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Author Topic: Walter Block is not racist.  (Read 1811 times)

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Pizzly

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Walter Block is not racist.
« on: August 01, 2011, 10:57:10 AM »

Last night is was mentioned in passing by Stephanie that Walter Block believes that women or black people are inherintly less intelligent, that's just not true. When asked about the income disparity between women and men, Block addresses that a lot of it has to do with children. When you look at married versus single and at ages you see that the income disparity has mostly to do with the risk of pregnancy, it is completely rational to pay a woman less who may have to take off for a baby.

Block has also addressed the lower income that Black individuals get, and he has suggested that it may be because they are less skilled. All that means is that Black individuals may have a poorer education, a different family life, or perhaps some genetics. All Block has said is that a lower income suggests a lower skill level, that's how the market works. Trying to recognize a causal relationship has nothing to do with personal opinions of another race. Unless I'm completely missing something he has said, I am confident in saying Walter Block is not racist or sexist.

Besides, we know culture and economics can have a huge effect on a person's intelligence/work ethic, but why not genetics? We know that genetics has an effect on all of our behavioral traits, from social abilities to sexuality, addiction or anger. Why not intelligence? Different races have different health concerns, but that doesn't suggest one is worse than another. Statistics show I have a higher risk of heart attack than Asian Americans, does that prove Asians are inherently superior to white people?

Seemed childish to just write off Block as racist without actually thinking about what he said.
« Last Edit: August 01, 2011, 11:04:37 AM by Pizzly »
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Cognitive Dissident

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Re: Walter Block is not racist.
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2011, 06:15:39 PM »

Yeah, I would kind of like to know what he's supposedly said that makes him racist.

FWIW, it might be true that various ethnicities have different abilities, on the average, and that some differences may be genetic.  After all, there are some visual differences.  Nevertheless, the big question is: why should it matter?  Any trend is small compared to the variation from individual to individual, and I support treating every individual as his own person, in every way.
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Tom Foppiano

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Re: Walter Block is not racist.
« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2011, 02:17:40 AM »

Yes, what was said about Dr Block on this show surprised me because I have listened to hours and hours of his lectures and have never heard a racist word....ever.

But it is always possible that he did say something racist. In that case, he should quoted. And he wasn't......so I doubt it actually happened. He probably said that blacks are on average less skilled that asians. Which is not inherently racist.
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mikehz

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Re: Walter Block is not racist.
« Reply #3 on: August 15, 2011, 11:43:05 AM »

African students attending college in the US do better than do black American college students. This at least suggests that culture and background has something to do with performance.
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