If you suggest in any semi-professional environment or institution that some part of the variance in racial disparities for outcomes (e.g., crime rates, job performance, standardized test scores) could be due to something inherent, you will likely be figuratively hanged.
The idea that no one believes in blank-slatism is quite bizarre because the default hypothesis most institutions build on is that racial disparities in outcomes must be due to environmental factors, with no other explanation outside of systemic racism, discrimination, microaggressions, historical trauma, etc.
This is literally the basis for DEI, affirmative action, disparate impact, etc.
This is true not only in a professional sense in broader society but also in academia.
The genetic contribution to IQ disparities, particularly along racial lines, is the most taboo topic among US psychology professors.
Always important to remember how much of the extreme anti-hereditarian or blank-slatist view of the world is explicitly rooted in a Marxist epistemology, where the goal isn't to pursue objective science but to build on an overtly Marxist or socialist philosophical framework.
Not in Our Genes is a great read because it's one of those moments where extreme critics of hereditarian research (e.g., Lewontin, Kamin, Rose) openly state their worldview without euphemism or apology. Their views, and those of their intellectual descendants, are about a broader epistemological project that is willing to lie, censor, and manipulate for a dialectical-materialist philosophy.
Scarr’s view on this topic was honest and balanced relative to the evidence at the time. However, even she knew the side shouting, "It's a dead end, don't look into it, there's nothing there!" is full of shit.
I've always been skeptical of the "backlash model," the idea that exposure to riots (particularly those coded as left-wing) significantly pushes voters toward the pro-law-and-order side.
For the 2011 England riots, exposure led to a local leftward shift, with increased opposition to the Conservative candidate. This is just one study, measuring short-term effects (2012 election), relying on aggregate (ecological) inference for racial subgroup effects, and capturing only London-level effects, but it serves as a data point.
Turnout increased in wards near riot locations or rioters' homes, conservative vote share decreased significantly (by ~1.5 to 2.2 percentage points) in those wards.
White voters drove much of the change (higher turnout, decreased Conservative support), while black voters also reduced support but showed no turnout change.
The context here matters: who the incumbent is (sympathetic or hostile to the protest group) and who the exposed population is.
While I think it’s far-fetched to claim the political right has an inherent stupidity problem (the IQ difference between White Dems and White Reps is statistically negligible, similar to the average sex difference in intelligence, and historical data shows this gap reversed in past cohorts), it’s fair to say some factions on the right have a serious slop problem. This issue exists on the left too, but I’m more concerned about the right’s current state.
A segment of the right, from average Facebook moms to high-profile commentators, engages in blatantly foolish, low-quality garbage. This includes anti-vaccine rhetoric, Tucker Carlson claiming demonic attacks, conspiracy theories about Macron’s wife being his transgender father, third-world worship, Russia fanaticism, and more. Unfortunately, there’s an audience for this. The “everything leads to the Jews” narrative is another example — criticism of Israel is fine, but it often veers into absurd conspiracies (e.g., Ian Carroll types).
I watched a stream from a well-known conservative commentator, and within five minutes, they were ranting about impending vaccine deaths, Dr. Fauci, and the Musk-Trump episode being a psyop. I genuinely don’t understand this mind-numbing garbage, but it clearly has an audience.
Also, likely controversial here for some reason: much of the MAHA stuff is misguided or unfounded. Yes, there are areas to improve, but a lot of it stems from people misinterpreting basic data or failing to account for confounding variables.
The “explosion in autism rates” claim is just one example.
Maybe it’s just me, but it’s concerning that some segments of the right readily accept HBD and race-science ideas (which are objectively supported) yet reject vaccines.