"And We'll All Be Portions For Foxes..."

[psalm_onethirtyone]

There is a LOT of healthy white male[1] privilege happening in my philosophy class right now. Like, a LOT. I'm starting to feel a little squicky.

Seriously, one of the guys just said that Darwin would endorse removing black people from the gene pool because their IQs aren't as high as those of white people. And the word 'retard' is getting bandied about quite a lot, as well.

I honestly think that when you start talking about social fitness and social Darwinism and people who 'should' be removed from the gene pool you are edging dangerously close to a certain twentieth century view held by a Very Bad Man.

I kind of want to duct tape a lot of people's mouths shut right now.

[1]none of the girls are talking, they may have healthy white privilege too, don't ask me.

Comments

Darwinism

[isjusterin.livejournal.com]

Please, PLEASE refer them to one of Dr. Hosler's comics: http://www.jayhosler.com/world.jpg

DARWINISM
UR DOIN IT WRONG

Re: Darwinism

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

Excellent comic. I love Dr. Hosler.

SO VERY VERY WRONG.

Re: Darwinism

[nowgoesquickly.livejournal.com]

I just took a look at that comic, and now I'm busily searching the rest of his site. This guy is awesome!

Re: Darwinism

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

He's one of the bio professors here!

Re: Darwinism

[holyschist.livejournal.com]

I love that comic, although I'd go a step further and argue that survival of the fittest is about the community, not any individual's genetics.

Anyway.

DARWINISM != EUGENICS, TYVM.

[erinpuff]

D: D: D: what.

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

My notes for to-day's class are pretty much "OH MY GOD" over and over.

[snowyofthenight.livejournal.com]

Also, I'm pretty sure I remember learning that Darwin himself had a major problem with social Darwinism...

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

WHICH WE LEARNED IN THIS VERY CLASS TWO WEEKS AGO.

[dreamer-easy.livejournal.com]

AH AHAHA HAHAHAH idiots.

Here:

"Between the 1930s and the 1980s, whites' scores on [IQ] tests rose some 14 points. Blacks' scores rose, too, though not as much. Still, along with the change in whites' scores, the increase indicates that test results are not rigidly fixed by genes, but are also sensitive to changes in education, opportunity, and scholastic ambition."

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/darwin/nameof/page04.html

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

YEAH KIND OF. I mean, the reason black people score lower is because this system is still against them and so they're a) not given as much opportunity, educational or otherwise, and b) socialised to believe that this is okay, because of their race! SO OF COURSE THEY SCORE LOWER. omfg, I am going to explode of rage.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_grayswandir_/]

Yeah, it seems to me there are two major problems, one being economical -- people who live in poverty obviously have limited opportunities for education or anything else, regardless of their genetic makeup -- and the other being cultural: black culture (broadly speaking) just doesn't emphasize the importance of intellectual/academic achievements the way white culture does, and in many cases, those kinds of achievements are even disdained as being "too white" and symbolic of submission to the standards of another race. We've been talking about this stuff in my African American Lit class, and it's rather distressing.

In any event, though -- who ever said that IQ was the only way to measure a person's value in terms of human evolution? Surely there are several zillion other genetic factors that might be equally or more important to the survival of the species besides how well you can guess the next number in a sequence, match up geometric figures, or write a term paper. :P

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

Pretty much this whole comment.

[mhari.livejournal.com]

My goodness, you seem to be surrounded by idiots.

*sprays you liberally with Idiot-B-Gon*

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

I do! Anna should come kill them all.

[mhari.livejournal.com]

It can be her senior project!

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

Yessss. XD

[http://users.livejournal.com/_grayswandir_/]

Holy crap. I'm going to count myself lucky that I have not yet had to deal with anything like this. :| Your classes freak me out.

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

I don't know what's wrong with my school. Maybe that we let football players come to our classes. :P

[watchcry.livejournal.com]

Darwin would not have advocated that. Darwin would have advocated the idea that if they had a natural disadvantage which caused them to die out on their own they would be removed.

Does the guy not realize that Darwin was going for Descriptive, not Prescriptive?

Which only addresses additional idiocy of a non white-male-privilege variety. The real problem makes me want to push him into something that will knock his teeth out.

[reconditarmonia.livejournal.com]

Does the guy not realize that Darwin was going for Descriptive, not Prescriptive?

This. NATURAL SELECTION IS NOT ABOUT "SHOULD" ASLJHASKHFASJ

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

I don't even know. This was one of the most stupid things I ever sat through.

[nowgoesquickly.livejournal.com]

Tell your classmates that their ride is here:

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

I'll make sure they board asap.

[little-lady-d.livejournal.com]

WHAT

that is

somebody should get PUNCHED IN THE MOUTH for that.

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

p. much.

[josiana.livejournal.com]

I am so disturbed. (屮ಥДಥ)屮 彡 ┻━┻

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

INDEED.