James Watson issued an apology today, stating:
I can certainly understand why people, reading those words, have reacted in the ways they have. To all those who have drawn the inference from my words that Africa, as a continent, is somehow genetically inferior, I can only apologise unreservedly. That is not what I meant. More importantly from my point of view, there is no scientific basis for such a belief.
I haven’t yet been able to track down an explanation of exactly what he did mean, but it’s an apology. In the meantime, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory issued this statement yesterday:
The comments attributed to Dr. James Watson that first appeared in the October 14, 2007 edition of The Sunday Times U.K. are his own personal statements and in no way reflect the mission, goals, or principles of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Board, administration or faculty. Dr. Watson is not the President of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and was not speaking on behalf of the institution.
The Board of Trustees, administration and faculty vehemently disagree with these statements and are bewildered and saddened if he indeed made such comments. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory does not engage in any research that could even form the basis of the statements attributed to Dr. Watson.
This morning, the lab announced that they had suspended Chancellor Watson from all of his administrative duties pending “further deliberation by the Board.”
Tags: Anthropology, Critical Thinking, Education, Genetics
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