Einstein called a "racist" and "misogynist" (racism, violent crime)
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Einstein travelled in Asia in the 1920s and kept a diary with his personal observations. He wasn't very impressed with China or India, although he liked Japan. His thoughts and impressions are understandable for a man of his era. But it's the current year, so will we see him added to the list of past heroes who's statues must come down and names removed?
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“industrious, filthy, obtuse people” he observes. He notes how the “Chinese don’t sit on benches while eating but squat like Europeans do when they relieve themselves out in the leafy woods. All this occurs quietly and demurely. Even the children are spiritless and look obtuse.” After earlier writing of the “abundance of offspring” and the “fecundity” of the Chinese, he goes on to say: “It would be a pity if these Chinese supplant all other races. For the likes of us the mere thought is unspeakably dreary.”
He later adds, in Rosenkranz’s words, “a healthy dose of extreme misogyny” to his xenophobia with the observation: “I noticed how little difference there is between men and women; I don’t understand what kind of fatal attraction Chinese women possess which enthrals the corresponding men to such an extent that they are incapable of defending themselves against the formidable blessing of offspring”.
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As for the piece it's simply a book review of what is written in Einstein's travel diary, which was recently published by Princeton University.
It was a different period in time and should be understood in that context, as all this rush to label people from history as racist or xenophobic is rather pathetic.
Einstein did more for the advancement of the human race than most, and his felow jews have been the subject of bigotry and racism for century themselves.
Last edited by Ibginnie; 06-13-2018 at 08:11 AM..
Reason: deleted quoted post
right. the problem is attempting to hold them to today's much-changed standards.
And another problem is the fact that these were private diaries and letters to family members. He was just writing down his honest observations, never intending for the Chinese to hear about them.
Even back then, such views may have seen as racist/misogynist to some folks. However, the SJW mentality of today would perhaps make the racist/misogyny of that era worse than it may have actually been.
That's what leftists call racist. Like when you observe that 13% of the population commits more than 50% of violent crime, it's suddenly labeled as racist.
That is exactly what I thought. He was just recording his observations. "Racism" as a social concept did not even exist at that time.
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That is exactly what I thought. He was just recording his observations. "Racism" as a social concept did not even exist at that time.
