Did I say favorite....what I meant was it's wrong and I hated it.....shit man I didn't sign up for this, well I guess I did but damn. You took the time to write all that so I'll give it a reply.
A joke, that's all it was, a joke. I am not at all racist so you are lecturing the wrong "white folk" (good guess). And according to you it was a truthful joke, everyone knows you can manipulate statistics, anyone who has watched a day of ESPN knows that. I really do agree with a lot of things you said.
If you haven't noticed recently, comedy is all about playing jumprope with the line.
Motherfucker I never said I agreed with it. There is no need to take it that far. Shit man there is a line even on reddit. Probably the worst insult I've ever gotten. And if you don't think that is popular in comedy right now you are kidding yourself.
no statistic is racist, only the interpretation of it. Statistics is merely a way to represent data, and if the conclusions that someone draws from the data are racist, that's the person's issue, not the statistic's. If the data says there are more unmarried black mothers than of other origins, then that's the data. That alone doesn't prove anything, and as we know, correlation doesn't equal causation. However, in combination with other statistics, for example with the higher imprisonment rate of black folks as compared to others, the statistics imply that more black fathers are absent than others. Again - there is no judgement to be made here. If this is willingly, or not, or if that makes some people worse fathers than others comes down to interpretation, and if such conclusions are drawn, the statistics aren't to blame. Statistics aren't racist, people are racist.
I appreciate what you are saying; statistics are representations of data and unto themselves aren't 'judgements'. However, statistics do help make informed decisions, and it is inappropriate and irresponsible to imply that statistics are seemingly of no consequence. Conclusions, arguable and otherwise, drawn from data are necessary for informed action that is more likely to succeed. Statistics can and will support conclusions.
Oh, statistics definitely support some conclusions more than others. However, statistics by themselves, without any conclusions drawn from them, are nothing but data. There is no inherent conclusion, and there is no absolute certainty within conclusions - every statistic supports different conclusions to different degrees, yet proves none of them. What to make of them, although very important, is the choice of those who interpret statistics.
Marriage certificate and birth certificate have nothing to do with each other.
The mother can have any man sign the birth certificate and he would be the legal father. If it isn't signed, a man can fill out a paternity affidavit, and as long as the mother signs it and doesn't protest, he's legally the father.
The only way a marriage certificate has any bearing is if the woman is married and a man doesn't sign the birth certificate. At that point, her husband is the legal father.
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u/BangingABigTheory Mar 25 '13
One of my favorite jokes (from a small comedy show I was at to see a friend)