Curing racism

[Loppan Torkel]

Blood pressure drug 'reduces in-built racism'

The beta-blocker drug can reduce 'subconscious' racism, the Oxford University study found.

Researchers found that people who took propranolol scored significantly lower on a standard test used to detect subconscious racial attitudes, than those who took a placebo.
..
It is thought to work by blocking activation of the peripheral 'autonomic' nervous system, and in areas of the brain involved with formulating emotional responses, including fear, called the amygdalae.

The researchers believe propranolol reduces racial bias because such subconscious thoughts are triggered by that autonomic nervous system.
..
"Biological research aiming to make people morally better has a dark history. And propranolol is not a pill to cure racism. But given that many people are already using drugs like propranolol which have 'moral' side effects, we at least need to better understand what these effects are."

But Dr Chris Chambers, from Cardiff University's School of Psychology, said the results should be treated with "extreme caution".

Link to study

Thoughts?

Kind of interesting and I'm not opposed to treating offenders, if medication might help, but as the article states, actively trying treating people to make people morally better seems like a risky slope. Research on what triggers certain attitudes might be useful though.

 

[wilycoyote]

I think those "Say No To Racism" signs at soccer games are clearly enough to end the bigotry.

 

[Kyriakos]

If you saw a small dog playing with the cylinders and spheres and apparently having formed some model of the make-up of a chemical, it would be equally significant to claim the dog knows chemistry, than would be to present this discovery as something either poignant or effective. We know too little of the complicated web that is the brain to trigger such developments in it i think.

 

[Traitorfish]

What practical application could this possibly have?

 

[Loppan Torkel]

If you saw a small dog playing with the cylinders and spheres and apparently having formed some model of the make-up of a chemical, it would be equally significant to claim the dog knows chemistry, than would be to present this discovery as something either poignant or effective. We know too little of the complicated web that is the brain to trigger such developments in it i think.

Too little to discuss it in a gaming related off-topic forum?

 

[Kyriakos]

Too little to discuss it in a gaming related off-topic forum?

Good point. I maintain though that this is a bit like my dog parallelism.

 

[Loppan Torkel]

What practical application could this possibly have?

We add it to the water supply along with the gay medication.

 

[Bootstoots]

I suppose this is a little bit better than declaring a War on Racism.

 

[Bugfatty300]

Isn't conscious racism a bigger problem?

 

[Defiant47]

Isn't conscious racism a bigger problem?

This.

People have to make a conscious effort. I haven't been the holiest of people when it comes to racism. I even was a little bit racist when I was younger. But I knew it was wrong and made a conscious effort to counteract it.

It's more important to know why racism is wrong and to choose not to engage in it, than it is to not be racist in the first place. The latter occurs over the long run when people engage in the former.

 

[Mr. Dictator]

Why should science do what is our responsibility as decent human beings?

Would someone taking this medication be explicitly admitting their racism?

 

[LucyDuke]

Kind of interesting and I'm not opposed to treating offenders, if medication might help, but as the article states, actively trying treating people to make people morally better seems like a risky slope. Research on what triggers certain attitudes might be useful though.

Offenders? Do you mean just rasists?

 

[AlpsStranger]

This is the kind of stuff that Alex Jones thinks liberals want to do. Fortunately, most of us would be horrified by this kind of thing.

 

[dIZZyBlIZZy]

Offenders? Do you mean just rasists?

Yeah...it does sound like the two are mixed in his sentence. While as vile and moronic as they are, people are not criminal just because they express prejudice and/or racist viewpoints.

While the majority of our correctional system (especially those with STG tags) are white/black supremacists, One cannot say that most racists are or are not criminal. I cannot see an attempt to do so as anything more than a straw man argument.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

I'm highly skeptical of this.

also, just curious, how many Americans are still racist?

 

[AlpsStranger]

I'm highly skeptical of this.

also, just curious, how many Americans are still racist?

While I'm sure you can get an army of libertarians and other "colorblind society" advocates to line up and assure you that it's down to like 1% of Mississippi, my personal experience says otherwise. Good old fashioned white-on-whatever racism still seethes under the surface in most places.

Granted, I'm not sure the government can really *fix* it, but it definitely exists.

 

[LucyDuke]

The government can't fix it.

 

[pesgores]

I want to conserve my racism. No thanks.

 

[vonbach]

Isn't conscious racism a bigger problem?

Problem to whom? "Racist" is just code for white now anyway.
Their accusing 3 year olds of "racism."

 

[holy king]

"Racist" is just code for white now anyway.

so people who take this pill will change skin colour?

oh please, let it be green.