On Aggression, IQ & Social Policy

In 1973 while stationed with the 7th and 8th Special Forces Groups in the Canal Zone for operations in Central and South America, I had occasion to take a Cultural Anthropology Course offered through Florida State University. It would prove to be an intellectual epiphany and would shape and direct my studies through my baccalaureate and on to graduate school and post graduate studies. My interest in the genetics and ethological principles comparing animal predator behaviors with similar behaviors in humans would prove to be a cause of much dismay for many of my liberal Progressive professors during my University studies.


During the course I was introduced to authors Robert Ardrey, Conrad Lorenz and R.A. Dart. My term paper was well received by the professor for the insights and examples I was able to give that supported the tenets of Lorenz and Dart and so eloquently synthesized by Ardrey in African Genesis. The examples I gave were based upon my own field observations in the wild as a young cowboy. In the remote deserts of northern Nevada and the rugged mountains of Idaho I had observed aggression first hand in the behavior of both domesticated stock and wild animals. The ethological connections I drew were based upon my observations of the predatory and violent behavior of minority populations on the mean streets of Los Angeles and the behavior of soldiers and the enemy during the Viet Nam War.


Aggression is part and parcel of the behavior patterns of most species including humans. The territorial imperative for physical space, sexual rights, and access to limited resources is defined by applied aggression whether it be on the savannas of Kenya, the ghetto thug committing a violent crime, or the Wall Street broker "making a killing." The behaviors I had observed in the black communities of South Central Los Angeles and the Latino populations of the San Fernando Valley and East L A as a Los Angeles Police Officer confirmed the ethological perspective that man's behavior very closely mirrors that of the advanced predators. Our basic instincts, hard wired into the reptilian sub cortex portions of our brains do not differ from the four legged predators with whom we share this planet.


The more I studied, the more I became convinced that in the Western civilized portions of the world, we were doomed to failure in most of our domestic crime control policies, particularly in those areas where high representations of minority populations exist in the closed communities of the inner cities. Hyper-sexuality, low impulse control, an abysmal lack of responsibility, a deliberate hostility to and rejection of the basic codes of civilized behavior, violence and aggression were the prominent behaviors that I had to deal with on the streets of Los Angeles. Britain, France and Germany are experiencing similar problems today with their large immigrant populations from north Africa and the Middle East. The same anti-social behaviors were present but at minuscule levels by comparison in the Asian and Caucasian areas of the city. The incidence of violence, robbery, homicide, theft, rape, and general disorder that were present in the inner city demographics I was exposed to could not be laid at the feet of white oppression or poverty. There had to be something more fundamental in the very natures of those perpetrating such misery upon others.


Caveat: Before I go any further, allow me to clarify my position regarding minorities. This medium does not provide sufficient space to provide in depth stratification and differentiation of various minority populations. Among the intellectually impoverished, the immediate knee jerk reaction is to claim that my observations are based upon a racist interpretation founded upon color. The questions and hypothetical offerings contained herein are directed towards the statistically supported data definitively demonstrating a correlation between identifiable demographic populations and their disproportionate representation in prison populations, homicide rates and involvement either individually or collectively in extreme violence. It is recognized that within any minority population, there are individual and group differences in IQ, competency in the skills necessary to be successful in the post-industrial world, and involvement in violence and criminal activity.

I was raised in the Western United States in what is referred to as cow country by those that live there, and fly over country by the urban elites that view such country as a source for resource pillage. As an Anglo, I was a distinct minority in a largely Mexican community. My classmates, best friends, and girl friends were of Spanish heritage. During the summers the only thing that differentiated me was my hair was a bit lighter, with the exception of my Spanish friends with Castillian backgrounds. During the winter months, I was a bit paler. Nobody thought anything of it. Mexican was not a pejorative term, neither was Anglo. They were wonderful people with strong family values, overwhelmingly devout Catholics, the concepts of loyalty, honesty, and honor were not mere terms like the tatted up gang banging thugs of today. I have watched in dismay as these communities have disintegrated into social chaos. The pathetic academics and social entrepreneurs that have ascended into leadership positions in our society have destroyed entire generations by poisoning them with terms like oppression, diversity, inclusiveness, affirmative action, exploitation, victim hood, and so forth.

As a simplified example of the differences between the 1950s and now, watch the old Western movies where the Spanish culture is celebrated in clothing, culture, music, language and relationships.

All of our social control mechanisms are predicated upon a firm denial that violence is in the very nature of man. My intellectual curiosity was aroused by the questions of what accounts for the extreme differences in the various American sub-cultures in which violence is so prevalent in some but considered unacceptable in others? Why is it that in the Jewish and Asian sub-cultures education and hard work are expected and in the street cultures of black and Hispanic youth, violence is celebrated and rewarded?


Eventually, my research interests turned to the relationships of IQ, intellectual competency and behavior patterns. However, in the politically correct atmosphere of a large University, these questions were prohibited from being investigated. During my doctoral studies, I wanted to do a major research paper on these questions and my dissertation chair advised me that such an undertaking would be academic suicide. No matter how unbiased the research, how elegant the scholarly presentation of the findings, the topic and the research question were not to be addressed. It infuriated me. What happened to autonomy of inquiry? What happened to an unfettered right to pursue the scientifically tested search for truth?


IF such research were, hypothetically, to show that there is a connection between genetic groupings and IQ, and, if the connection between IQ and criminal or anti-social behavior were found to be at the very least correlative, what effect would that have upon all human relations and institutions within any given political or sociological environment? It seemed to me that attempts to identify the causal nature of a problem is the basic prerequisite to finding a solution. The attempt to fix a problem without recognizing its source is an exercise not just in futility, but stupidity.



In particular, the notion that IQ might be an element in behavior patterns was not to even be considered. The examination of the potential unequal distribution of IQ among various populations was viewed as the very worst sort of intellectual heresy.


The moral development theories of Kohlberg and to a lesser extent Piaget,were particularly relevant. Kohlberg's observation that moral development proceeds apace intellectual development was particularly intriguing. It seemed reasonable to make the hypothetical argument that if IQ were found to be genetically determined and possibly lower in some groups, at least within the first standard deviation, and if there existed a correlative higher incidence of crime in that same grouping, could it not be argued that the capability for moral development might actually be genetically impaired? The social and political implications of such a finding would be profound indeed. A falsification of the same hypothesis would also be beneficial in addressing racism and bigotry.


During my years of University teaching I had occasion to correspond with Dr. Richard Lynn at the University of Ulster, Dublin, regarding his studies on IQ, race and the differences in national incomes.

http://www.rlynn.co.uk/


His research and findings are fascinating and extraordinarily controversial. Hence, his work is viewed as anathema by the liberal Progressive left no matter the excellence of the methodology or the accuracy of the conclusions. "The Bell Curve" by Murray and Hernstein also caused discomfiture to the same crowds of intellectual elites that manage policy recommendations by denial. Much of the data is troubling, but a sound intellectual approach requires the analysis of data so that it can either be gathered into the existing knowledge base or discarded.



The homicide rates in this country when cross tabulated by race of offender, race of victim using minority populations as the database and a similar comparison done of Anglo and Asian rates of homicide and violent crime, produce staggeringly disproportionate results. For one thing, the data supports the over representation of black and Hispanic inmates in our overcrowded prison system. The question remains, why are these primary groups of violent offenders concentrated in demographic groupings clearly identified by race, and why do these same demographic groupings perform well below average on IQ tests?


Our collective political and social policy response, spearheaded by the academic community for the past forty plus years has been to deny that there is a connection between intelligence and criminal behavior. If the question is never researched in an unbiased manner, we will never know the truth about the connection or lack thereof between IQ, race and crime. We may be certain of continued failure in our crime management policies, and, by default, for the sake of feel good politics, we are quite literally condemning many of our innocent citizens to death and suffering.

Explain to me how this is beneficial to or an intelligent response on the part of our society.

The Far Rider
See to your weapons and stand to your horses