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Culture War Roundup for the week of January 9, 2023

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Well okay, let's check his «apology» one more time. First of all I think his original text does not merit any apologies because it already included necessary caveats for its context, and only dishonest actors would insist on demanding things be justified outside of their original context. Moreover, affirming the taboo power of the «n-word», as if it were some automatically acting evil spell that harms Blacks, is both sadly hilarious and constitutes a social harm by infantilizing the body politic – akin to lead emissions. But that's an edgy aside.

Original: Blacks are more stupid than whites. ... It's just that based on what I have read, I think it is probable that black people have a lower average IQ than mankind in general, and I think that IQ is highly correlated with what we normally mean by "smart" and stupid".

Apology: I completely repudiate this disgusting email from 26 years ago. It does not accurately represent my views, then or now. [A ton of contemptible handwringing. Cringe!].

...I also think that it is deeply unfair that unequal access to education, nutrients, and basic healthcare leads to inequality in social outcomes, including sometimes disparities in skills and cognitive capacity. ... Are there any genetic contributors to differences between groups in cognitive abilities? It is not my area of expertise, and I don’t have any particular interest in the question. I would leave to others

The fuck? It's the same picture. Maybe it's him who's in a bubble. Is he actually under the impression that his attackers are misinformed but well-meaning peasants with pitchforks, or maybe dumb niggers who can be hypnotized with a string of multisyllabic words and thus miss the implication? They aren't. This was bound to only make them more bloodthirsty. Does he, truly, «repudiate» it completely, or simply regret its presentation and some fluff? Clearly the following. So he has lied. He does what a Mottizen with a particularly spicy and poorly-supported take can do when backed into a corner: erect a Motte that the charity rule prohibits dismissing out of hand, and keep both the dignity of standing for one's truth and the appearance of being a reasonable interlocutor. Only he's not on the Motte (could someone invite him?), he's exposed to Twitter where this waffling is instantly called out. I agree with wokes that he's insincere. This is worse than saying nothing: he's scared out of his wits, so he simultaneously affirms their moral superiority and his guilt, but does not let go of the issue of his alleged guilt.

What about eugenics? Do I support eugenics? No, not as the term is commonly understood. ... I would be in favor of some uses and against others. Broadly speaking, I’m favorable to wide parental choice in these matters, including for some applications that would qualify as “enhancements” rather than “therapies”—to the extent that this distinction makes sense.

Bruh. So he supports eugenics in the sense currently wielded – and loathed – by progressives. Reminder, he wrote the apology in advance, knowing that somebody was rummaging through his trash:

I have caught wind that somebody has been digging through the archives of the Extropians listserv with a view towards finding embarrassing materials to disseminate about people. ... But I fear that selected pieces of the most offensive stuff will be extracted, maliciously framed and interpreted, and used in smear campaigns. To get ahead of this, I want to clean out my own closet, and get rid of the very worst of the worst in my contribution file.

Why did he bring up eugenics on his own?

He should have let them make the first move. Scott near-painlessly shook off Topher Brennan publicizing his old emails (also affirming HBD, and even giving some credit to neoreactionaries!) precisely because he didn't bend over backwards to apologize, and certainly didn't try to anticipate what to defend from.

But I feel like you're all just anonymous internet guys who don't have realistic standards for people who are trying to actually be effective and powerful

I admit I'm more of a fighting-with-a-waiter guy than a power-maximizing guy. Sorry that my limited experience suggests he's not going to become more powerful as a result of this whimpering. Let's wait and see, shall we?