) has basically said that africans are not as intelligent as white westerners because of genes. My first instinct is to say, of course they are not as smart because WE have denied them the ability to learn, exploited them, colonized them, enslaved them, and continue to do so. My next argument being that "intelligence" is relative. We as white americans have been trained to think in certain ways that is quite distinct from many cultures and this could easily be reflected in how we measure our intelligence vs. other culture's.
I thought Ok, maybe this guy did some "testing" and maybe his tests show some kind of difference, but as I kept reading, more and more information about this guy is revealed and not only is he racist asshole, he is also homophobic and mysogynistic. IE:
"In 1997, he told a British newspaper that a woman should have the right to abort her unborn child if tests could determine it would be homosexual. He later insisted he was talking about a "hypothetical" choice which could never be applied. He has also suggested a link between skin colour and sex drive, positing the theory that black people have higher libidos, and argued in favour of genetic screening and engineering on the basis that " stupidity" could one day be cured. He has claimed that beauty could be genetically manufactured, saying: "People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty. I think it would great."
There are toooo many connections here. Doesn't he know that "libido's" of black women and men have been used as a TOOL agaist them for hundreds of years? Does he have any idea that this kind of bullshit has allowed white men and black men to rape black women with the excuse that they are much more sexual than white women? Doesn't he know that the "black male rapist" was just another way to keep black men as predators to be feared? If this guy is so smart maybe he should know when to keep his goddam thoughts to himself.
And one more thing. I am always always always weary of science. Sometimes I really do think we are sticking our dirty little noses where they don't belong and that we are doing something terribly terribly wrong. What would happen if we made "all girls pretty"? What the fuck would that solve? And what would happen if we were able to screen out stupidity? It sounds more and more like a SciFi remake of the Holocaust to me. It makes me sick to my stomach that we are messing with nature's (god of you want) plan of who are are and what we are going to be.
On that note, don't forget about CNN's special report: PLANET IN PERIL premieres Oct. 23 & 24 at 8pm on CNN and stars 3 of my most favoritist men, Anderson Copper, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Jeff Corwin from Animal Planet.
I read this yesterday, and thought 'yikes', but then made the more startling realization- this guy is WATSON! Of Watson and Crick! Discovered the double helix of DNA! he is like the father of genetics!
And... he's an... asshole??!
Whoa...
(e:metalpeter) - I have a couple of issues with your comment. The first one about whether Africa is "way behind" Europe...what do you mean by this? Do you mean that they aren't as technological as we are? They aren't "civilized"? I personally think that there is a lot we could re-learn (remember we are ALL from Africa) from tribal societies about how to live WITH nature rather than trying to control her. I do not think that there is anything advanced about polluting the earth or relying on other countries for our food.
And second, I don't understand your bringing in black single mothers into this argument. Are you referring to his comment about blacks libidos? I think there may be alot you don't know about the history of women's sexuality and how it has been shaped and exploited by men and how there have been racially specific uses of sexuality that have long standing effects on black women. Even if black women might have higher libidos, (which I do not beleive) that does not explain single motherhood...what about contraception, forced sterilization, forced motherhood, cultural expectations, welfare, and slavery?
One final thing...we need to remember that Race as we know it is a cultural construct. Throughout history legal definitions of who and who is not black or white have been changed according to ideas of needs of the elite. It is never never never as simple as black and white.
not that i am defending the old coot but we also have to remember that the prejudiced bastard was born in like the 1700's or something... if you have ever dealt with the ancient and decrepid, you just KNOW that they stubbornly stick to their ancient mindset and will defend it to the end. He did take this racial comment back - whereas he sticks vehemantly to his aborting gays comment.
He just sounds like many of the really old men who can't wrap their mind around today's society. this one just happens to have a microphone and a nifty title.
(e:joshua) - I completely agree with you. I have to admit, I get a little emotionally involved in these types of things and I do throw my own opinions out there without much regard for other people's opinions. Don't get me wrong, I think this guy is a total asshole, but I would never intend on silencing him. And indeed you are right, let the bastard speak so he can make a fool of himself on his own terms. And I can also admit to loving disagreements loving to argue. If it weren't for people like this, who could I run my mouth to? :)
Oh yes and one more thing...I by NO MEANS consider myself a scholar. I read, I write, I participate in hierarchal forms of knowledge production, but I do not beleive that my degree gives me any more right or authority to talk about shit than anybody else. I just write what I think based on what I know. That is all.
Is it true that sometimes people use there science to back up there political beliefs, yeah it is. The question I have is why is he being attacked? I don't believe he is correct, but what if he is? Evolution is a theory that no one really knows if it is true or how it works. What if somewhere along the evolutionary tract we changed and really aren't the same. Of course I think that the difference between countries and races of people is cultural and not racial. But when you are a scincetist you only look at the social aspects of things. If you compare Africa to Europe they are very far behind. Look at how many black single mothers there are who have multiple kids by multiple fathers. Science and DNA could explain that. I'm not saying it does but if you only look at the scince it does or could make sense. Does anyone really know why most people are born stright but some people are gay and then some people are bi sexual? I'm not saying it is right but what if there is a gay Gene. I'm not saying the guy is right or wrong but based on only science the guy may not be as crazy as we all think he is. But my gut says that he is using science to back up his personal beliefs.
It has to be said - viewing the world through a prism, whatever that prism is, is a pitfall that I see too many people finding themselves in. People that consider themselves scholars often buy into their own BS and assume its true, but have no ability to see the truth because their viewpoint is considerably narrow in scope.
What? You mean to say that a scientist managed to their pre-conceived notions through a study? Noooo. I've never heard of this.
(e:lauren) - surely when people disagree with you, you'd hate it when you're told to keep your thoughts to yourself because your thoughts, to them, are so horribly offensive that they think they simply shouldn't be said. Think abortion is murder? STFU! Think feminism is fascism by another name? STFU! Don't like the war? Oh... please continue and would you like a cup of tea? Its an incredibly arrogant mindset. Sometimes you simply have to let people talk, not only because we have certain unalienable rights, but because you have to give them enough rope to hang themselves. Its far more satisfactory to let people make fools of themselves and watch them squirm than it is to tell them to keep their mouth shut.
This guy has been off the hook for decades, sputtering out crap like this. He is the Don Imus of science.
Damn, Jay got the crack in before I could.
It is merely one example of how biases in scientific research can inflict damage on people, only this time the offender went the route of upsetting the politically correct so it is, of course, a media spectacle.
Now, I probably 99.9 percent of the time roll my eyes at the politically correct. If he wasn't a biased, racist jerk, and if his findings were purely scientific, he still would be in hot water with them. Larry Summers, a LIB, got forced out of Harvard for daring to suggest differences between the sexes.
This time though, I think they are absolutely right about the guy. Wow, a scientist creating research to support his bias? Naah, never heard of it. I agree, it is really a sad state of affairs. I'm sure Europe will have him.
Reminds me of my idea for a novel set in the future where humanity was on the brink of extinction because the majority of humanity was genetically engineered to look like supermodels and was subsequently hit by an space virus that only killed supermodels.