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Saturday, Oct 11, 2008
Black athletes may dominate track and field -- but whites dominate bowling! Plus: Aqua will let "Macidiots" finally get with the program; at least Bill Bradley's heart is in the right place.
Feb 1, 2000 | The black edge
BY GARY KAMIYA
(01/28/00)
Like the author Mr. Entine, Gary Kamiya is totally out to lunch. Kamiya pats himself on the back for having the courage to challenge "political correctness" and speak the unspeakable -- to wit, blacks dominate [certain sports] because it's in their genes. This is probably what Hitler said to himself as he watched a black man fly by his Nazi ass.
I also love the way Kamiya, like Entine, cautions us not to compare black dominance in certain types of sports with white domination of other sports. Why is it that only when blacks dominate, the Kamiyas and Entines want to haul out the microscope and dust off the old genetics books?
I wrote a piece for a Tallahassee newspaper explaining why whites dominated bowling. Like Entine I cautioned against trying to compare white domination of bowling with black-dominated sports. I proceeded to outline my theory of the white race's inheritance of the quick-twitch wrist. My theory is as valid as Entine's tripe.
-- Jack McCarthy
If certain populations, defined by race, possess athletic ability marginally superior to other populations, it would be surprising if there were not marginal differences in intellectual skill similarly clustered in certain populations. Is the "science" demonstrating the athletic "black edge" more sophisticated than that showing Asians to be particularly adept at mathematics? I doubt it. I tend to think that there are genetic differences between populations on a whole range of variables, marginal though those differences may be. Ignoring those differences between groups might be politically prudent -- but intellectually dishonest.
The science is easy. The recognition of our common humanity, despite our differences, is the real challenge.
-- Bruce G. Whittaker
Gary misses the "taboo" in his review of Entine's book "Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We Are Afraid to Talk about It." There is little to object to in a statement like "The West Africans are exceptionally fast and can jump high." It's even OK to discuss West African athletic ability and phenotype in the same breath. Of course, only a small percentage of the dark-skinned peoples of the world inhabit or are descended from West Africa. To say "blacks are genetically superior to whites as athletes" is still [as N.Y. Times columnist Bob Herbert once wrote] just a "genteel way to say nigger." The big bad taboo lives. The term "race," as commonly used, is still scientifically bankrupt.
-- Jim Hershberger
Congratulations to Gary Kamiya for his reasoned, insightful review of Jon Entine's ideas on race and athleticism in "Taboo." One question, though: Instead of puzzling over the genetic "advantage" that we people of African descent are said to possess, why not try to figure out why non-Africans lack our "normal" physical abilities?
-- Cameron Bailey
Toronto
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