint julep. Katrina was a flooding on the slaves quarters, and as such the massa did not give a rat's ass... let'em drown, right?

America has a proud tradition of treating its minorities as second or even third class citizens, with the upper classes -- white America mostly -- expecting everybody to pull their weight when the going gets tough. But when it comes to reap the benefits... it is back to the old "some people are more 'equal' than others" so shut up and get back to your hole until I need you again.

The upper echelons always have treated this country as their personal plantation, and when the plantation gets compromised they somehow expect the slaves to defend it. What is in it for the poor slaves? Nothing, it is the upper echelons who have the most to lose, yet ironically they are usually the ones doing the least fighting. Funny how easily humans can be duped, I blame it on lack of education... the dumber the more primal a human is, and thus the more susceptible to do other people's bidding.

[EST]

5. A certain professor from Colorado tried to point out this very

thing, with, perhaps, a more allegorical flare, and caught no end of shit for it, even here on DU--something that shocked me at the time.

Usama binLaden picked the wtc for specific, express reasons and nobody among the "ruling," "serious" classes ever bothered to ask just why it was that he was so provoked in the direction he was. They just made up reasons that made sense to them and left it at that.

Even enlightened beings cannot rely on first reflexes to guide their lives. A person has to take the opportunity to think.

[originalpckelly]

7. Because of course, everyone who died in the WTC was responsible...

for our nation being ruled by lying SOB fuckers.

:eyes:

[EST]

11. They certainly wound up being held responsible,

whether or not they, themselves, individually chose to be responsible.

[deaniac21]

13. Your logic is indisputable.

[Kingshakabobo]

14. What's the phrase for that? Oh yeah, "collateral damage,"

[Odin2005]

8. Ward Churchill, is that you? n/t.

[Spinzonner]

4. As Conyers once said

(I think)

There goes the myth of white superiority

[Odin2005]

9. I laughed my ass of when I first heard that quote because of how true it is.

[AspenRose]

16. Actually I think it was Charlie Rangel who said that.

eom

[Spinzonner]

20. Well, they all sound the same to me

:hide:

[harlinchi]

6. About ever six months or so, someone trots out this thought.

Back in '05 MSNBC pushed the 'unpatriotic Blacks' idea. At that time, percentages were quoted, making it difficult to accuse Blacks of enlisting in number not commensurate with their (our) population percentages since they (we) were enlisting at a 14 % rate. As I mentioned in my post, last time I checked, 14 percent was more than 11.8, which is the percentage of US population that is Black.

Here's my 2005 post:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=258&topic_id=2012

Now, recognizing the incongruity of implying Blacks were not patriotic enough to enlist at rates which approach their previous numbers (since 14 is bigger than 11.8), while not investigating which groups enlist in numbers which are less than their population percentages, the media simply quit citing percentages and use actual numbers. Intentional obfuscation!

Ask the question: if Blacks were (in 2005) still enlisting at rates which exceed their population percentage, who was not? Which group failed to 'live up' (or die down, as the case may be), i.e., which failed to enlist in numbers approaching their percentage of the population?

I'll give you one 'no-brainer' group: white, college-age GOP supporters!

[harlinchi]

10. the Globe does mention, after paragraph 24 or so, that Blacks...

still exist in the military in numbers greater than their population percentage:

Despite the sharp decline in enlistments, the percentage of blacks in the military still slightly exceeds that of the general population: 14.5 percent in the military, as of 2005, versus 12.8 percent in the US population. Nonetheless, recent Pentagon-sponsored surveys suggest that attitudes among military-age African-Americans may have changed for good.

I didn't know, though, that Blacks comprise 12.8 percent of the population. Our numbers go up when measuring enlistment deficiencies, down for everything else!

[CGowen]

15. "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee....

— that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." —President George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

[spanone]

17. Duh

[NorthernSpy]

18. remember, black America is the trend-setter; enlistment is falling among other groups as well...

Freepers probably think that blacks aren't signing up in their previously disproportionately high numbers because outside agitators tell them not to.


:eyes:


Could it be that blacks sincerely disapprove of the war, and do not think that they should take part in it?

They're not being led around by the nose. They're voting with their feet. And perhaps even leading by example in a sense, considering the dropping enlistments among whites and Latinos.

[Rhythm and Blue]

19. Government - African-American relations are at a low right now.

Really, given Iraq, Katrina, and the fact that the president draws his support from rich white "now, keep in mind some of my best friends are black" guys, this shouldn't really surprise anyone.

Surprisingly, treating people as an irritating afterthought does not make them want to go kill and die for you.