According to the New York Times, Karith Foster, a black woman, addressed a leadership summit meeting of the very woke Woodward company specializing in aerospace. She was brought in so as to change this firm’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) program, which wasn’t working satisfactorily, to something called “Belonging.” In the course of her remarks, she challenged her audience as follows:
“Had they ever locked the car when a Black man walked by? Had they thought, yes, Jewish people really are good with money?” Had they questioned the intelligence of someone with a thick Southern accent?”
Pretty much everyone in the audience, including the speaker herself, acknowledged remorse by raising their hands to indicate they were guilty of these offenses. She then claimed that acting in this manner, holding these beliefs, was an instance of bias, which must be eradicated if we are to attain a just society.
Let us consider each of these three challenges.
My friend of many years, the late Walter E. Williams, is a black man well over six feet tall. He once told me that often, when he walked into an elevator, the white men already on board exhibited concern, and the white women held their purses closer to their bodies. He said he well understood this behavior, and did not resent it. It was due to the fact that the black crime rate was much higher than that of any other demographic group.
He knew full well that he wasn’t going to mug anyone on the elevator (he was a distinguished economics professor at George Mason University; the only people he mugged, intellectually, were socialists and interventionists), but appreciated that the other occupants of the elevator were merely judging him on the basis of limited information; on what they could see of him: a tall powerful looking black man. Were these white people biased? Of course not: they were merely and justifiably basing their assessments, and their behavior, on empirical generalizations.
A similar situation applies to Jews who have a reputation for being good with money. Is this a stereotype? Of course it is. But from whence does it spring? Of course, from the truth of the matter. Isn’t it interesting that Jews are also reputed to be great scholars, but not car jackers or drunkards? Again, these are empirical generalizations. One way to establish the accuracy of stereotypes is to articulate them inaccurately. Then, you can see the truth on which they are based. For example:
Orientals are stupid obnoxious drunkards.
Whites have springs in their legs and can outjump all other groups.
Blacks are studious nerds who never take their eyes out of a book; they are very unathletic and hate jazz and rap music.
Ditto for persons with thick southern accents having lower intelligence. Reading in between the lines, one may be forgiven for thinking that this author really meant blacks, but substituted this group for them. After all, believers in DEI also maintain that all whites, southerners certainly included, are guilty of “systemic racism” which accounts almost solely for the plight of the black community.
What is an empirical generalization? It stems from observation. People note, for example, that men are on average taller than women. Does this mean that all men have greater height than all women? Of course not. Milton Friedman stood at about five feet, while Brittney Griner, a WNBA All-Star recently released from Russia, is 6’9”.
Of course, not all black people are both stupid and criminals. The overwhelming number of them are the very opposite. Walter Williams is a splendid example thereof. Are all Jews excellent money managers? Certainly not. But, many of them are; proportionately more than many other ethnic groups.
It is not bias, to be eradicated, to be aware of empirical generalizations.
Originally published: https://www.thedailybell.com/all-articles/news-analysis/are-empirical-generalizations-really-bias/
Dear Gai:
Thanks for your lovely comments, once again. What part of NY are you from? I'm from Brooklyn.
Best regards,
Walter
Honesty . How refreshing! We’re also products of our environment. What we’re used to.
I’m Jewish.New York born, Miami raised. With the exception of very few, the majority of residents have discernible foreign accents,N.Y/NJ nasality or don’t speak English .Seldom heard are Germanic or flat tones. Least of all, heavy Southern twangs,and yes,what comes to mind are the old mockeries-Hee-Haw, Green Acres,ElmerFudd or worse-Deliverance,George Wallace.Thing is, travel to Tennessee,Mississippi,Alabama,Kentucky,,we sound just as stupid and foreign to them.
My husband and I were transferred to Tampa years ago-unprepared for the culture shock. EVERYBODY had a Southern accent, including the substantial , what I imagined culturally Cuban population. I didn’t realize they differed from Miami.They weren’t refugees who fled the Castro regime,instead,very American.Emigrated in the early 1900s by choice and set up shop,creating a booming cigar industry.I felt like a stranger in a strange land.Until Obama took office.My husband and I were a rare breed. We hated Obama and that put us at odds with the Jewish community,No great loss. So insular that I was the outsider.
Moving back to Miami was nirvana.The Cuban ,Venezuelan,,Colombian, Salvadoran,Soviet ,Iranian,Lebanese immigrants who fled Communist and Islamist tyrannical revolutions hated Obama too.
Currently, I can’t stand people as a collective whole, Including what I once called my own.Whether Democrat, Republican,native born,foreign born, black, brown, white, coastal, midwestern, northeastern, southern, religious, agnostic, atheist… but for about 25%, they suck. Politics destroys all that is good. The body politic has shredded the fiber of society . The well crafted animus has damaged everything necessary for a healthy, functional society to the point of no return. In the name of “ tolerance, diversity, inclusion, morality, democracy, religious freedom, free speech, equal rights,individual rights, liberalism, conservatism, equal justice under the law, the two party system, representative government..”… Globalism, courtesy of our vaunted” elected officials” who sold us out has stripped away our rights one by one.We hate each other, our families, friends, neighbors have been torn apart. The two political parties are corrupt bipolar extremes,leaving a gaping hole where once was a center. “ We The People” have no say. No platform. The gaping hole will swallow us.
Inherent bias isn’t “ hate”. It’s animal behavior.While filming “ Planet of the Apes”, lead actress Kim Hunter noticed something unusualThe storyline featured three species of primates.Chimps,orangutans and gorillas. Cast members arrived before daybreak for make up . It took hours to apply and they filmed into the early evening. By week three,, - the ( cast)gorillas,orangutans and chimps had self- segregated, seated at separate lunch table /gathered into “ cliques” during breaks.They literally began to see each other,not as the person wearing the costume, but the species represented by the costume!
Dogs exhibit the same behavior. Placed in a venue with all different breeds, they’ll socialize freely. Placed in the same venue adding two of the same breed, the two will seek each other out. It’s nature.Comfort with what we recognize most like ourselves.
Ethnic communities- Chinatown, Little Italy, Little Havana,Little India,Little Japan, Little Haiti, Little Somalia,Hasidic Jews, Irisn Catholics/Irish Protestants,… Internecine warfare- Shia/Sunni Muslims, Ethiiopians/Eritreans/Somalis, Mistake Jamaican for Haitian,Nigerian for Liberian- tantamount to the N-word. Remember Rwanda? Ditto Cuban/ Puerto Rican/Dominican.NEVER mistake Argentinian for ANY other Latin American!
Gal Saad ,a Professor of Social Science in Canada emigrated from Lebanon when Jewish persecution became unbearable
Humorously described the human condition of tribalism. He resides near an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood where even their shared religious tenets are trumped by bigotry.Those of Polish heritage live on one side of the street,those of Russian heritage on the otherDespise one another. Since all sport traditional garb of black coats,hats and beards,To ensure they’re not mistaken for one another,the Polish Jews wear their socks under their pants cuff, Russian Jews wear socks over their pants cuff. Imagine how hilarious! The Hatfieldwicz and McCoyowitz