| Gordon W. Allport, in his book titled "The Nature | | | | justify racism are consistently working to keep |
| of Prejudice" said, "It required years of labor and | | | | their ego, position and value in society inflated, and |
| billions of dollars to gain the secret of the atom. It | | | | lives justified through the alpha hierarchy-i.e. white |
| will take a still greater investment to gain the | | | | supremacist males. |
| secrets of man's irrational nature. It is easier, | | | | When one only looks at what he/she is good at |
| someone has said, to smash an atom than a | | | | and places higher value on that, then of course it |
| prejudice." | | | | is easy to make your self (and your most |
| Interesting how recently, one of the premier | | | | immediate racial/national/ethnic ancestry) seem |
| scientists of the age, American molecular biologist | | | | important or, superior to others. Social/emotional |
| Dr. James Watson, 79, who along with Francis | | | | intelligence however, includes the realization that 1) |
| Crick in 1962 is credited with discovering the | | | | we are all from the same tree-yes, Dr. Watson, |
| double helix and unraveling DNA, recently made a | | | | you too have genes from Africa! and 2) there is |
| comment which devalued and laid inferior the | | | | a limit to what you can do and what you can't do |
| intelligence of those with DNA from Africa. | | | | someone can do better than you, regardless of |
| The biologist told the British newspaper he was | | | | their skin color. |
| "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" | | | | There may be certain inclinations, skills, traits or |
| because "all our social policies are based on the | | | | even "intelligences," that people of different races |
| fact that their intelligence is the same as ours -- | | | | and ethnicities are more likely to possess than |
| whereas all the testing says not really." | | | | another, but the key word here is "relative." One |
| In 1962, Watson was awarded the Nobel Prize for | | | | of the most important words ever brought |
| his pioneering work with DNA, and now in 2007 he | | | | forward from science. Now, it may be that people |
| is being awarded the Nobel Prize for perpetuating | | | | who are born and raised from parents of an |
| racism, discrimination and stereotypical belief | | | | Asian background are more prone to heart |
| patterns. | | | | disease than those of a different race; or, a |
| Watson, by placing his value judgment on how | | | | person of European descent is more prone to |
| smart he believes one is and can become, is | | | | losing their hair; and a person with more |
| forgetting about the diversity of intelligences | | | | immediate African ancestry is more likely to get |
| which make us uniquely human and constantly | | | | Alzheimer's; and those who are Native-American |
| creative. If we value one type of intelligence | | | | more inclined to get diabetes. We could go on and |
| more than another we neglect an essential | | | | on, with certain inclinations and proclivities across |
| component of what allows us to continue and | | | | the board. |
| grow. If intelligence is continually reduced to only | | | | There are 2 keys for understanding this point. |
| how well one can regurgitate what someone else | | | | One is that even within specific races there are |
| was telling them, how many times one needed to | | | | huge variations in what individuals are susceptible |
| hear something before forgetting it, or, how fast | | | | and more passionate and competent at. Much of |
| and how many formulas could be memorized, | | | | these differences, within the same race, are a |
| then humanity's future, and not only Africa's, is | | | | mixture of environmental circumstances and slight |
| gloomy. | | | | chemical variations. The second key here is these |
| For a noble prize winner to be so narrow minded | | | | differences do not make a certain race (nor |
| in not only how intelligence is determined and | | | | people within the same race) superior to another |
| valued, but even what it is, shocks and saddens | | | | race; we are all incalculably unique. Someone may |
| me the most; not even his racism. His racism I | | | | be able to swing a bat faster than another |
| can get my mind around. It is a result of fear, | | | | person, but that doesn't make that person more |
| especially of the unknown. It is a result of | | | | valuable or "intelligent" than another person, simply |
| hundreds and hundreds of years of conditioning | | | | better at one thing and most likely worse at |
| through exploitation and slavery. Individuals who | | | | another. |
| uphold eugenic belief systems which attempt to | | | | |