> Robin Rice said (4/2/00 10:36 am)
>
> >I would like to offer an apology to any people of color on this list
> >and state that the racist pseudo-scientific agenda that Mr. or Dr.
> >Klein brings up now and again regarding Blacks and crime in the U.S.
> >is not indicative of the membership of the Radical Statistics Group.
> >I really hope it trickles off soon.
>
Ronan Conroy <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I hear Heinrich Himmler reaching for his Luger.
>
> Discussion is the Darwinian universe of ideas. If Dave is wrong, wholly
> or partly, that will emerge. In the meantime, let's hear what he has to
> say.
>
I echo Robin Rice's sentiments. The tolerance that allows discussion
should surely allow an apology. I don't recall Heinrich Himmler
being very good at saying sorry. What disturbs me about David
Klein's postings, and which prompted me to respond, is what seems
to me to be the lack of an open mind. He may be playing "devil's
advocate" in some obscure game - I sincerely hope so. In any case,
the blaming of sections of society for crime in essentialist terms
when so much is not well understood about cause and effect seems much
closer to me to the philosophy of Himmler than a simple expression of
regret. I remember a Soul Music number from years ago - "When Will We
Be Paid?". I think many Afro-Americans in the US must feel that the
criminals are those who cheated them of the rewards of their labour,
and whose descendants are now unwilling to pay their debts. In
Australia, a major topic is the reconciliation between aboriginals
and the descendants of the original settlers. Our Prime Minister is
unable to say "sorry" on behalf of the injustices wrought by previous
governments, no doubt because he is unwilling to run the risk of
having to pay compensation. I suspect a similar process of denial is
behind the reluctance to give those who have been victimised in the
US the benefit of the doubt. Slavery is a terrible thing for a
people to have undergone, without "blaming the victim" as
well.
geoff gordon.
Geoff Gordon
Biometrician
N.S.W. Fisheries Research Institute
P.O. Box 21
Cronulla N.S.W. Australia 2230
Tel: 61-2-9527 8411, Aust: (02) 9527 8411, (02) 9527 8512
Fax: 61-2-9527 8576
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