or at least close to equal. But we know that isn't the case.

I am exhausted and halfway through my law exams. So I apologize for any want of clarity or organization.

I'm not disputing what seems to be the general consensus that blacks are responsible for more crime in the US than whites. But evidence exists showing that blacks are stopped by police more often than whites.

To use marijuana usage as an example: Blacks are arrested four times as often for marijuana usage as whites. By the reasoning I've seen in this thread, that means blacks commit the crime of marijuana use much more than whites. But in fact blacks and whites use marijuana at similar rates. (A decent article from the Times on the phenomenon: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/us/marijuana-arrests-four-times-as-likely-for-blacks.html )

In short, it doesn't follow from the fact that blacks are arrested more than whites that they in fact commit more crimes than whites. And although evidence suggests that they do commit more crimes than whites, using arrests as a measure of determining the proportion is an inaccurate method.