From: sting@intelhf.hf.intel.com (Joe Bennett)
Subject: Re: Debunking the standard myth was Re: Couple of thoughts..
Organization: Development Tools Operation, Intel Corp., Hillsboro, OR
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 92 20:07:50 GMT

In article <M1WCC00.92Aug13122515@mcfss2.fed.frb.gov> m1wcc00@fed.frb.gov (Wayne C. Cook) writes:
>In article <XJAM.92Aug10093628@cork.CS.Berkeley.EDU> xjam@cork.CS.Berkeley.EDU (The Crossjammer) writes:
>
>

>Xjammer:
>   No need to speculate you moron. The reason African-Americans fare well in
>   basketball is because African-American culture values skill in the sport
>   and there is a resultant peer pressure to play and play seriously beginning
>   at a very early age. 
> [rest deleted] 
>
>Me: Say what you will about cultural and peer pressures - they're valid, just not the
>    biggest reason for black dominance.  Basketball requires many abilities.  All of them
>    can be improved upon except for jumping ability, and quickness.  Blacks can jump higher
>    than whites. Period.  They're also quicker.  Period.  You can cite examples of Majerle
>    and Chapman and maybe some others but they're not the norm.  High skying blacks are the
>    norm in the NBA, NCAA, and even high school.  There is something genetic here.  Why can't
>    it be swallowed and accepted?
>Wayne. 
>
>So as not to end up like poor old Jimmy the Greek, please understand that this is my opinion
>only and not that of my employer.


Where, oh where, is your proof of this?  You cite nothing as proof, except for the fact
that there are more African-American players in the NBA than there are white players.
Period.  That is *not* proof, it is an generalization based on the color of peoples skin
i.e., racism.

Let's switch your example around:  Why are there more white golfers than African-American golfers in the PGA?  Is it because whites have some genetic advantage?  Do I, as a white
person, have a better chance of teeing off farther than a African-American person because
my genetic makeup such that my shoulders are more capable of producing a hard powerful
swing of a golf club?  Or maybe whites' eyesight is genetically different, allowing
us to see the breaks on the green so that we can sink the ball in two instead of
three putts.

There is absolutely no proof of this AT ALL.  Yet some researcher desparate for funding
and carrying the belief that whites are genetically surperior in golf will do some
half-assed study on whites shoulder muscle and whites eyesight and conclude that most
definitely whites are better at golf.  It's complete bullshit.

Go ahead and disregard the fact that there are more basketball courts per square mile
in urban areas than in suburban areas.  And go ahead and disregard census studies that
show that there are many more African-Americans in urban areas where these courts are.

But before you disregard this post, remember that in the 30's, when the NBA had a large
percentage of Jewish players, that people were saying that basketball was the perfect
sport for Jews because of Jews physical makeup.  Never mind of course that back then,
Jews tended to live in urban areas and play a lot of basketball in those areas growing
up.  Or maybe you think Jews are superior to non-Jews at basketball, but African-
Americans are superior still.

Joe