Are there dangerous ideas?

[UnseenParticipant]

Ideas that need to be suppressed?

People do get into trouble for saying some things.

Are there some ideas so wrong or dangerous that we need to put them behind an intellectual firewall so that we can’t even discuss them?

What are they?

[Reg the Fronkey FarmerModerator]

Ideas may be considered dangerous if they seem to challenge the orthodoxy of current beliefs or understandings. Such ideas are often considered heresy when they first emerge only to later become the “new orthodoxy”. Christians murdered Bruno in 1600 for expressing his own opinions. They often imprisoned people, burnt women, burnt books and exiled others because they had their own ideas. Now most 7 years olds hold these ideas to be true and can express them without fear of torture, imprisonment or murder by the Christians. It is more a case that the owners of the ears that hear the new idea are dangerous and not the idea itself.

All ideas should be allowed to compete in the free marketplace of ideas. It they have merit they will flourish, if not they will linger for a while before they die from intellectual embarrassment.

[jakelafortParticipant]

The free marketplace of ideas idea is an ideal of the enlightenment. A delightful idea it is…it is…it aint so though…

[UnseenParticipant]

Are you familiar with the controversy surrounding the book The Bell Curve? It’s regarded as a toxic study due to its comparison of the races over the matter of intelligence.

Sports prognosticator Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder was fired by CBS for saying on air that blacks are better athletes due their heritage of slavery.

Statements about differences in inherent abilities or traits between the sexes have also gotten many people into trouble. Asian students are objecting to facing higher college entrance standards based on the idea that Asians are better at math (the intention being, I suppose, that college math programs are trying to give non-Asians a fighting chance of getting into math and science programs).

There’s a small assortment of what some people would call dangerous ideas needing to be suppressed.

 

[jakelafortParticipant]

Charles Murray was interviewed by Sam Harris. Came off a reasonable guy without a trace of bigotry. But he challenged the orthodoxy and that is a no-no. And now BLM movement does not want to hear that the cops kill blacks at greater rate is false. But it is false.

[jakelafortParticipant]

sMy memory of Jimmy the Greek is that he said slave owners bred their slaves for strength. So the slave owner selected the biggest strongest males and females to reproduce and that is the explanation for current superiority of black athletes. I don’t know if he was a racist but he had a great voice that made ya excited about football.

[DavisModerator]

• This reply was modified 4 years, 5 months ago by  Davis.

[DavisModerator]

Could you please tell me Jake what data you are using to defend the preposterous claim that black people aren’t being killed by police at a much higher proportion than their population? WTF?

[UnseenParticipant]

Davis wrote:

Could you please tell me Jake what data you are using to defend the preposterous claim that black people aren’t being killed by police at a much higher proportion than their population? WTF?

He might be basing it on arguments like these made by Sam Harris. Many would  consider Sam’s ideas dangerous.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 5 months ago by  Unseen.

[jakelafortParticipant]

Davis it is not my original research. It is the opinion of Sam Harris after looking at statistics. He is also aware of Black intellectuals who share his opinion and were willing to be interviewed but since it is such a shocking and unorthodox conclusion he did podcast himself. I have differed from Sam only on a few issues and found him to have integrity.

[jakelafortParticipant]

Damn, Unseen, that was so close to simultaneous!

[UnseenParticipant]

jakelafort wrote:

Damn, Unseen, that was so close to simultaneous!

Add to the irony/coincidence that I just discovered the Sam Harris video a few minutes ago. LOL

[UnseenParticipant]

Davis wrote:

Could you please tell me Jake what data you are using to defend the preposterous claim that black people aren’t being killed by police at a much higher proportion than their population? WTF?

You’re not telling us, Davis, whether you consider any ideas dangerous ideas here needing to be suppressed.

[Reg the Fronkey FarmerModerator]

I understand that black males are 3.5 times more likely than white males to die from police violence.  I don’t have the stats to hand to show this but here is a well conducted study on the topic.

Is treating police violence as a public health issue a dangerous idea?

[jakelafortParticipant]

1 in a thousand black men can expect to be killed by police?

That is perhaps true in a few cities but nationwide? No way.

[Author]

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