Dr. James Watson calls Blacks inferior - 10.18.2007.1

This is a repost of a comment I made at Black & White Blog where I am co-author. I invite you to see the original post and leave comments on either blog.

With great sadness I have to say that ignorance pervades even at the top of the scientific community. There is no excuse for the words of Dr. James Watson. They are blatant, racist, and ill-informed at the least. But historically, this is an argument that has long persisted.

Perhaps all those that continue the line of ill-reasoning stated by Dr. Watson as

“inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa ... because all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really”

should look to a far better known and more quoted figure, William Shakespeare

The lady doth protest too much, methinks - From Hamlet (III, ii, 239)

Or better yet

O, beware, my lord of jealousy; It is the green-ey'd monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on - Othello (III, iii, 165-167)

I feel the Othello quote is best. Because I have to believe it is the jealousy and constant barrage of statements of superiority that lead to these kinds of statements. It helps those that feel inferior and hold a lack of self-esteem a means by which to leverage themselves up. To bad all fact and observation prove this to be incorrect.

Regardless of the degrees and desire for some to state otherwise, some of the greatest innovations and discoveries were not made by Caucasians of any region.

Mathematics, on which all technology and most sciences are dependant on, was the creation of Blacks, long before any organized cultures in Europe existed. In fact perhaps the earliest mathematics occurred in the Congo.

“The Ishango Bone, found in the area of the headwaters of the Nile River (northeastern Congo), dates as early as 20,000 BC. One common interpretation is that the bone is the earliest known demonstration[7] of sequences of prime numbers and Ancient Egyptian multiplication.”

The earliest Greek mathematicians were not until roughly 600 BC.

But of the thousands of inventions and innovations of Black inventors, not to mention Asians, people like Dr. Watson wish to turn a blind eye. They hope to infuse personal commentary in place of science, history and fact to justify their ludicrous claims.

If there is any doubt, one need only search Google or Ask.com for the facts of who did what when. Dr. Watson and his ilk are refuted right there.

The part that truly worries me is that men of this type are the ones that led the cry for a master race. They ran experiments of the most inhumane nature, in the hopes of creating that race. And now there is Dr. Watson who is researching DNA, and god knows what his ultimate goal for this research may be. I can only hope there are several groups and individuals watching what he is up to.

As for your question:

“What if one race was scientifically inferior to another in terms of learning ability? Let’s say, for example, what if the black race was scientifically inferior and if that could be proved through a trusted scientific trial? Would blacks throughout the world accept it or would it be labeled as a racist trial?”

I cannot imagine how that could be possible. As I have stated above, many of the discoveries in science occurred because of the minds of Blacks and Asians throughout history.

But if I follow that line of thought, the answer would be that regardless of what Blacks would think (or Asians for that matter) the media would disseminate and promote this story above all protests. There of course would be protests, and I have no doubt that the scientific finding would be analyzed by the best Black minds in the world.

As for

“What if the white race was inferior to the black race. Then, who would black america blame their woes on. Of course White America would say, we’re just dumb white folk. Food for thought.”

Actually there are 2 things you are incorrect about. The first is that African Americans do not “blame their woes” but rather highlight injustice and inequality in America that has been created and promoted through centuries of the existence of America.

When bloggers write about the Jena 6 for months, it’s not a woe but an injustice they are writing about. When I write about Ms. Megan Williams, it is not blame or woe, but a recognition that the major news media has failed in their job. It is to ensure that there will be equality under the law. It is to ensure that such acts will not be done again.

When there were riots in America after the Rodney King trial found the police officers innocent of all charges that was not a woe. When media ignored the death of Sean Bell, or breezed past the racial slurs of Michael Richards, or ignored the fact that murderer Jonathan Riches was finally brought to justice, all of this is not woes.

Some may blame White American society on many of the ills that prevail in the African American community today. In part they are correct. In part it is also the fault of the Black community. But these are not cries of misfortune that are baseless.

The second point is that if such empirical fact could be found, White Americans would not hesitate to denounce, discredit, and ignore the findings. The media would not carry the story, except for a few that might phrase it as a bit of silly, misguided, fluff. Bloggers speaking about it would be decried as militant and reverse racist.

Given a bit of time, and the eventual circulation of the story, multiple lawsuits would appear asking for White Americans to receive preferential designation in various programs, like college entrance exams, job placement and so on.

Several of the suits would appear to repeal/end any and all laws or organizations that exist to benefit African Americans and minority groups. The reasoning would be that since White Americans are inferior they need greater protection under the law and that any actions for non-Whites give them greater power and thus is unfair and lop-sided justice.

While this may sound laughable, I would bet that there would be enough concern and fear generated by this fact of inferiority that many of these lawsuits would win. As any honest White American will admit, they generally fear African Americans. That is without reason or causation; imagine when that general fear is given fuel with fact.

And here is another thought to ponder. Why would the thought of ANY group or race being inherently inferior to another come to your mind from the words of Dr. Watson? This is not an accusation just a question.

When I read his comments I was insulted and knew he was wrong. At no point did I think one race is better than another. What caused you to speculate otherwise?