# Albert Einstein: Racist and Xenophobe **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 17, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591 "2020-07-17T16:16:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/1 "2020-07-17T16:16:47Z")
> **[Einstein's travel diaries reveal 'shocking' xenophobia](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/12/einsteins-travel-diaries-reveal-shocking-xenophobia)** > > Private journals kept by the scientist and humanitarian icon show prejudiced attitudes towards the people he met while travelling in Asia > [@](#): > > “Einstein’s diary entries on the biological origin of the alleged intellectual inferiority of the Japanese, Chinese, and Indians are definitely not understated and can be viewed as racist – in these instances, other peoples are portrayed as being biologically inferior, a clear hallmark of racism. The disquieting comment that the Chinese may ‘supplant all other races’ is also most revealing in this regard,” writes Rosenkranz. > > “Here, Einstein perceives a foreign ‘race’ as a threat, which … is one of the characteristics of a racist ideology. Yet the remark that must strike the modern reader as most offensive is his feigning not to understand how Chinese men can find their women sufficiently attractive to have offspring with them. In light of these instances, we must conclude that Einstein did make quite a few racist and dehumanising comments in the diary, some of which were extremely unpleasant.” This is rather shocking given Einsteins reputation as a humanist and his recognition by the UNHCR in support of refugees. Its a reminder that the first place to fight racism is inside each of us. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/2 "2020-07-17T16:28:44Z")
Beware of your heroes. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/3 "2020-07-17T16:39:45Z")
Also, pretty much any famous person from before about 1975, whose name you draw out of a hat, will be racist and xenophobic. And beware where you write your most private thoughts. You might think they are for your eyes only, but if you become famous, then 100 years later, someone might publish them. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/4 "2020-07-17T16:43:21Z")
While I agree with the gist of your thoughts, the auther did deal with them near the end of his peace. > [@](#): > > Rosenkranz told the Guardian that although views like Einstein’s were prevalent at the time, they were not universal. “That’s usually the reaction I get – ‘we have to understand, he was of the zeitgeist, part of the time’ – but I think I tried here and there to give a broader context. There were other views out there, more tolerant views,” he said. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/5 "2020-07-17T16:47:43Z")
Well he seemed more of a fan of the Japanese than the Chinese. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/6 "2020-07-17T16:55:41Z")
Yeah-- I’m fortunate that one of my heroes, for all her suicidal ideation and general black cloudiness, was very anti-racist going back to the 1920s, and democrat-cum-socialist going back almost as far. She might be called out for a slight bit of anti-Semitism, but she had a Jewish father she didn’t get along with, and a strong streak of self-deprecation. Chalk it up to that. Dorothy Parker. Incidentally, she had no children, or a living spouse, so she left her estate, and the proceeds from her work, to Dr. King, and he left them to the NAACP. So any time you by a copy of anything by Dorothy Parker, the royalties benefit the NAACP, who gave a home to her mortal remains (ashes). ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/7 "2020-07-17T18:09:08Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > This is rather shocking In 1922? I’d say it’s the opposite of shocking, as a reaction to encountering a totally alien culture, people largely living in poverty with poor education, in a world where differences between “races” were widely accepted as a biological fact. The enlightened modern understanding that there are no significant innate differences between human subpopulations was far from obvious in such a world. It would have been a great virtue for Einstein to have been one of the few to see this at the time, but I think it’s ridiculous to chastise him for _failing_ to see it. Take a look at mainstream BBC television programming **fifty years** later! ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/8 "2020-07-17T18:40:37Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > This is rather shocking given Einsteins reputation as a humanist and his recognition by the UNHCR in support of refugees. Its a reminder that the first place to fight racism is inside each of us. The world changed a lot between 1923 (when Einstein wrote in that journal) and 1950 (when the UNHCR was founded). I’d be surprised if most people (including Einstein) didn’t as well. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/9 "2020-07-17T19:11:39Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > The enlightened modern understanding that there are no significant innate differences between human subpopulations was far from obvious in such a world. It would have been a great virtue for Einstein to have been one of the few to see this at the time, but I think it’s ridiculous to chastise him for _failing_ to see it. Not to mention, a lot of scientists’ perceptions of racial differences changed after the discovery of DNA. (Yes, I know Watson’s record on racism.) Also, I realize Einstein wasn’t a youth in 1920, but he did live for a while after that. How much has your thinking changed in 35 years? I know I had a few opinions at age 18 that were enlightened, but most of them were pretty embarrassing. I imagine that if I live another 35 years, I’ll be embarrassed by things I’m saying today. Heck, in 10 years (gawd willing), I’ll probably be embarrassed. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/10 "2020-07-17T19:13:02Z")
We have the Dope to remind us of our unfortunate opinions. 🥴 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/11 "2020-07-17T21:26:53Z")
We all have unsavory opinions of one sort or another if you dig deeply enough. I am more interested in how a person actually conducts themself towards others than what they wrote down in a diary at one particular point in a long life. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/12 "2020-07-17T21:34:25Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Also, I realize Einstein wasn’t a youth in 1920, but he did live for a while after that. How much has your thinking changed in 35 years? I know I had a few opinions at age 18 that were enlightened, but most of them were pretty embarrassing. I imagine that if I live another 35 years, I’ll be embarrassed by things I’m saying today. Heck, in 10 years (gawd willing), I’ll probably be embarrassed. Particularly since during the years between 1920 and 1955, the Second World War occurred, which might have changed one’s opinions about all sorts of things. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/13 "2020-07-17T21:43:57Z")
WW2 was a culmination of decades of government sponsored antisemitism in central and eastern Europe. Einstein would have been well aware of it. A man with his IQ should have easily understood how holding opinions like wondering how Chinese men could stand to have sex with Chinese women was impermissible. He was no great looker himself. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/14 "2020-07-17T23:16:09Z")
That’s because you’re thinking only of the old-man pictures of him that are so iconic. Actually, when he was young, he wasn’t so bad. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/15 "2020-07-18T13:42:22Z")
What I’m hearing a lot of people say is that his attitudes were all relative. Okay, okay… I’m going… ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/16 "2020-07-18T16:43:40Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > In 1922? I’d say it’s the opposite of shocking, as a reaction to encountering a totally alien culture, people largely living in poverty with poor education, in a world where differences between “races” were widely accepted as a biological fact. The enlightened modern understanding that there are no significant innate differences between human subpopulations was far from obvious in such a world. It would have been a great virtue for Einstein to have been one of the few to see this at the time, but I think it’s ridiculous to chastise him for _failing_ to see it. Yes, this. What do you call the cognitive bias when we assume that what is well-known to us should be obvious to other people? Maybe the [Curse of Knowledge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_knowledge), though that’s not exactly right: that’s more about a problem in communication. But whatever it is I’m thinking of, I think it’s what’s going on here, and what happens very often when we decry the racist (et al) attitudes of people who lived in earlier eras. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/17 "2020-07-18T18:00:22Z")
I will reiterate what I’ve often said on these board: The hardest thing for people to understand is that people in the past _thought_ differently than we do. Corollary: people are so inculcated in modern attitudes that they not only don’t believe they are doing it, and will vehemently object to have it pointed out. So, while this is clearly a sign of racism _in the twenty-first century_, it was not considered so a century ago. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/18 "2020-07-18T18:08:54Z")
Jewish teachings going back centuries have taught tolerance and the oneness of humankind. > **[Ask The Rabbis | Does Jewish Law Forbid Racism?](https://momentmag.com/ask-the-rabbis-does-jewish-law-forbid-racism/)** > > Moment's Ask The Rabbis asks where the Jewish religion, tradition and text stand on racism > [@](#): > > The most fundamental teachings of Judaism clearly dismiss racism altogether, such as “You shall love the stranger like yourself” (Leviticus 19:34), or the reminder in Genesis that all of us—regardless of race, color or belief system—were born of the same mom and dad: Adam and Eve. “Why did God create swarms of bees, prides of lions, herds of deer, schools of fish, and flocks of birds, and only one human couple? So that no one can say to another ‘My ancestry is superior to yours’” (Mishnah, Sanhedrin 4:5). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/19 "2020-07-18T18:25:20Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > A man with his IQ should have easily understood how holding opinions like wondering how Chinese men could stand to have sex with Chinese women was impermissible. He was no great looker himself. It’s not like you don’t encounter people today who are part of a minority or disadvantaged group, who argue passionately for that group, but then have no problem being bigoted towards members of another minority. They have their beliefs that they believe make it okay. And many of them are quite intelligent, because a high IQ doesn’t make you good at understanding sociology. It doesn’t even make you good at critical thinking. He was good at his specialty. Oh, and the post above mine, you are quoting a modern interpretation of what those Scriptures teach. Christians today also say that our Scripture forbids racism, but that wasn’t what (many) Christians said in 1920. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2020, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591/20 "2020-07-18T18:33:01Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Jewish teachings going back centuries have taught tolerance and the oneness of humankind. Since you quoted from Leviticus, presumably you’re also asserting that _Christian_ teachings going back centuries have taught tolerance and the oneness of humankind. So is your argument that we should retrospectively condemn all Christians and Jews throughout history who did not have the wisdom to cherry-pick that one specific verse from the Old Testament, ignore many other horrifying and morally bankrupt verses from the Old Testament; and did not have the insight and foresight to see far beyond the scientific ignorance and cultural norms of their era to embrace modern enlightened ethical standards? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albert-einstein-racist-and-xenophobe/915591.md?page=2)