Commence Tearing Down the Statues Immediately
[guest post by JVW]
Add another dead white male to the ash heap of history:
A journal kept by Albert Einstein throughout his travels in the Far East, recently published by Princeton University Press, reveals xenophobic and racist attitudes that stand in stark contrast to the physicist’s legacy as a humanitarian and outspoken proponent of civil rights.
[. . . ]
But he also remarks on the people he meets, often using derogatory language to do so. His travel logs are particularly harsh on the Chinese. He says their children “are spiritless and look obtuse.”
“It would be a pity if these Chinese supplant all other races,” he continues. “For the likes of us the mere thought is unspeakably dreary.”
This daily outrage was brought to you by the good folks at NBC News. Say goodbye to the Einstein statue outside of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington.
– JVW
To be on the safe side, maybe we should close down the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton and, for good measure, all of CalTech. Clearly Chinese and Chinese-American students will no longer want to study at either now that the bitter truth is known.
JVW (42615e) — 6/14/2018 @ 8:13 pmNote: Slight edit to the title post-publication. I changed it from “Commence Tearing the Statues Down Immediately” to “Commence Tearing Down the Statues Immediately.”
JVW (42615e) — 6/14/2018 @ 8:14 pmWait till they get to his views on woman, oy vey
narciso (d1f714) — 6/14/2018 @ 8:39 pmSnorfle!
BTW, I’ve been meaning to ask you, narciso. That’s your word. You won’t be charging me a royalty, will you?
nk (dbc370) — 6/14/2018 @ 8:44 pmI got it from a Texan blogger, name escapes me now,
narciso (d1f714) — 6/14/2018 @ 8:53 pmYou know that saying about “under thirty no heart, over thirty no brain”? It’s based on a false premise. In reality, it’s the other way around. People are meaner when they’re young and kinder when they’re older. Einstein had the ignorance and arrogance of youth and as he got older he developed the wisdom and empathy which has been attributed to him. No big deal.
nk (dbc370) — 6/14/2018 @ 9:01 pmMadness.
It seems far away but I feel it. It will come to me eventually.
Patricia (3363ec) — 6/14/2018 @ 9:02 pmEinstein never taught at CalTech.
Kevin M (752a26) — 6/14/2018 @ 9:28 pmWait till they get to his views on woman, oy vey
Einstein’s view of most people was “Nice Doggie!”
Kevin M (752a26) — 6/14/2018 @ 9:33 pmEinstein never taught at CalTech.
OOOps. Yes he did in the early 30’s.
Kevin M (752a26) — 6/14/2018 @ 9:34 pmIn the 1930s all Pacific Asians were personae non gratae under the Chinese Exclusion Acts, which were not repealed until 1943 by the Magnuson Act a/k/a Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act of 1943. Einstein’s low opinion of the Chinese (if such it was) was the supreme Law of the Land.
nk (dbc370) — 6/14/2018 @ 9:42 pmOOOps. Yes he did in the early 30’s.
How dare you question me?
Seriously though, Einstein very shrewdly would ditch the East Coast winters to come to the sunshine of Pasadena for a few months.
JVW (42615e) — 6/14/2018 @ 9:45 pmAlert the press. Einstein was human.
He was weak enough to think shallow thoughts even though he could also contemplate at depths unfathomable to 99.999% of mankind.
harkin (e5c973) — 6/14/2018 @ 9:48 pmAlert the press.
Quite the opposite: the press is alerting us. Where would we be without our ever-so-woke media leading us to the social justice promised land?
JVW (42615e) — 6/14/2018 @ 10:01 pmIf he had intended these thoughts for the masses, he’d have published them himself. Instead he put them in a journal. Maybe we’ve made some progress over time and maybe a great man had some mistaken thoughts once in a while.
Dustin (ba94b2) — 6/14/2018 @ 10:05 pm“Quite the opposite”
Read what I wrote again. You left something out.
I have no problem with Einstein’s thoughts. I may not agree but they’re honest and he was human.
Jesse Jackson was human when he said he crossed the streets at night to avoid young black men.
Gandhi was human when he protested Indians having to use colored restrooms in South Africa.
H L Mencken was human when he recorded his thoughts on the negro brain.
John Wayne was human when he equated black education levels with white supremacy.
Roger Ebert was human when he said he’d rather be called a ni**er than a slave.
People need to lighten the F up.
harkin (e5c973) — 6/14/2018 @ 10:35 pmharkin, I think you need to lighten up. The attitude towards JVW, of all people, is uncalled for.
Patterico (115b1f) — 6/14/2018 @ 10:58 pm@13. Alert the press. Einstein was human.
Fake news?!
“Einstein was probably one of them.” – Team Leader [Merrill Connally] ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ 1977
DCSCA (797bc0) — 6/15/2018 @ 12:52 amI have never understood this business of looking at other people from other times using modern Teh Narrative Glasses.
On the other hand, Joy Reid is still standing there in judgement of others, despite her own, um, prior transgressions that she would not forgive in others.
Simon Jester (1abdcb) — 6/15/2018 @ 5:06 amBut, but, but … we have internet and sriracha sauce and all they did was win a world war on two oceans and three continents, Simon.
nk (dbc370) — 6/15/2018 @ 5:16 amugh kellogg’s cereal is chock full of salmonella
happyfeet (28a91b) — 6/15/2018 @ 5:42 amIt was Rachel Lucas,
We have the internet in part thanks to Von neumann an other curmudgeonly exile.
narciso (d1f714) — 6/15/2018 @ 5:44 amRe the statues in Washington DC, I don’t think the #1 and #2 aggrieved minorities of the DC-MD-NOVA would give a spit, probably say the same things about the Chinese but in “roasted” style.
urbanleftbehind (5cb123) — 6/15/2018 @ 5:45 amIs that pre- or post-Trump inspired repatriotization of plants to its Battle Creek MI HQ, happyfeet?
urbanleftbehind (5cb123) — 6/15/2018 @ 5:47 amRepratriation, my bad.
urbanleftbehind (5cb123) — 6/15/2018 @ 5:48 amIts like disdaining kepler because of his personal issues
https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/john-von-neumann-and-origins-modern-computing
narciso (d1f714) — 6/15/2018 @ 6:00 amTycho Brave lived life, though, but he is known more a cautionary tale against holding it until the last minute.
urbanleftbehind (5cb123) — 6/15/2018 @ 6:06 amPfft! The man was born 1879 for crying out loud. Even 100 year-old geniuses are bound to have some shortsightedness and most reasonable people recognize that. No one wants to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
People judging us 100 years from now will surely find some faults with us, just the same.
On the other hand, if their only claim to fame is fighting for slavery or the like, yes, tear down their statue. It is nothing but a reminder of old, immoral bigotry.
Tillman (a95660) — 6/15/2018 @ 6:12 amE pleb vista, how do you think we get to the Yang’s and the kongs
narciso (d1f714) — 6/15/2018 @ 6:13 amRead this a few days ago. Yes, there will be calls for his head on a platter even if it’s only the statue. The mob must be fed.
NJRob (b00189) — 6/15/2018 @ 6:27 amMeanwhile, let’s just whistle by, while racism like this currently emanates from the Republican Party:
But at least there are calls, even from Republicans, for this abomination to resign.
Tillman (a95660) — 6/15/2018 @ 6:28 amTillman – “People judging us 100 years from now will surely find some faults with us, just the same.”
I have often told my my liberal friends that 100 years from now, when birth control is perfect and artificial wombs are on every street corner – they shouldn’t be surprised if the pro-choice movement is put on par with the extermination of Jews or owning slaves.
bendover (8f3556) — 6/15/2018 @ 6:29 amEnoch Powell said words to that effect in 1967, and their 400 acid attacks just last year,
narciso (d1f714) — 6/15/2018 @ 6:35 am@32. I’m actually a little more conservative on abortion than our current law (I can’t speak for anyone else). Republicans have blown that issue with their simpleton yes/no, on/off attitude towards it. You can’t force a woman to carry a baby for the man who raped her, for example. (Would you?) Also, it is ignored that many abortions occur to brain-dead babies, or at least that sadly occurs. Incest is another problem too. You can’t simply say all abortions are wrong, because of these type issues. There are exceptions.
Tillman (a95660) — 6/15/2018 @ 6:37 amTillman – “You can’t simply say all abortions are wrong, because of these type issues.”
I’m agnostic when it comes to abortion law. At the same time I am crystal clear in the knowledge that if I took a cell from Tillman, and a cell from a fetus, handed them both to a lab for identification – both would come back as human.
bendover (8f3556) — 6/15/2018 @ 6:46 amYou think the Enoch Powell of the lower 48 would have made a Cuban exception? Heck, downstate rural Illinois, the bedrock of what passes for a conservative Republican beachhead here, was like send that little sp*c Back with his momma back in 2000.
urbanleftbehind (5cb123) — 6/15/2018 @ 6:46 am@35 If you destroy an acorn, is that the same as killing an oak tree? No, it’s not the same.
Tillman (a95660) — 6/15/2018 @ 6:52 amabortion’s very controversial i think but it’s super-easy not to have an abortion if you don’t want to
it’s much much easier to avoid than carbs that’s for sure
happyfeet (28a91b) — 6/15/2018 @ 6:57 ampro-tip: if it has “sandwich” in the name you can’t have it
happyfeet (28a91b) — 6/15/2018 @ 6:58 amThe Vandals didn’t destroy Rome, it was that the citizens became enlightened and tore down their statues and aqueducts for being built by unenlightened people.
Dejectedhead (4bae86) — 6/15/2018 @ 7:00 amTillman – “If you destroy an acorn, is that the same as killing an oak tree? No, it’s not the same.”
150 years ago – If you kill a slave, that’s OK, they’re only property.
75 years ago – if you kill a jew, that’s OK, they’re subhuman.
Now – If you destroy an acorn, that’s OK, its not an oak tree.
Jeez, Tillman – the argument was how people will judge us 100 years from now. I told you – I’m agnostic regarding the current abortion laws. In a sense I’m worse then the people who truly believe that there is no innocent victim in this transaction.
bendover (8f3556) — 6/15/2018 @ 7:07 am@41. A conceptus, at least at a few days old, doesn’t even have a brain. It’s not the same as killing a human in the full sense of the word.
Tillman (a95660) — 6/15/2018 @ 7:12 amDejectedhead – “The Vandals didn’t destroy Rome, it was that the citizens became enlightened and tore down their statues and aqueducts for being built by unenlightened people.”
Heinlein called that “bad luck.”
Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as “bad luck.”
bendover (8f3556) — 6/15/2018 @ 7:13 amDepends on how you view the sanctity of life, Tillie. I’m about 90% certain you have no children.
Colonel Haiku (79ca52) — 6/15/2018 @ 7:14 am“Easy to not have an abortion if you don’t want to.”
I know what you meant but I’ll jump in with a non sequitur to say that’s not really true for everyone.
And come to think of it, certainly not a certain spiritless generation of Chinese people, though that’s not the here and now. Also lots of them had little trouble avoiding carbs, unfortunately large numbers died of it.
I’m about as pro choice as anyone you’ll meet, but there’s something to be concerned about when the law itself begins to hint that it is a positive moral obligation, as coercion can’t be far behind.
SarahW (3164f0) — 6/15/2018 @ 7:17 am“A conceptus, at least at a few days old, doesn’t even have a brain. It’s not the same as killing a human in the full sense of the word”
That’s why its called a life cycle – a human life cycle.
“…not the same as killing a human in the full sense of the word”
You keep using modifiers to make yourself feel more justified in your beliefs. That’s OK, that’s what rational humans do – they rationalize. Once again, in 100 years, don’t be surprise how our ancestors judge us.
bendover (8f3556) — 6/15/2018 @ 7:23 amPowell I believe Urdu, among his other skills, the point is about transformative immigration patterns, as we see in Germany today
narciso (f9b4cc) — 6/15/2018 @ 7:23 amSo whose to say:
http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/new-insight-into-india
narciso (f9b4cc) — 6/15/2018 @ 7:37 am“harkin, I think you need to lighten up. The attitude towards JVW, of all people, is uncalled for.”
If you think I was telling JVW to lighten up, you are mistaken.
I only asked J to re-read what I said, about people being human, and which was omitted in my quote J referenced, a point which I think is lost on the press J referenced.
harkin (e5c973) — 6/15/2018 @ 8:32 am“On the other hand, if their only claim to fame is fighting for slavery or the like, yes, tear down their statue. It is nothing but a reminder of old, immoral bigotry.”
This argument is used to condemn statues of Stonewall Jackson, who fought for the South and yet pre-war broke VA law by teaching blacks to read.
http://www.roanoke.com/webmin/news/church-window-illuminates-complexity-of-past/article_26b3949f-0e73-5632-89cc-587654ad0eb6.amp.html
harkin (e5c973) — 6/15/2018 @ 8:39 am“ Incest is another problem too.”
Its also quite often rape, and even rape of a minor or pre-teen.
It’s such a huge problem that Planned Parenthood refuses to report it, along with non-incest rape.
http://dailycaller.com/2015/09/03/report-planned-parenthood-allegedly-failed-to-report-rape-in-seven-states/
Incest, rape and birth defects are a very small percentage of abortions. The number one runaway reason mothers kill their children is they are inconvenient.
Ask any pro-abortion person if it would be OK to change the law to still permit abortion for rape, incest and birth defects but prohibit it for inconvenience and the argument instantly changes to freedom of choice.
harkin (e5c973) — 6/15/2018 @ 8:50 amI only asked J to re-read what I said, about people being human, and which was omitted in my quote J referenced, a point which I think is lost on the press J referenced.
No worries. I was only making a joke about the fact that it used to be the citizens who would work themselves into an outrage, and the press would duly cover it. These days, it’s the press working to convince the citizens that they need to be outraged. So instead of “alert the press” it is now “alert the citizenry.” I think we all agree that his news of Einstein once writing something slightly disparaging about Chinese people is a big fat nothingburger.
JVW (42615e) — 6/15/2018 @ 8:53 amThx J – I was kinda surprised anyone would take it that way.
These days, “Alert the citizenry” seems more like “grab your torches and pitchforks, lets destroy someone we disagree with!” sometimes.
harkin (e5c973) — 6/15/2018 @ 10:13 amgood point about the chinese but i think we’re close to turning the page on that
China is finally ending the one-child policy. It can’t happen soon enough.
By Chen Guangcheng
June 11, 2018 at 9:11 AM
happyfeet (28a91b) — 6/15/2018 @ 10:15 amThey (the Chinese of China) know whats up in the near future.
I had a thought with regard to all this NoKo business…what if Trump is cultivating North Korea as a Trumpian proxy should Japan, China, and SK get out of line in trade matters?
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 6/15/2018 @ 10:25 amI think I read a figure somewhere that China has something like 20 million more men than women in the age group between 12 and 35, completely as a result of the “one-child” policy and the practice of aborting female fetuses. Knowing they could have only one child, couples opted to have boys based on the expectation that boys would have greater job opportunities, and would be better able to financially support parents in their old age.
The problem now is that there are millions of men who have no prospects for marriage, and incidence of crime among them is massively greater than among the rest of the population. Its impossible to know how this is going to play out over the remaining life span of these unattached males.
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 6/15/2018 @ 10:32 amHarvard admission office feels the same way about chinks. calling them cowards.
not gook (8f2293) — 6/15/2018 @ 1:34 pmTear down statues they said:
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Two Johnson County parents may be stuck with a $132,000 bill after their child damaged a sculpture inside the Tomahawk Ridge Community Center.
The child’s mother, Sarah Goodman, told 41 Action News the incident happened during a wedding reception last month.
Surveillance video obtained by 41 Action News shows the child hug the sculpture, then seconds later, it fell.
“We heard a bunch of commotion and I thought, ‘Whose yelling at my son?’” Goodman explained. “This glass mosaic torso is laying on the ground and someone is following me around demanding my personal information.”
kshb
Pinandpuller (59c9fb) — 6/15/2018 @ 11:06 pmDepends on how you view the sanctity of life, Tillie. I’m about 90% certain you have no children.
Colonel Haiku (79ca52) — 6/15/2018 @ 7:14 am
That’s within his Margin of Error.
Pinandpuller (59c9fb) — 6/15/2018 @ 11:08 pmExcept that we’re able to distinguish between someone whose life work bettered humanity who also privately wrote troubling ruminations in a personal journal, and someone who dedicated their life and work to advancing white supremacy.
TR (2c5752) — 6/16/2018 @ 4:14 pmPinandpuller @58. The “bill” is from the city’s insurance company and nothing more than proof that insurance companies are scum. We’re talking about a five-year old and a statute that was an unreasonably dangerous attractive nuisance in a public place where five-year olds could reasonably be expected to be. All the liability is on the city and the insurance company. (We’ll leave aside the question of parents’ liability for the torts of their children in the first place.) These parents need to talk to a lawyer.
nk (dbc370) — 6/16/2018 @ 5:37 pm
nk (dbc370) — 6/16/2018 @ 5:37 pmstatutestatue