I suppose smart people feel as though they can say and do what ever they please. James Watson, 79 year old Nobel laureate biologist who co-discovered the structure of DNA, was suspended from his research laboratory and canceled his British book tour after ranting about how blacks are intellectual inferior than whites. Watson is quoted as saying he is “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.” He goes on to state that while he would love to believe that everyone is equal, “people who have to deal with black employees find this not true.” Now he does give a slight beacon of hope for those who find themselves on the low end of the totem pole, Watson claims, “there are many people of color who are very talented, but don’t promote them when they haven’t succeeded at the lower level.” I believe this comment should hold true for anyone not just blacks or African Americans. No one should be promoted if they haven’t proved themselves, which seems to be a commonsense workplace mentality.

It seems that after all of the research Dr. Watson has conducted, he hasn’t checked his intellectual or shall I say racist IQ, these days. After all of the eugenics debate around the world during the late 1800s and early 1900s it seems that we all have some growing up to do. From the Immigration Act of 1924, to the anti-miscegenation laws, to the ideas of race hygiene inducted by Nazi Germany which lead to deaths of millions of Jewish people, eugenics has played a tremendous role in the foundation of racism and racial inequalities. My guess would have been that we have come a long way since then. Today people know that race is not a biological substance and therefore how can one be intellectually inferior or superior based on race alone. Don’t social structures such as wealth and education also determine the intellectual outcomes of most individuals? Well, one thing is for certain, with the development of technology and advancement of the sciences, more answers will probably be revealed to us in season. But, for right now, shouldn’t we embrace smarts as well as political correctness? But what is political correctness?

[tags] science, James Watson, Noble Peace Prize, Technology, IQ, Politics, DNA [/tags]