James Watson, co-discoverer of DNA’s double helix shape and probably one of the most well known figures in modern science, announced today that he would be resigning from his position as chancellor of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and from its board. This follows after some comments he made earlier this week questioning the intelligence of people of African descent. Here are some choice quotes:
[I'm] “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…people who have to deal with black employees find this not true”.
And
“there is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically. Our wanting to reserve equal powers of reason as some universal heritage of humanity will not be enough to make it so”.
There is a lot that can be (and has been) said about his comments but one thing missing from the dialogue is the the difference (if any) of his obviously negative stereotypes about people of African descent and the (presumed) positive stereotypes of people of Asian descent. We’re all familiar with the ‘Asian’s are better at math & science’, ‘Asian’s are more analytical’ shtick. How are these stereotypes any less harmful than what Watson said about Africans? Don’t they both distill an entire racial group into a two dimensional caricature? Yet you don’t see scientific leaders or captains of industry resigning from their posts when they make statements qualifying Asian intelligence.
Of course, varying degrees of outrage is an all too familiar story in the world of racial politics. Asian-American’s are lucky if we see a single media mention when some radio DJ or television show decides we’re fair game. I don’t assume this chasm of racial outrage will be assuaged any time soon…but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying.
Send to: E-mail - del.icio.us - digg - Facebook
Other posts you might be interested in:
Blog RSS Blog Comments RSS
akrypti wrote:
Positive stereotypes of Asians aren’t harmless by any measure, but to say it’s equally harmful as Watson’s comment on Africans would be to deny we enjoy any privilege, albeit temporary privileges that come with a whole bunch of strings attached, from the positive rather than negative stereotype. The positive stereotype may objectify us and reduce us to a two-dimensional caricature; but the negative stereotypes that’s being passed off as scientific evidence does real measurable economic and social harm to the communities involved.
From an abstract and theoretical point of view, you’re absolutely right — stereotypes of Asians as the bookish mathematical geniuses are just as harmful as the stereotypes of Africans that Watson tries to justify with his “scientific” evidence. However, in its practical implications, what Watson says, if an employer accepts it as scientifically sound, justifies that employer to racially profile Africans to their detriment.
Posted on 26-Oct-07 at 1:28 am | Permalink
Bertie wrote:
stereotypes with a positive connotation are less harmful than stereotypes with a negative connotation. if others assume that i am more capable and less likely to cause trouble based on my skin color, it makes my life easier. i’ll fully admit that i used to cut class in high school and wander around the hallways in plain view, drive off campus to the mall, and never get in trouble, because i’m a small asian girl with glasses.
of course, stereotypes are unfair, and it would be better if they didn’t exist at all, but i’ll take one that give me a pass than one that creates the assumption that i’m intellectually inferior. the latter stereotype would cause me to work twice as hard as everyone else to prove that i am just as capable as everyone else.
so, no, not equally harmful when it comes to the minority group being stereotyped. but a “model minority” stereotype is unfair to others who don’t get the “pass” - so in the interest of fairness, we should fight all of these stereotypes.
Posted on 26-Oct-07 at 6:36 am | Permalink
Jesse! wrote:
Watson is a fucking idiot. This line: “there is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically” is just wrong. That guys apparently hasn’t read a genetics study since the 1960s and missed the ones that disproved race as a viable biological concept. Not to mention the hundreds of studies done on intelligence, which only go on to show that intelligence is exceeding complex and there is no gene for it, not even 100 genes for it.
These quotes sound like his jockeying for the head of “science” at the Pioneer Foundation.
Posted on 26-Oct-07 at 1:43 pm | Permalink
8Asians.com » Robin Zhou’s “Latinos Lag Behind in Academics”: An Asian American/Asian Canadian Blog wrote:
[...] this holdover trait from a previous era isn’t an excuse for an Eng or a Zhou, just as genetics isn’t an excuse to not hire someone based on their ethnicity. I once had a job interview [...]
Posted on 16-Jan-08 at 8:06 am | Permalink