Ben Carson on Struggles of Black Community: 'It's Not a Racial Thing, It's a Social Thing'

On Tuesday’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” former Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Ben Carson discussed his debate with Jesse Jackson that had occurred over on last weekend’s broadcast of “Fox News Sunday.”

Host Bill O’Reilly suggested Carson had been “generous” in his debate with Jackson. However, although Carson argued that it was important to recognize the contributions of civil rights leaders, the challenges facing the black community today are different than they were during the civil rights era.

“[T]he fact of the matter is that he and a number of other people of all races put a lot on the line,” Carson said of Jackson. “They risked a lot. But you know, that was a long time ago I do appreciate all there’s that people make. People were thrown in jail. People were killed. Lots of problems. I think perhaps we wouldn’t be where we are today if people hadn’t done that. However, we have a very different problem today. The problem today is a social problem. It’s not so much a racial problem.”

“You can take any group and you put them in an environment where there is no father figures to teach them, you know, personal responsibility and how to relate to authority,” he continued. “You put them in an environment where people advocate resolving issues with violence. And an environment where drugs and alcohol are easily accessible. And an environment where education is not put on the top shelf — it’s the thing that you want to accomplish. And then you send them out into society. Well, what’s going to happen? They’re going to meet up with law enforcement or they are going to meet up with other people who were raised the same way as they are. And, also, have that same mentality. In either case you are going to have a disaster. That’s what we are seeing. It’s not a racial thing, it’s a social thing.

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