tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973827.post3968233714492701119..comments2024-01-11T07:40:01.736-05:00Comments on The Stopped Clock: Assuming Genetic Racial Inferiority in the Absence of EvidenceAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16523334580402022332noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973827.post-91956408131497755692010-05-02T23:05:11.761-04:002010-05-02T23:05:11.761-04:00You're catching a distinction that the defende...You're catching a distinction that the defenders of the comment, those attempting to strip it of its innate racism, are overlooking: the statement was not a call for scientific research. There would be ambiguity in a statement like, "I wish some scientists would finally prove or disprove the idea that African Americans are genetically predisposed to be less intelligent." But if you state that you will adhere to your belief that such a genetic predisposition exists unless and until your peers disprove it, the ambiguity vanishes.<br /><br />I acknowledge, for lack of a better word, the<em> effort</em> of the handful of researchers, lay and occasionally scientifically educated, who want to "prove" that African Americans are less intelligent than other races. But we're not talking about somebody who asked her friends, "How would you respond to the authors of <em>The Bell Curve</em>?"<br /><br />I wonder how the defenders of the comment would feel if the author had instead argued that, unless scientists proved otherwise, based upon her personal observations she would continue to assume that African Americans as a group are genetically programmed to be better singers or better dancers than other racial groups. Would that also be defended as a fair matter for scientific debate? Would they acknowledge the history under which such claims were used to belittle African American achievement - "white people work hard to sing, dance, play sports; black people are born with their talent." Would they be confused about the mindset of somebody who refused to dismiss the idea that, on the whole, African American achievement is based in genes "unless somebody proves otherwise"?Gideonnoreply@blogger.com