[Air-L] racist comments by James Watson?

Fri Oct 19 08:31:22 PDT 2007

William, he is on his own on this one. He is in so deep that the current
has taken him deep to the Atlantic and hypothermia is setting in on his
mind. Seriously, how can he make such a convoluted statement?
Intelligence is based on what you are testing for in a given instrument.
If you are the majority of a given culture or society in the Western
World and you have been ruling much of the world in around 1500 AD, you
create the paradigm for what is regarded as knowledge and what is
regarded as intelligence and then you create the instruments which in
your view verify your paradigm of the world. The problem is that when
you introduce "outsiders" which is how the collective Western Culture
(or we in the establishment)treat people who are not part of the
majority as people who must abandon their culture and ways of thinking
and adopt our way of thinking immediately. Yet, we create institutions
of learning and school districts which are often inferior in terms of
funding, expectations, support, nurturing and yes even teachers who do
not understand the culture. We also create an environment economically
and socially where the child or even the college student is almost
systematically a lottery winner if they escape through higher education
because of disease, crime, poor schools, unplanned pregnancy, divorce,
or unsupportive home environments. Dr. Watson is a brilliant man, but he
is absolutely illiterate on this issue because there is no way
instrument nor is there a concoction of instruments that can change the
human heart or mind that has caused inequities in terms of race,
ethnicity, gender and now socio-economic status. If he wants to really
make a change why not research why and how people in power utilize their
power to suppress those in the minority status' that I mentioned above.
Most people do not realize, but the reality of the situation is that
South Africa has the resources, wealth, nuclear power and a huge African
majority (at least 70% or higher) with an African head of state but the
Afrikaans (who are white) still control the wealth and knowledge
industries despite having a population of less than 15% (I am being
generous). Why is this so? Are the Africans dumb? No, they have only
been free since the early 1990's. Nigeria is rich with oil and minerals
too and yet it has huge issues because of this too. The Americans are
even more interesting because African Americans have truly been free
since 1965 to vote and they have not been economically free since the
early 1970's when Nixon enacted the affirmative action laws. However,
the Reagan and now Bush White Houses have systematically gone after
affirmative action and even voting rights and have allowed jails to
become packed with young blacks instead of colleges and schools. There
is a problem when less than 14% of the population makes up a large
percentage if not the majority of one's jails and the majority of
dropouts and college students. This is systemic and for a person of his
stature to miss this reality it simply incredulous and speaks to bigger
issues with that individual and a society at large because his views are
the views of the academic system, the governmental system and the
society at large and he has been rewarded. The bottom line is that
paradigms are often created and shaped by those in charged to profit the
most even when it means there will be a lot of losers in market based
cultures like ours which value capital over people of no-influence. The
bottom line is that this is a fixed game, and just like the folks in
Vegas who win big are few and far between the same is true of minorities
who were former slaves in a culture that still oppresses them
institutionally. Just my thoughts.

-----Original Message-----
From: air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org
[mailto:air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of William Bain
Sent: Friday, October 19, 2007 2:32 AM
To: air-l at listserv.aoir.org
Subject: [Air-L] racist comments by James Watson?

I just wanted to note that the allegedly racist statements by James
Watson have been partially retracted it seems. My only source on this I
hasten to add is the online articel in today's Independent. Also, I
haven't read the actuall interiview in which Watson's comments were
made, and if anyone knows where to find that interview I'd be
interested. Or other comments in the scientific and/or journalistic
press. So the latest article I'm referring to is at
  http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article3075642.ece

  wb

William Bain
PhD Student
Comparative Literature
Department of Spanish Philology
Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona
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