James D. Watson, the eminent biologist who ignited an uproar last week with remarks about the intelligence of people of African descent, retired today as chancellor of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island and from its board. New York TimesI submit to you that James D. Watson showed symptoms of extreme color-aroused disorder. He showed extremely color-aroused ideation, ie. that simply having a different skin color could make a whole continent of people, Africans, less intelligent than people with white skin. That is extreme ideation.
James D. Watson also manifested extreme behavior. In spite of the societal mores and rules against insulting people based on their skin-color, Mr. Watson EXPRESSED in public his opinion that Blacks were inherently less intelligent than whites. The willingness and, indeed, compulsion to express negative opinions about others based on their skin-color in public is a symptom of extreme color-aroused disorder.
As with alcoholism and drug addiction, CONSEQUENCES incurred as a result of symptomatic behavior are also one key to measuring the severity of the disease. In this case, Dr. Watson created an international firestorm, had his book tour canceled, discredited himself, and then was forced to retire in shame as a result of his behavior. Although American society has not always responded to extreme color-aroused behavior in this manner, it often does now, because many people have a clearer understanding of the harm that is done to the fabric of society by color-aroused hatred behaviors. Society wants to deter and discourage those behaviors by punishing them wherever the occur.
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