The End of Racism?

“Under the same historical conditions, would whites have been as damaged by slavery, and taken as long to heal?”

The lovely thing about the Question is that it is a racist trap. If A=B, then over time, they will perform the same, if tested in similar circumstances. If they do NOT get the same results, either A does NOT equal B, or the circumstances are different. Simple

When a bigot claims their answer is “yes” , he doesn’t grasp that he is either lying to himself, or he doesn’t really believe the circumstances are the same, or he is ignorant of the different results. There’s really no way out.

I’ve had people ask why I like “The Question” so much. The reason is that it is the logical equivalent of a “Three Body” problem.

If two companies claim to make equivalent widgets, and they are tested in identical circumstances, then they should have similar effectiveness, longevity, etc.

If they don’t…then either the widgets are not identical, or the circumstances of the testing are not. Simple.

Related to human beings, if group A and B are equal, then if they are tested in the same way, in the same circumstances, over time they will get the same results. If they don’t, you are defining the limits of either the innate equality, or the circumstances of the test.

So the “Question” is: “Under the same circumstances, would whites have been as damaged by slavery, and taken as long to heal?” If you believe in racial equality, it seems you’d…