Formula 1 Lewis Hamilton and STEM Excellence in the BAME community

I get that the innocent objective to Black Lives Matter is to promote people of BAME origins into areas where they are under-represented.

I get that Lewis Hamilton supports that.

But I get a whiff of hypocrisy when any organisation starts to say they have to to more to get people of BAME origins into their organisations. Especially F1.

As it's already illegal to discriminate based on race, there must be another reason why BAME people are under-represented in science and technology subjects. What needs to happen is to look at why people of BAME origins are put off such endeavours.

Not what I think these organisations are actually saying, which is to lower the threshold to allow people of BAME origins to take part on an artificial basis.

Formula 1 is about being the best in the world: the best technology, the best materials, the best engineers. I doubt whether Lewis Hamilton would countenance having a race engineer working for him that is there only because of the colour of his skin, that has been placed there to meet some quota and certainly not based on their ability to do the job. He wants to win so he wants the best in the world to be working for him. I'm surprised his fitness instructor is white, given there are so many very well qualified BAME fitness instructors around.  Although she is female, so that's a diversity box ticked I suppose.

Formula 1 is about being the best in the world and that includes the humans taking part. If people of BAME origins have not reached that level for whatever reason (but not outright racism) then that's something for themselves to look at. Where are the great BAME engineers, architects, designers? Where are the parents supporting their children in science, maths and engineering, getting them to knuckle down and gain the qualifications and experience required to excel at STEM subjects?

Why is it that these subjects do not attract the BAME population as much as for instance more physical tasks?

Just as there is a difference between men and women when it comes to technology and the sciences, it shouldn't be classed as racist to say that people of BAME origins are not interested by science and technology either. Maybe for them it's just not that interesting a subject? Maybe the successes they have in  sport compared to white people says a lot about what interests them and what they are good at? There may be the exception to the rule and by all means they should be accepted into the sciences just like any other human being, but maybe there's psychological reasons at play.

Do we cry racism when all the athletes running for Britain are black?

Maybe BAME people are just not interested in science. Is it really shocking or racist to say that? As long as the doors are open to the exception, to the BAME engineer that excels, then that should be enough. The gates are open, the opportunity is there, the playing field is equal when you get there, that's all one can hope for.

By all means outlaw the outright bigotry and racism that closes the doors to those that have the ability and aptitude. But don't cry racism when it might in fact be caused by the home environment and other social issues rather than racism.

Maybe the racism is internal to the BAME community? Maybe the lack of support, social pressures, Attitudes to STEM subjects amongst other things are the things that hold the BAME community back?

After all when you hear a BAME representative say that time is racist, or that science as a discipline is inherently racist (even though science cares not who discovers it) you have to wonder if the community are actually talking themselves out of excellence in STEM subjects.

COVID-19: Racist Virus.

It seems the government is likely to fund a report into why BAME people are among the worst affected people when it comes to COVID-19 infection.

Minorities seem to be disproportionately represented in the number of people suffering acute symptoms and requiring intensive care.

"But why?" the intersectionalists shout. Well, obviously the answer is racism.. How else could it be explained?

Oh, it's the government's fault is it? Well, not people to miss an opportunity to push minorities to the front of the queue, the leftists are saying it's poverty, lack of opportunity, government's need to do more... yadda yadda, the same old shpiel.

You can't blame poverty, because that will affect both white and ethnic minorities alike. Poverty in all races affects living standards, diet, underlying health conditions, etc. all of which affect outcomes when it comes to surviving COVID-19 or not. But I'm sure the intersectionalists will quietly ignore that fact. Or maybe the intersectional agenda is poverty is a factor, but it affects the BAME community (ever so slightly) worse (just like it affects poor white people ever so slightly worse than middle class white people). They've done it before when it conflicts with their agenda. Nothing like ignoring science when it suits them. After all these are the sort of people that say the concept of time is racist.

But what if the BAME people themselves are to blame? That would be an interesting outcome eh?

Maybe it's just genetics? Maybe it's physiology. Maybe it's social reasons?

This is where the intersectional types implode, trying to push the narrative that the BAME community are just like everyone else and it's all the fault of institutional racism, whilst ignoring biology and social differences.

Dark skinned people produce less vitamin D when in the Sun. It's a fact that most carry some level of vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D has a role in the immune system response, so higher levels of vitamin D may help fight the virus.  That's biology, it's not racist. Unless you're saying science or biology in particular is racist (see the comment about time above).

BAME communities tend to have households containing several generations. It's not poverty forcing them to do this, it's just it's more socially acceptable in BAME communities. We saw in Italy how this helps spread the virus to the older members of the community more quickly. Even middle class BAME families have lost older family members because three generations are in the same household.

So with increased risk from Age, increased risk of exposure due to societal norms and a deficiency of vitamin D to help fight the virus, it's no wonder BAME communities are hit harder. Interestingly though, they are factors they have control of.

Factors they could change for better outcomes if they were made aware of and the cause wasn't just a straight blame-the-government-game or some spurious claim of institutional racism.

The sad fact is that outcomes could be improved for the BAME community if only the facts were made available to them. Their COVID-19 outcomes could be improved by a significant factor.

But hey, it's not the first time the intersectional types have ignored science, or failed the communities they are supposed to represent. A few deaths to prove their (inaccurate) thesis are just collateral damage on the way to pushing their ideological agenda. Blaming everything on racism is just sloppy and does not serve the BAME community in any positive way.