Doping in Kenya and fitness for sport
Athletics doping: Kenya misses Wada deadline
Well, so much for that theory that there's something special about Kenyan genetics that makes them such good runners. (Not that it was so scientifically viable a theory anymore anyway.)
It's worth remembering that that sort of theory was part of a larger theory about African genetics and sports abilities, as an attempt to explain why blacks, whether from Africa or not, dominate in sports. And of course, that theory was included / cited in arguments attempting to defend a biological basis for distinct human races.
It's also worth pointing out just how much racism is entrenched in that theory. First, it allowed whites to feel better about themselves, because then they could tell themselves that their inferior performance compared to blacks wasn't their fault. Second, it allowed whites to be dismissive of the hard work and determination of blacks to excel at something, and to be dismissive of the skill and ability those blacks built up for themselves. Third, it allowed whites to claim that this was [supposed] evidence of the inferior intelligence of blacks, since, if blacks are genetically "built" for sports, then sports (and physical labor, which would clearly be related because of physical capabilities in general) are all blacks are good for and capable of doing. (Of course, it's a dubious assumption that fitness for sports and intellectual fitness are mutually exclusive. In fact, we have a ton of evidence to the contrary. Additionally, what we now know about the brain actually gives us good reason to think there can and perhaps should be a connection between physical fitness and mental fitness.)
On the one hand, it's good that we're trying to take anti-doping very seriously now, and cracking down, and trying to stop doping, because, you know, cheating is wrong and unfair and it creates a lie.
On the other hand, I hate to think how this might fuel some racist sentiments. And yes, of course cheating is unfair, but what do we do and how do we think of it when significant aspects of the playing field - I mean that in a much larger, broader sense, beyond the world of sport - were already unfair (unjust) to begin with for those who chose to cheat?
Well, so much for that theory that there's something special about Kenyan genetics that makes them such good runners. (Not that it was so scientifically viable a theory anymore anyway.)
It's worth remembering that that sort of theory was part of a larger theory about African genetics and sports abilities, as an attempt to explain why blacks, whether from Africa or not, dominate in sports. And of course, that theory was included / cited in arguments attempting to defend a biological basis for distinct human races.
It's also worth pointing out just how much racism is entrenched in that theory. First, it allowed whites to feel better about themselves, because then they could tell themselves that their inferior performance compared to blacks wasn't their fault. Second, it allowed whites to be dismissive of the hard work and determination of blacks to excel at something, and to be dismissive of the skill and ability those blacks built up for themselves. Third, it allowed whites to claim that this was [supposed] evidence of the inferior intelligence of blacks, since, if blacks are genetically "built" for sports, then sports (and physical labor, which would clearly be related because of physical capabilities in general) are all blacks are good for and capable of doing. (Of course, it's a dubious assumption that fitness for sports and intellectual fitness are mutually exclusive. In fact, we have a ton of evidence to the contrary. Additionally, what we now know about the brain actually gives us good reason to think there can and perhaps should be a connection between physical fitness and mental fitness.)
On the one hand, it's good that we're trying to take anti-doping very seriously now, and cracking down, and trying to stop doping, because, you know, cheating is wrong and unfair and it creates a lie.
On the other hand, I hate to think how this might fuel some racist sentiments. And yes, of course cheating is unfair, but what do we do and how do we think of it when significant aspects of the playing field - I mean that in a much larger, broader sense, beyond the world of sport - were already unfair (unjust) to begin with for those who chose to cheat?