[ ARC forum 2 ]

Re: Racist bs...

Written by Ivan at 05 May 2003 15:30:41:

As an answer to: Racist bs... written by AJ at 04 May 2003 17:56:10:

>>Would you rather believe a logical conclusion or some Jewish doctor who profits by his handiwork and covers up his embarrassment for his beliefs?
>Jim, please don't bring your racist stereotypes and insults to this forum.
>Thanks.

I understand the natural reaction to bridle when someone says "Jewish" or some other group identifier as if it explains things. But then, sometimes, it does go a long way toward explaining things. Is there a reason to think that a Jewish doctor would have a particular view of things? We know that if he is ven casually practicing his religion that he is circumcised and believes that it is God's will that this be done. If he is of any rational bent, he will seek to find a rational explanation for the commands of God which he has inherited, from avoidance of pork and shrimp to circumcision. The obvious 'rationalistic' explanation is that these things are healthier and do not impair our lives. But this is a dangerous attitude for a researcher, who is not supposed to have a prefernce for a particular result. Of course, most researchers do have a result they belive they will find. A good researcher recognizes this and his testing is designed to disprove his theory, even though he hopes it won't. We haven't had a chance to examine the methodology of this particualr study, but it is certainly reasonable to expect a Jewish researcher to desire to show there is no loss of sensitivity from RIC. The fact that it apparently does not address the entire penis, but only the glans, certainly suggests that the tests were designed, perhaps inadvertently, to be biased. (Obviously you cannot test the foreskins of the circumcised men, but you cannot properly refer to penile senaitivity without addressing the entire penis - if that 'handicaps' the results, well, then that's actually the point, something HAS been lost). To see a test which on the face appears to be biased in a particular direction, and to see that this is the one would 'sterotypically' expect from persons of the researchers ethnic group (where that group is differentiated primarily on the basis of beliefs), takes connecting those facts out of being 'racist.'


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