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It is the norm in America to ascribe racial disparities to discrimination. However, this is a shallow argument that collapses under scrutiny. If racism were the primary force impeding the success of blacks, we would expect clear, consistent evidence of its impact across different areas of life. Instead, many of the most commonly cited examples of racial discrimination evaporate when examined objectively. The narrative of systemic oppression relies on emotional appeal rather than substantive proof, making it an inadequate and misleading explanation for racial gaps in education, economic success, and healthcare.
One of the most persistent myths is that black students perform poorly in school due to a hostile education system that undermines their confidence. Yet, studies show that black students have higher self-esteem than their white and peers across all age groups. If systemic barriers were crushing their potential, their confidence would be lower, not higher. The real reason for academic disparities is IQ. Intelligence is the best predictor of academic success, and racial differences in average IQ scores are a consistent finding in psychological research. Black students do poorer than their peers because on average because black intelligence is lower. High performing Asians teach us that confidence is no substitute for a lack of ability. Despite their scholarly prowess, East Asian students score quite low on measures of motivation and confidence. Therefore in the long term the confidence of black students is irrelevant to their academic success due to deficits in ability.
Another popular but flawed explanation is the “acting white” theory, which asserts that black students reject academic achievement as a counter-cultural rejection of whiteness. Yet investigations into this claim show that black students are not more hostile to education than whites and, in fact, report higher educational aspirations. Conservatives find this narrative attractive because they can use it to advocate cultural reform as a panacea for black underperformance. Though well-intentioned, conservative beliefs have been debunked by reviews showing the futility of behavioral modification programs to boost the performance of black students. Further, their liberal cousins are equally misguided in thinking that resources would make a difference when IQ remains the most reliable determinant of academic success. Large-scale studies confirm that students with higher IQ scores outperform their peers regardless of socioeconomic background. Inevitably, racial disparities in education persist because cognitive ability varies by group, not because of an oppressive education system.
Similarly, the legacy of historical violence is singled out as a contributor to lower rates of black innovation, but this argument has been exposed as erroneous . A reassessment of claims that racial violence stifled black innovation found no evidence that historical racial conflicts had lasting effects on black innovation. The belief that racial massacres crippled black innovation fades when rigorous statistical models are applied to test the theory. Moreover, the assertion that the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment is responsible for modern racial health disparities has not been replicated in a subsequent study which observed no specific relationship between distance to Tuskegee and mortality. Discrimination and socio-economic status are unlikely to be major explanations for racial disparities. For sometime, it has been recognized that Hispanic Americans have superior health outcomes despite trailing whites in income and healthcare. Researchers are agnostic as to causes of the paradox, but it has been frequently attributed to cultural practices which emphasised communal living. Another misleading health narrative is that black newborns have better survival rates when treated by black physicians, supposedly proving that racism pervades medical care. In reality, the issue is not race but low birth weight, which is more common among black infants.
Once this factor is accounted for, the supposed impact of racial concordance disappears entirely. Investigative reporting has also revealed that the paper’s lead author omitted data showing that white babies were more likely to die when examined by a black doctor because it would have undermined racial narratives. With the publication of all the relevant facts, it can be easily concluded that blacks babies died because they suffered more serious conditions which required the treatment of experts who were often white.
These findings dismantle the myth that discrimination is the root cause of racial disparities. Differences in intelligence, culture, and historical reality provide far more accurate explanations. Meaningful solutions must focus on allowing black Americans to solve their problems themselves, rather than the baseless assumption that systemic oppression is to blame for every disparity.
11 comments
Thank you so much for regurgitating everything we’ve been reading for years.
It’s really simple, just ask a teacher. They’ll tell you every time. The dumber the kid, the greater the ego.
I never met a black who wasn’t a legend in their own mind. A black’s thought processes are derivative of three false assumptions: 1. Onze wuz kangz. 2. Onze wuz warriorz. 3. Onze wuz astronautz. 🦍
They should try being in the same universe as Prince before ‘We Wuz Kangz’. They kantz.
Several years ago the Durham Western Heritage Museum in Omaha had a traveling exhibit on the Civil Rights era. I think we were there for something else but I peeked in for a few minutes and read on the wall something about the stress from discrimination and systemic racism that blacks encounter around every corner had a contributing factor to the high blood pressure, hyper tension and other chronic debilitating illnesses found so commonly in their community. Certainly not the poor diet habits and tobacco, drug and alcohol abuse but microaggressions like white people asking to touch their hair and little old ladies clutching their purses while crossing the street. Give me a fucking break.
Hmmm…almost like they’re crying out in pain. Gee, I wonder where they learned that embarrassing poor-me victimhood complex from? Obi Wan Yehudi taught his pets well. If this place gets taken over by the chinese, muslims, or indians, they are gonna see what real black-hating racism is, and wishing suburban Karen was the furthest extent of their problems.
I give credit to LM for the investigations he does. It must be painful for him, yet he soldiers on.
In my therapy work, when a client centers his narrative on being a victim, it is very challenging to find a way for him to recognize that he might well play his own part in constructing the problem that he sees as other people’s.* If he can make the breakthrough, the payoff is realizing that he has agency and can address what’s ailing him rather than continue his passive suffering (and often using that suffering to manipulate those around him.)
It’s a shocking and uncomfortable moment, but can lead to greater freedom and self-respect.
*Unless, of course, the victimization is real and concrete.
“…continue his passive suffering (and often using that suffering to manipulate those around him.).” I don’t get it, are you saying blacks are passive sufferers? That has never been my impression of them. 🧐
A better way to put it: “continue telling himself the story that his suffering is unjustly imposed on him by other bad people whose victim he is.”
That attitude does not exclude acting out.
A bully may robustly engage in his bullying but when confronted by a strong authority, for example, will tell a sob story of his dysfunctional family being the reason he does this, making himself the victim. And victims are always in some sense passive. Not inactive, but no responsible.
Black criminals often play this game. And believe it. The other end of the bully can be self-pity.
You are right, I have seen them play that game many times. 👍
Meaningful solutions must focus on allowing black Americans to solve their problems themselves, rather than the baseless assumption that systemic oppression is to blame for every disparity. Good luck trying to convince them of that. Rather teach calculus to a fish. And I’m beyond exhausted of the White-liberal-savior-to-the-rescue-complex from anti-White snivelies cocooned in their White Edward Scissorhands burbs where diversity isn’t except when dropping their shit off from Amazon (if it wasn’t carelessly tossed or stolen) then raging at us for pointing out the racially obvious when it happens.
One final thought, it is my impression that a majority of blacks sincerely believe that their people built America. I was riding on a Greyhound to Louisville, KY when a buck sitting near me spotted a low stone wall on a farm we were passing. The buck smiled and stated to his companion, “See there, we built America!” 🦍
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