Brain scan 'identifies race bias among white peopl

[Totalitarian]

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_83882....html?menu=news (http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_838829.html?menu=news)

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A brain scan that can apparently root out racists has been developed by scientists.

The technique was used on white volunteers shown photographs of black individuals.

In those with racist tendencies, a surge of activity was seen in part of the brain that controls thoughts and behaviour. Scientists believe this reflected volunteers' attempts to to curb their latent racism.

After interacting with real black individuals, the same group performed poorly in a task designed to test mental resources.

The American researchers concluded that harbouring racial prejudice, even unintentionally, stirred up an inner struggle that exhausted the brain.

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Question to Che-Lives participants: If these tests turned out to be genuine, how many of you would agree that they should be used by the state to identify and target racists?

[dancingoutlaw]

If these tests turned out to be genuine, how many of you would agree that they should be used by the state to identify and target racists?

Sounds like the cliched thought crime to me. You cannot act upon a rascist until he or she has physically broken the law. Having thought is not a crime. Example: today I was walking down the street when I fantasized about sticking a lit cigarrette into a cars gastank. Now would I ever do such a thing? Of course not. But the scene played out in my head like a bad movie. What promted it? Who knows. Just a passing thought. Did I break any laws? Did I harm anyone? So being a rascist internally is one's own demon as long as one does not act upon these thoughts in a harmful manner. If and when they do act on them then condemn them but not before.

My two cents

[Bradyman]

Yeah, you can't arrest someone for their thoughts, that's just too crazy.

Keep in mind that people aren't born racists or sexists, they are brought up with the trait. So, by perfoming such arrests, it really isn't digging out the root of the problem, its just putting more people in jail, and racism will continue to exist.

The correct method is to destroy the ideas of racism from the foundation, mainly by education and getting rid of capitalism. With this, people would be raised without the ideas of whos better than who and all forms of degredation would dissappear.

[Hampton]

So being a rascist internally is one's own demon as long as one does not act upon these thoughts in a harmful manner.

http://www.vaxxine.com/aidsniagara/graphics/bingo.gif

It's not against the law to be a racist that's somebody's own handicap. I don't know what you would want to do with them as far as what, reeducation? It's not going to be worth the effort.

[Blackberry]

Originally posted by [email protected] 17 2003, 11:38 AM
Having thought is not a crime.
George Orwell thought that there was a good possibility that thought could become a crime one day.

There's something to think about...

[flayer2]

Just as I thought . Rascism is a mental illness <_<

Why not offer this test for sensitive jobs? Police, judges , congressmen etc... They already give lie detector tests, why not a racist test?

[Totalitarian]

Rascism is a mental illness

Under what criteria would you define something as being a "mental illness"?

Should mentally ill people be refused employment? Isn&#39;t that discrimination?

[flayer2]

Rascism is a mental illness. Under what criteria would you define something as being a "mental illness"?

Actually I left a smiley beside that comment. Only someone qualified in the field can determine mental illness, however don&#39;t confuse mental illness with mental retardation.


Should mentally ill people be refused employment? Isn&#39;t that discrimination?

That would depend on the job and the extent of the illness. You wouldn&#39;t want a mentally ill person manning the missile silos.

[Blackberry]

Originally posted by fla[email protected] 17 2003, 01:08 PM
They already give lie detector tests
I wouldn&#39;t hold those &#39;lie detector tests&#39; with any credibility because the polygraph does not actually detect lies. Instead, it detects emotional responses to questions, as indicated by psychological changes associated with arousal.

For example, if you were being questioned over a murder, and were asked &#39;Did you kill the victim?&#39;, you may respond with an abnormal jump in skin response because you are guilty, or because you feel alarmed and anxious over being accused about a murder of which you may know nothing about.

I find it strange that in the United States that such tests are used. They are not used in Australia because of their inaccuracies.

[flayer2]

I&#39;m not sure of the extent of lie detector use in the us. police use them but results are not admissable in a court of law.

[dopediana]

precisely. as a lie detector test detects not lies, but increased heartbeat due to anticipation of admitting or covering up something. the more nervous you are, the more you are assumed to be lying.

[Ghost]

I agree with you. Until there is a fool proof way of making these things work properly, they shouldn&#39;t really be used at all. They are unreliable.

[kylie]

Originally posted by [email protected] 17 2003, 09:54 AM

Rascism is a mental illness. Under what criteria would you define something as being a "mental illness"?

Actually I left a smiley beside that comment. Only someone qualified in the field can determine mental illness, however don&#39;t confuse mental illness with mental retardation.


Should mentally ill people be refused employment? Isn&#39;t that discrimination?

That would depend on the job and the extent of the illness. You wouldn&#39;t want a mentally ill person manning the missile silos.
There is no set definition of mental illness that is generally accepted by all psychologists.
Some see it as a chemical imbalance,
others say it is just failing to be able to live and function &#39;normally&#39;,
its described by some as a malfunction as the of the mechanisms of our subconciousness,
others define it as feeling certain emotions such as depression or regular confusion for a long period of time,
theres the literal definition, of it being a person who is currently affected by something in a bad way, in the mind.
All these can then be bent and changed, the second definition for example, how would you define normal? It could be used to say that homosexuality is a mental illness, or also not being able to walk.
The third one relies on definitions of emotions, which themselves are also not set in stone.
So depending on who you were to ask, you would get a different response as to whether a person is mentally ill, or what a mental illness is. Such as post traumatic stress disorder.
There is then also the view that mental illness does not even exist. It is just a set of behaviours and ways of thinking that a society sees to be abnormal and not acceptable.

[suffianr]

I&#39;m not sure of the extent of lie detector use in the us. police use them but results are not admissable in a court of law.

There are ways to beat them.

[Rasta Sapian]

it would be racist to use this scientific method on any citizen, it is up to society to keep ignorant people at bay, or to reform them.

[BuyOurEverything]

Just as I thought . Rascism is a mental illness

Why not offer this test for sensitive jobs? Police, judges , congressmen etc... They already give lie detector tests, why not a racist test?

I actually agree with this. Although I realize there is no set definition of a mental illness, just as you wouldn&#39;t want someone with severe scitzofrenia manning a nuclear silo, a racist person should generally not be in a position of power or someone, like a judge or police officer. It has nothing to do with thought-crime. They would not be arrested for racism just barred from certain jobs.

This is all theoritical of course because I don&#39;t believe that test to be anywhere close to accurate, just like lie detectors. Unless the machines can be proven conclusevely to be almost 100% accurate, I would not support their use.

[apathy maybe]

Haven&#39;t read other replys so someone may have said this already,
This is bullshit&#33; The report showed that there is a bias in some WHITE STUDENTS from a particular collage. Doesn&#39;t say anything about racism etc.

[Desert Fox]

I dislike the method, people their thoughts are not always clear and sometimes as outsider you can&#39;t understand them properly. People already fear to act, now they want to make people fear to think sounds like a capitalist trick to me :-)