tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post6131259512036379355..comments2024-01-23T17:14:04.067-05:00Comments on Jaltcoh: Should we keep collecting statistics on the racial gap in kids' academic performance?John Althouse Cohenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11703450281424023177noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-64549855577751084882009-05-07T14:01:00.000-04:002009-05-07T14:01:00.000-04:00McWhorter : ...it may turn out that whites and/or ...McWhorter : <I>...it may turn out that whites and/or Asians have higher intelligence than black people. It's not news I would love hearing, for all the same reasons few of us would. But it could happen.<br /><br /></I>McWhorter never says why we need to record people's race. The only reason I can discern is that he hopes the numbers generated will eventually show an equality between blacks and whites. The relationship between Asians and whites, or different groups of whites, seems to be of no concern. <br /><br />Why do black people have to perform the same as white people; why is it a failure if they don't? Why can't we focus resources on underperforming students instead of just black ones? <br /><br />Saletan seems open to these questions. He also treated his opponent politely and isn't putting all sorts of words in his opponent's mouth. McWhorter, on the other hand, uses this type of language:<br /><br /><I>"That is a visceral, unscientific position, of the kind that leads to similarly visceral, unscientific positions--such as that we should stop attending to the black-white performance gap (or at least only do so under wraps, which largely amounts to the same thing) because of the chipper chatterings of some smug bigots huddling together in chat groups here and there."<br /><br /></I>Jason (the commenter)https://www.blogger.com/profile/16045360562791361484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-50064803878991577672009-05-07T11:41:00.000-04:002009-05-07T11:41:00.000-04:00Perhaps he also has the habit of dismissing the op...Perhaps he also has the habit of dismissing the opinions of people he disagrees with.Jason (the commenter)https://www.blogger.com/profile/16045360562791361484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-46202632236527630032009-05-07T11:34:00.000-04:002009-05-07T11:34:00.000-04:00In fact, McWhorter cites Sowell's writings several...In fact, McWhorter cites Sowell's writings several times in his recent book Winning the Race, though not Race and Culture (which is from 1995).John Althouse Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11703450281424023177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-50916556627334389372009-05-07T11:29:00.000-04:002009-05-07T11:29:00.000-04:00What makes you think McWhorter has never read Race...What makes you think McWhorter has never read Race and Culture? Considering that McWhorter himself has written multiple books critiquing black culture, I'd bet he has.John Althouse Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11703450281424023177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-89815598689056490922009-05-07T11:25:00.000-04:002009-05-07T11:25:00.000-04:001. "This is comically unsympathetic."
2. "I just ...1. <I>"This is comically unsympathetic."<br /><br /></I>2. <I>"I just think Saletan's personal "resentment" isn't a major factor."<br /><br /></I>The first statement is an emotional response and completely dismisses Saletan's opinions. The second argues that Saletan shouldn't have included one particular opinion in a list, although it still tries to dismiss his opinions by use of scare quotes.<br /><br /><I>"just deal with it."<br /><br /></I>Probably not the best mindset to be in when discussing racial injustice.<br /><br />I will say I found the back and forth between Saletan and McWhorter, with each trying to subtly brand the other a racist, interesting. I have the feeling that McWhorter never read <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Race-Culture-World-Thomas-Sowell/dp/0465067972" REL="nofollow">Race and Culture</A> and has spent all his energies trying to reply to <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Curve-Intelligence-Structure-Paperbacks/dp/0684824299/ref=ed_oe_p" REL="nofollow">The Bell Curve</A>. It's like an argument between students of the Austrian and Prussian schools of economics. One says "I have all these numbers!" The other says "But your underlying assumptions make no sense!"Jason (the commenter)https://www.blogger.com/profile/16045360562791361484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-75609082397899525012009-05-07T08:37:00.000-04:002009-05-07T08:37:00.000-04:00Totally valid points -- I agree that those things ...Totally valid points -- I agree that those things are important. I just think Saletan's personal "resentment" isn't a major factor. In fact, I'm not even against considering resentment as a major factor in certain situations -- for instance, I think it's important if we're talking about college students' resentment of other students for getting admitted under lower standards. But parents of kindergarteners should just deal with it.John Althouse Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11703450281424023177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464222071440015933.post-86262091609736294932009-05-07T07:47:00.000-04:002009-05-07T07:47:00.000-04:00As an aside, Saletan says he "resent[s]" that his ...<I>As an aside, Saletan says he "resent[s]" that his daughter's kindergarten school requires him to fill out a form indicating her race. This is comically unsympathetic. Some things just aren't very important, and the effect of occasional paperwork on white parents' feelings about their own whiteness is one of them.<br /><br /></I>Of course that "occasional paperwork" is how our society enforces our current racial stereotypes. Someone who's ancestors immigrated directly from Spain to the US is "white" while someone who's ancestors spent some time in Columbia before coming here are "hispanic". They are like a separate race forever.<br /><br />There are also lots of people like Obama who had a "white" parent but are somehow always classified as "black".<br /><br />How can you not care about someone else's race when you can't not care about your own?Jason (the commenter)https://www.blogger.com/profile/16045360562791361484noreply@blogger.com