If this moves you, follow Einstein's logic to today's world and join in the struggle. There are marches today, consider this your invitation!<p>SF: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/675598982556580/" rel="nofollow">https://www.facebook.com/events/675598982556580/</a><p>Oakland: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/858052834217501/" rel="nofollow">https://www.facebook.com/events/858052834217501/</a><p>NYC: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/959630214065046/" rel="nofollow">https://www.facebook.com/events/959630214065046/</a><p>Boston: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1559794327598726/" rel="nofollow">https://www.facebook.com/events/1559794327598726/</a><p>(and I'm sure there's one near where you live as well)
This is really fascinating. This part particularly struck me:<p>"[Americans'] sense of equality and human dignity is mainly limited to men of white skins. Even among these there are prejudices of which I as a Jew am clearly conscious"<p>As a non-black person of color, this has been my access point to issues of race and oppression. Thinking about the (relatively) minor prejudices and indignities I've experienced made me a lot more receptive to the idea that things just aren't right for a lot of people. That oppression is real. And it's also made me aware of the privilege that I do enjoy as a college-educated male who's the son of college educated parents.<p>This is a very prescient and relevant piece by Einstein. I'm glad it's on HN!
The thing I like is the reference to Aristotle. Today, there are some people who are too quick to brand anyone who disagrees with their enlightened views as a "moron" or worse. There's no winning hearts and minds that way. It's better to gently point out the mistakes of those who are otherwise worthy of respect, in the hopes that this will spur others towards self-reflection, than to castigate and put people on the defensive. We could use more of that.
<i>Many a sincere person will answer: "Our attitude towards Negroes is the result of unfavorable experiences which we have had by living side by side with Negroes in this country. They are not our equals in intelligence, sense of responsibility, reliability."<p>I am firmly convinced that whoever believes this suffers from a fatal misconception.</i><p>Although it has clear political implications, the last part of the quote-within-a-quote ("They are not our equals…") is a <i>scientific hypothesis</i>. Does it strike you that people who take the opposite view of Einstein's—or who even <i>consider its possibility</i>—are treated as merely <i>mistaken</i>? As suffering from a <i>misconception</i>? No—they are treated with opprobrium, condemned with epithets (<i>racist</i>, <i>fascist</i>, etc.), and purged from civil society.<p>No reasonable person denies that the ancestors of slaves were mistreated, but as an explanation for group differences this is not mutually exclusive with cultural or biological factors that may have nothing to do with past oppression. Unfortunately, this subject is not treated as a scientific matter—it has become a <i>political fight</i>. Einstein appears to be "ahead of his time" not because of the triumph of his scientific arguments but because his political allies have been consistently advancing.
<i>What, however, can the man of good will do to combat this deeply rooted prejudice?</i><p>More diversity (in neighborhoods, in workplaces, in schools) would certainly help -- the transition from "us" and "them" to a unified "us." And yet, it's disappointing how segregated America still is today. One fairly in-depth study [1] offers an example of how "today" came to be. (This report is not about any current events, but rather a detailed account of city zoning over a few decades.)<p>[1] <a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/making-ferguson/" rel="nofollow">http://www.epi.org/publication/making-ferguson/</a>
I hope what I have to say is not as controversial as I fear, but I don't think that individual racist beliefs are as big a problem as we have been told. To look at somebody and consciously judge them to be inferior based on their skin color is so outdated and obsolete, that those who do so are fringe members of society who are typically elderly and either changing their mindset or dying out. We elected a black president in a landslide victory for God's sake. Twice!<p>No, what is harmful is the vindictive, hyper-vigilant collectivist attitude that persists in a ham-handed attempt at "leveling the playing field." The idea that certain groups of people (blacks, women, gays, etc) need compulsory protection at the expense of other groups (white males), induces a sort of resentment as a response to what is perceived to be a witch hunt. For example, certain events - such as the destruction of Paula Dean for admitting to saying the word "nigger" in the past, or Brendan Eich's dismissal as CEO for his donations against gay marriage - and certain policies - such as affirmative action or the greatly lopsided outcomes of most child custody battles - evoke an understandable, but completely irrational, feeling of resentment towards those groups as a backlash for perceived unfair treatment. It's this "us vs. them" victim mentality that's the problem in mainstream America. That's where the real racist attitudes come from, not some sort of widespread, conscious conclusion that certain groups are intrinsically inferior to others.<p>The answer is not collectivist protections or more anti-racism vigilance, it is to look beyond our superficial differences and to consider all people as individuals with an equal capacity to love and to be loved. Racism is an outdated idea. Let it die on its own.
"It would be foolish to despise tradition. But with our growing self-consciousness and increasing intelligence we must begin to control tradition and assume a critical attitude toward it, if human relations are ever to change for the better. We must try to recognize what in our accepted tradition is damaging to our fate and dignity—and shape our lives accordingly."<p>Key takeaway, in my opinion, and this extends beyond racial prejudices.
Racism will continue to be a problem as long as it serves as a useful distraction for the people to prevent us from really scrutinizing the ruling class and the complete disparity between the goals of the super-rich people and the needs of the rest of us who are just trying to get by.<p>Racism, sexism, homophobia, drugs, guns, taxes, war, spying, all of it are just distractions because whether the issue goes left or right won't matter to most people. What really matters is whether or not people can feed their children, have a roof over their heads, have something meaningful to do with their time, be warm in the winter, be free from violence. These are the things that matter, but we're all caught up in bikeshedding over how to get there.<p>And in the process, a very small group of people get to come in and unilaterally take action to fill their own pockets. Everything else that happens is the rest of us playing Lord of the Flies.<p>Isms will end when the majority takes up the cause of the minority, because in actuality, it's their/our cause, too.
While Einstein only fully stopped eating animals shortly before his death, there is some indication he also felt uneasy accepting the general attitude on animals as food for some time before that. This is prejudice that that most of us have yet to shake still.
I was always impressed by his stand against zionism.<p><a href="http://www.newdemocracyworld.org/old/einstein.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.newdemocracyworld.org/old/einstein.htm</a>
What makes this discussion so much more frustrating today is that the racial biases are inherent in the system. While the laws are structured to be. Entrap, their application is decidedly not. While I, a white male, choose to do as Einstein here suggests and live a life of example, and teach my children the destructiveness of racism, my actions do not directly help those in my country who are suffering from official and unofficial forms of discrimination.<p>I want to do more, but... "What can men do in the face of such reckless hate?"
Relevant to the subject Einstein addresses I strongly recommend the writing of Thomas Sowell.<p><a href="http://www.tsowell.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.tsowell.com/</a>
Anyone interested in this topic should read Karen Armstrong's <i>Fields of Blood</i><p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fields-Blood-Religion-History-Violence/dp/0307957047/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418494474&sr=8-1&keywords=fields+of+blood" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Fields-Blood-Religion-History-Violence...</a><p>The first chapter gives a very good rationale for where hatred and subjugation of the 'other' comes from and the book traces how this kind of socialized violence evolved over the ages.
"I can escape the feeling of complicity in it only by speaking out."<p>Sadly on the matter of unequal race relations these words ring nearly as true in 2014 as they did in 1946.
Such self-fondling pabulum around here. If Aristotle can be wrong, so can Einstein. See: IQ data.<p>I bet at least the number of people who posted want to say the same thing, but have refrained from posting. I bet frikkin' Paul Graham thinks the same thing (maybe gentler) - he's alluded to 'inexpressible ideas about race' (paraphrase) in one essay.
Einstein's simplification of this situation, even though it was made in a time where political correctness wasn't common, is a fresh view that reminds me how important it is to stop pronouncing racism and instead to each do our part in extinguishing it by action.
I highly recommend Jane Elliott's "Blue Eyes Brown Eyes" lesson for anyone who have not seen it yet:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=uQAmdZvKf6M#t=41" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=uQ...</a><p>In any discussion about racism, the stratified-by-race-IQ-chart invariably gets brought up (crtl-f for "itjustdontwork" for its latest rendition in this thread). Jane Elliott's video helped me to find a new perspective on the IQ chart data.
Very interesting. There are some other articles by Einstein there as well. The Science and Religion one is particularly interesting:<p><a href="http://www.onbeing.org/program/einstein039s-god-einstein039s-ethics/extra/einstein-science-and-religion-1940/1986" rel="nofollow">http://www.onbeing.org/program/einstein039s-god-einstein039s...</a>
love this.<p>"A large part of our attitude toward things is conditioned by opinions and emotions which we unconsciously absorb as children from our environment. In other words, it is tradition—besides inherited aptitudes and qualities—which makes us what we are. We but rarely reflect how relatively small as compared with the powerful influence of tradition is the influence of our conscious thought upon our conduct and convictions"<p>just wow. This gives me alot to reflect on and goes much deeper than racial prejudices. This can be applied to alot of areas in my life. I was one of the top in my high school class for math, and skated through college pretty easily. Came out being kind of cocky then learned pretty quickly how little I actually knew. The past few years have really really given me perspective. Speaking for myself, I seem to grow much faster when I humble myself and acknowledge my areas that need improvement.
> The ancient Greeks also had slaves. They were not Negroes but white men who had been taken captive in war. There could be no talk of racial differences.<p>As Slavic I find this inaccurate and bit offensive :-)
Bottom line, then and now, to be a racist you need either be stupid or have serious psychological issues or a combination of both.
On a side note, I always admired Einstein for his tremendous ability to abstract problems. I believe he is the co-inventor of the "thought experiment" with Mach.
You can always feel this ability in his writings.