Richard,
This is an obviously post-paleo commentary, including the snide reference to “mainstream
conservatives.” I thought that was my shtik.

Eminem can rap.

No one denies that race in some form exists, after all if it didn’t we would all look alike.  Perhaps race is nothing more than a group of people living in a geographic area for such a period of time that they start to look different, but it still is real and tangible. 

But what worries me is those who will use race as an -all-the-time factor in how they deal with people, without looking at an individual.  This attitude of lumping people into groups is what both mainstream liberals and, sadly, many paleocons do.

For example, one thing many white supremacists will use as “proof” that lighter people are genetically better than darks is the fact that dark people in Africa were still in tribal stages while Europeans were very advanced when they made contact with those tribes of lower Africa.  Problem with that theory is that the regions we call the British Isles were also stone-age tribes when the Roman’s came over, so are the White supremacists going to admit that Mediterranean folk are better by blood than those living on the western edges of the European continent?  And what does one make of North versus South American Indians, where in the North the best ruins we have are the canyon brick towns, while in the South and Central America we had giant cities of stone and Astronomers?  Also how does one square Cambodian Ancient Angkor with nearby people who were much less developed.

Clearly race and Culture do not go hand-in-hand, and I do not think we will ever know what factors and mixture of factors leads a man in a cave from sticks and loin clothes to making roads, stone monuments and agriculture

Intelligence is multifactorial.  Consider the hypothetical scenario that 5 distinct skills are required to complete an intelligence test, i.e. visual reasoning, language, etc.  Now consider that one particular group of people may lack one of these five skills, and that despite good performance in the other four categories, their performance in one area drags the overall score down.  This situation, to some extent, exists in the IQ testing world.  The factor that when removed mostly equalizes the IQ test between ethnic groups is called “g.” This explains why an African American with an “IQ” of 80 can work circles around the typical white individual with an IQ of 80:  for the white individual the IQ of 80 may represent a global brain dysfunction whereas for the AA the IQ of 80 (which is near their average) may represent poor performance in only one skill: “g.” The impetus is on psycho-metrics researchers to identify core skills, to develop tests for these core skills, and then to associate the core skill with career types.  For example, “g” may only be required for a handful of jobs (physics, physician, business strategist), and for many other positions other testable skills would be more germane.  In a multi-cultural society we need better evaluation tools to prevent unfair discrimination against both minority and majority.  Having fair testing would also help bring many intelligent, though scorned, individuals out of the shadows of racist groups.  Any comment on this?

Clearly, race and culture do go hand in hand. Whites act more like other Whites and leave civilization that are very similar to Whites in places like South America, North America, Africa, and Asia. And it goes the other way as well. Why Race by Michael Levin is a good introduction to the topic http://www.amren.com/store/why_race_matters.html
And race is more than just intelligence. Race is about many things including physical prowess, athletic ability, time preference, and a whole host of other attributes http://www.harbornet.com/folks/theedrich/JP_Rushton/Race.htm
I would suggest people grab the literature and the references of the Bell Curve and do more investigating. There is too much racial fantasy among the people who comment at this website.

Eminem is the exception that proves the rule.

I never thought I would read a veiled reference to T-Good (Taveres Goodwin) on Takimag.

I would say that culture, and particularly it’s religious and moral aspects, trump race every time.

Race is probably the easiest of the three to see, but it can be argued that it’s the least important.

The ancient Greeks used pentatonic systems a lot, as do Bretons.

The Arabs also use non-European tone scales.  Perhaps it is cultural, and not inherited.

Subterranean Homesick Blues...Bob Dylan...pretty good rap don’t ya think?

White people don’t suck at rapping...they just don’t bother practicing it all day everyday..and the ones that do, are as good as anyone. Blacks don’t suck at golfing, they just don’t spend all day everyday practicing it. And the ones that do are as good as anyone.

Follow the money trail!....Nothing happens in politics accidently. Who is the publisher of the reverand’s book? Who controls publishing in the U.S.?....Who stands to make the most out of a useful idiot? Unlike McAmnesty and Hillary , who is not quite committed to bombing everyone in the middleast? Who want’s a “PRO LOBBY” election between McCain and Hillary?....I can almost hear the LOBBY manipulating “Wright” in the form of a book publisher!.....All knows that IRAN is toast whether it be McAmnesty or Hillary?

If “Rap” is not a feature most would associate with a high culture, we should count our blessings that we “suck” in its performance.

Common sense, and worldly experience should tell one that race and other categorizations such as ethnicity, tribalism, etc., are real. I have lived and worked with and among the different races and nationalities over several decades. Except for Europeans and East Asians, most of the world’s people use logic in the sense that a pseudo chain is developed to “prove” what they desire. Listen to Rev. Wright and you will hear the cascading nonsequiters.  Aristotle’s formalizing of rules do not apply.

Many universal values which are esteemed in the West are absent. What is valued are one’s interests of the moment. Experience with latin cultures for example will frequently reveal outright denial or lies - all to preserve their sense of worth and machismo.  Raphael Palmeiro is a good example. In their culture, this is not unexpected conduct.

I have frequently observed minorities here exhibiting superior tactical skills, but lacking in any strategic sense. And their world view does not even consider the possibility that reality might exist on levels beyond their comprehension. That is why it almost always reverts to a formulation of someone conspiring to damage them.  Different cultures, different DNA, differences.

LOL roho. I knew some idiot would bring “the Lobby” into this!

Another self appointed black cracker
is the Rev. Wright
De way he dis whitey is outta sight
Ya all go church on Sunday
get down on your knees an’ pray
Old Rev. Wright passes the plate
and says son, how much will you pay?
Now he be a star, eclipsin’ Obama
kickin’ it wif the press club,
you don’ like it, yo mama
He be damning dis he be damning dat, yall got ta admit he be one
damn cool cat

This is really too funny for words.  The fact that anyone could even begin to talk seriously for a moment about something called “rap music”, an oxymoron if ever there was one, says a lot about how low we have sunk.

I would correct this Wright fellow on one point:  the non-European music of the jungle he extols does not use only those five notes he refers to.  In fact, it only uses three, endlessly repeated.  Anyone whose ears have been caressed by the enchanting sounds of a passing boombox will tell you that.

Interesting comments plus a large collection of pseudo-intellectual gibberish. May I just add that
while Northern Europeans had to be taught by the Roman empire how to organise, build and create
a modern state. Guess who taught the Romans, the Greeks. who taught the Greeks, the Egyptians and
from there… Nubians, Adulis, Great Zimbabwe. The flow of knowledge was northwards, just as the flow
of technical development was southwards. Different societies grow at different times and at different
rates. Like kids in a classroom. The responsibility that comes with knowledge is more important than
the bragging rights that many people espouse.

Fred,

If we were able to examine your own hidden agenda before deciding whether you or roho is the idiot I think you would deserve that dubious distinction.