General Discussion

MadHound

(34,179 posts) Thu Jul 5, 2012, 04:22 PM Jul 2012

So, is slavery responsible for the athletic performance of African Americans? [View all]

The Olympian Michael Johnson seems to think so.

"The Olympic gold medallist and BBC commentator said: ‘Over the last few years, athletes of Afro- Caribbean and Afro-American descent have dominated athletics finals.

‘It’s a fact that hasn’t been discussed openly before. It’s a taboo subject in the States but it is what it is. Why shouldn’t we discuss it?’"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2167064/London-2012-Olympics-Michael-Johnson-descendants-slaves-medals-sprint-finals.html#ixzz1zlOdi5sb

This is much the same argument that was made in the book "The Bell Curve", and the author got blasted as a racist. So is this theory now valid since it is an African American making the same argument?

67 replies

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So, is slavery responsible for the athletic performance of African Americans? [View all] MadHound Jul 2012 OP

Our Atlanta Peachtree Race on July 4th RebelOne Jul 2012 #1

That's a distance race and the winners were East African. mathematic Jul 2012 #31

lol. Boy you are just stoking it, aren't you. Solomon Jul 2012 #2

I'm stoking nothing, MadHound Jul 2012 #7

You're saying The Bell Curve was just about sprinting performance? muriel_volestrangler Jul 2012 #16

Umm, you didn't read my post did you. MadHound Jul 2012 #22

The idea of the documentary is that selection during slavery had an effect muriel_volestrangler Jul 2012 #23

Umm, what documentary are you talking about? MadHound Jul 2012 #40

The documentary Johnson presented, which the article you linked to was about muriel_volestrangler Jul 2012 #43

Heh. Busted. Now I understand the rec count for this OP Number23 Jul 2012 #54

Perhaps you should read. Indydem Jul 2012 #3

Perhaps you should read as well, MadHound Jul 2012 #5

Really? "He" said that?? Indydem Jul 2012 #6

Jimmy the Greek said it and got fired. MrSlayer Jul 2012 #4

It is not wrong to discuss it. Logically. Some people just want to complain about everything. Logical Jul 2012 #8

It was very much survival of the (physically) fittest coupled with extremely un-natural selection. Schema Thing Jul 2012 #9

Did Hitler's genocide result in smarter, survival oriented Jews? Warren Stupidity Jul 2012 #10

+1 Coexist Jul 2012 #11

That wouldn't be a good comparison muriel_volestrangler Jul 2012 #21

Arguably, yes. Look at today's Israel. They take no shit from anyone. Electric Monk Jul 2012 #28

of course Jews dominated basket ball before Hitler hmm.... Johonny Jul 2012 #34

It's not wrong HotRodTuna Jul 2012 #24

Different populations do seem to have different capabilities in sports. Marr Jul 2012 #12

Look at what people spend time doing. ananda Jul 2012 #13

IMO continuing institutionalized racism provides African-Americans with incentives ProgressiveEconomist Jul 2012 #14

No, not slavery cthulu2016 Jul 2012 #15

It's all bullshit JonLP24 Jul 2012 #57

Wheaties, it should be obvious. 2on2u Jul 2012 #17

OMG RegieRocker Jul 2012 #18

It's probably not selective breeding for slavery taught_me_patience Jul 2012 #19

Nope. Still racist. (n/t) Iggo Jul 2012 #20

Then logically african populations in the new world would be superior 4th law of robotics Jul 2012 #25

+1! uponit7771 Jul 2012 #37

Forget melanin content, look at body type. You will see that it has nothing to do with color or Egalitarian Thug Jul 2012 #26

At world-class levels we see people who have been selected to be especially good in their sports Retrograde Jul 2012 #67

Must also explain why Canadians are usually the best hocky players. JoePhilly Jul 2012 #27

Canadians were selected for Hockey 4th law of robotics Jul 2012 #29

That is better than any recent SNL writer has produced, don't ya know. jonthebru Jul 2012 #66

Culture is a huge part mathematic Jul 2012 #35

Culture plays a large part. JoePhilly Jul 2012 #48

+1! uponit7771 Jul 2012 #38

Mike...Thank your African ancestry of chasing gazelles. Seriously. vaberella Jul 2012 #30

IMO it's not genetic at all. It's not NATURE, it's 'NURTURE' by racism ProgressiveEconomist Jul 2012 #32

then why did the Chinese win more gold medals in the last summer games? Johonny Jul 2012 #33

Kicking for ignorance. cwydro Jul 2012 #36

Due to my Nordic ancestry I have been genetically selected for raping and pillaging XemaSab Jul 2012 #39

I thought Archie Bunker was long gone? n/t retread Jul 2012 #41

IMO Mr Dixon Jul 2012 #42

Trading Places? This is your basis for relating race to performance? JustABozoOnThisBus Jul 2012 #44

lol Mr Dixon Jul 2012 #45

to repeat what many are saying, it is not slavary per se, it is who in the Americas were enslaved AngryAmish Jul 2012 #46

Other way around. Their athletic skills is what made them desirable as slaves - lynne Jul 2012 #47

Wow! ProSense Jul 2012 #49

Book by John Entine mzteris Jul 2012 #50

Book's thesis overreaches mathematic Jul 2012 #58

Fail. Not much more to this. bluerum Jul 2012 #51

I think a lot of it is cultural Nikia Jul 2012 #52

He might a as well argure that it was their proximity to caucasians that makes them fast runners. The Midway Rebel Jul 2012 #53

Who cares who says it? JonLP24 Jul 2012 #55

I remember Oprah saying, in agreement with her guest that Maraya1969 Jul 2012 #56

Remember - Murray, Herrnstein and their ilk are not biologists or geneticists. entanglement Jul 2012 #59

How many generations of selective breeding does it take to change the genetics of a plant? cherokeeprogressive Jul 2012 #60

why do whites perform better than other racial groups (overall) - look at weightlifting shotput type Liberal_in_LA Jul 2012 #61

Subsaharan Africa has a very diverse population FarCenter Jul 2012 #62

Sub-Saharan Africans were not the point of the OP. cherokeeprogressive Jul 2012 #63

No, it has to do with wha tis valued loose wheel Jul 2012 #64

No. Next? flvegan Jul 2012 #65