Are whites smarter than blacks? Let's try this experiment and see!

[antiimperialist]

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Somebody said George Bush is living proof of the fallacy of white supremacy.

[no_hypocrisy]

9. That was Congressional Representative Charles Rangel from New York.

[BrklynLiberal]

28. Rangel is brilliant in so many different ways....

[Selatius]

2. I think Jon Stewart once said that comedy is truth except faster. n/t

[baldguy]

3. Charlie Rangel sez:

"Bush shatters the myth of white supremacy once and for all."

[Double T]

4. Brilliant cartoon.

Thanks, antiimperialist!

[TahitiNut]

5. Quite frankly, I think Ruben gave forth with a turd on this one.

The suggestion that there's ANY 'truth' at all to such racist crap - and pretend to 'EXPLAIN' it by blaming an ancestry of slavery - is odorous, imho. The odor of racism can't be covered up with 'explanations' that repeat the basic falsehood.

[antiimperialist]

6. the cartoonist at no point suggested there is any truth to these allegations

That is why he enclosed "scientific" in marks, mocking those idiots who, like the author of The Bell Curve, have written poorly researched books or essays reaching the conclusion that whites are smarter than blacks because the genes dictate it so.

[stillcool]

7. I understand what you're saying...

repeating the bullshit allows the idea to gain new ground...especially when so few people bother to read past the headline. It seems these days racism...hell all kinds of discrimination, has gone through a re-birth...not like it ever died, but now it's so overt. Perhaps when society starts to fall apart all the old wounds are re-opened. I'm beginning to think there was something to the Y2K shit. People have just gone off the cliff since 2000.

[antiimperialist]

8. You can't condemn something without repeating it

And if you don't see this cartoon as a condemnation of racism, you are probably blind.
This is not the same case as a Washington Post journalist repeating false rumors being spread about Obama being a Muslim, because that journalist did not tell his readers that the rumors were untrue.

The cartoonist, on the other hand, uses humor to ridicule those who claim whites are smarter than blacks, conveying the message that it is not genes, but enormous suffering to which Africans Americans have been subjected, that have contributed to the 15 point gap in IQ tests that by the way, are administered by rich white males, which the cartoonist also points out.

[parasim]

10. But, it seems to me, that the cartoonist is confused...

He seems to say that the theory of the 15 point gap is bogus by putting "scientific" in quotes and implying that the IQ tests that purport this theory are skewed because they are generated by elite white guys. But then he goes on to explain these findings with a rather logical explanation of how the 15 point gap could actually be true.

So, which is it? Does he believe the original theory? If not, then why try to explain a bogus theory?

[antiimperialist]

11. He could believe both things at a time

He could believe that

a) African Americans would have scored higher had they not subjected to extreme suffering and deprived of educational opportunities for centuries, and
b) the gap would have been closer, though still not at the same level as whites due to the factors cited in (a), if those administering the tests were all black.

I don't think these beliefs are mutually exclusive.

[parasim]

16. Ah, I see. So perhaps he does believe there is a gap...

...just not as great a gap as 15 points. And it's because of what you state in "a".

Well, I missed his point. But now, I guess, I can see kinda where he's coming from. Can't say that I agree, but... whatever.

[antiimperialist]

30. I can't read his mind but that's my interpretation n/t

[Orrex]

13. It's a meta-commentary, IMO

Simply by referring to IQ tests, the cartoonist is pointing out the absurdity of the entire proposition (that whites are "15 points" smarter, or whatever).

The test itself is bogus except as a means of measuring how well people do on the test. The resultant score correlates weakly, if at all, to true intelligence, which is a nebulous concept at best in any case.

I believe that the cartoonist is using this fact, plus the fact of centuries of institutionalized subjugation, to show that any 15-point disparity on the test is irrelevant and proves nothing.

IMO.

Hell, I always score pretty well on IQ tests, and I can be as dim-witted as anyone I know.

[parasim]

17. Well, I missed his whole point...

Seemed to me that he was giving at least some credence to IQ tests. While at the same time saying that certain IQ tests can be skewed.

I didn't get where he was throwing out the whole notion of an IQ test being in any way credible.

But then again, I've often found Tom the Dancing Bug to be somewhat obtuse.

[Orrex]

18. Not a big fan either, to be honest

This one seemed to click for me, perhaps because I'm habitually annoyed by the whole concept of IQ tests, but who knows?

Anyway, my interpretation could easily be wrong, too...


Heck, I'm just glad that you responded--I've posted about a dozen brilliant messages tonight, and I was beginning to fear that no one could see any of them!

:hi:

[parasim]

20. Hey, I know what you mean...

I feel the same way about 90% of my own posts... (and I also share your disdain for IQ tests, simply because I am always amazed at how well i tend to do on them...)

:hi:

[badgerpup]

23. We went over this in one of my psych classes...

Seems that one of the things that is being tested is how well the testee fits into either the culture or expectations of those who designed the test in the first place.
This really affects the outcome...but isn't allowed for or really factored into the equation.

Did that make sense?

To demonstrate this, our class took an 'intelligence test'...the culture tested being that of 'the street'...those who live by their wits, know 'the underground' intimately.
Most of the class was white; all fairly intelligent, articulate, and literate.

None of us scored above a 70%....and most of us fell right between 45%-50%. Pass the test? :rofl::sarcasm:

Hell, we'da been TOAST if thrown cold into that milieu and expected to even survive, let alone thrive...

[Recursion]

29. Err... I wasn't aware the point gap was doubted

The doubt is that the gap in IQ scores reflects any sort of racially-based difference in intelligence

[stillcool]

14. Aren't you sweet...

but no, I am not blind. Perhaps you did not read what I said...that many people do not see past the headline. If this shit weren't being propagated, I would not be engaged in the discussion of discriminatory myths. Perhaps we should discuss all discriminatory myths...and we can spend a few more decades shooting them down...or repeating them in order to condemn them.

[BoneDaddy]

22. Alex...I would like to buy a sense of humor for 100 please

stop taking yourself so seriously. I bet you see deception when you look at the clouds.

[stillcool]

24. excuse me?

what is this a drive-by insult...just for shits and giggles?

[BoneDaddy]

31. Actually it is for shits and giggles

don't feel so insulted. Again, I think you are so ready to find offense in anything. So what? You will die of high blood pressure or an aneurism if you keep up this totally extreme hypersensitivity. Take a vacation, enjoy life...it aint that bad.

[stillcool]

33. Who is it that you think I am?

...I'm not insulted just because you hurl insults. Why do you bother to post, if you have nothing to say,..but shit...for giggles?

[BoneDaddy]

34. lol of course youre not

why would I think that?

[stillcool]

37. ah..okay...

I get it...

[TahitiNut]

25. "It's not THEIR fault they're stupid" ... wouldn't be funny either.

I don't find much humor in the rationalization of a racist view ... even as a parody.

This is NOT "A Modest Proposal."

[mzmolly]

32. I agree.

I don't like the premise, 'it's true, but here's why'.

[ChazII]

12. I flunked

the Black and the Hispanic IQ tests. I had to take them for my 'Teaching the Culturally Disadvantaged' class in the late 70's as an undergrad.

[College Liberal]

15. Really?

So was the test like short answer or multiple choice? And is it available on the internet?

[ChazII]

27. It was multiple choice

and I took in back in the late 70's -- would have been '78 or '79. I did get hog-- nickname for motorcycle on the Black IQ test. Missed everything on the Hispanic one. It would be interesting to see if there is one on the internet. Sorry that I don't have more information for you.

[aikoaiko]

19. operationally defined as average scores on standard intelligence tests?

The data say Blacks Americans score lower than White Americans and White Americans score lower than Asian Americans. Almost no one disputes the differences in scores, but explanations vary among academic, ideological, and political lines. IQ scores, like all behavior, is partially determined by genes and environment.

Mainstream Science on Intelligence

[MedleyMisty]

21. Right

my personal interpretation of the strip is that he's making fun of people who totally deny the environment part of the equation and claim that it's all genetics.

I've got nothing against IQ tests - like all tools, they're neutral. It's how we use them that can be good or bad. Using them as information to help create an educational plan for a student, while taking into account all the environmental things that can affect the score - good. Using them as props for prejudice - bad.

[avenger64]

35. They've actually had Vietnamese kids ...

... who were adopted from deprived childhoods by Americans, and on average outscored white American kids on IQ tests. It may not be too popular here, but there is a genetic component to intelligence, and they're finding which genes contribute, and how those genes proliferate in ethnic groups. Science isn't always politically correct.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

36. There could be environmental factors at play even in that situation

1. The adoptive parents may be more affluent than average, thus are able to provide a more educationally stimulating environment.

2. The adoptive parents and everyone else around the kids have internalized the stereotype that Asians are smarter than other ethnicities, thus set higher expectations for them.

Without reading the studies there's no way of knowing what the methodology was or if they controlled all the potential variables.

[malaise]

26. Brilliant

Just the truth

[ecstatic]

38. Cute, but off track. Ongoing economic and educational system disparities are the cause

Despite the slavery and the institutional racism that still exists to this day, a black child with normal to exceptional intelligence can easily score average or well above average (if gifted) if s/he is challenged and educated in a good academic program. Also, factors going on in a child's personal life tend to affect performance (is the child nurtured, well-fed, clothed, sheltered, etc.).

[ConsAreLiars]

39. See The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould for more on the cultural bias inherent

in developing "tests" designed to predict success or failure in a given social institution, in this case academic ones. It's long been known that the best predictors for college or or income are simply the parents' stats. "IQ" tests are just a roundabout way to get the same results.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mismeasure_of_Man