# Dr. Albert Schweitzer, hero or zero? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 16, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476 "2005-10-16T16:20:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/1 "2005-10-16T16:20:14Z")
I had just perused the Stormfront web page and came across this [blog](http://wakingwest.blogspot.com/) quoting the famous and revered Dr. Albert Schweitzer from his 1961 book, From My African Notebook. He is quoted as follows; > [@](#): > > I have given my life to try to bring unto them the advantages which our civilisation must offer, but I have become well aware that we must retain this status; white, the superior, and they the inferior; for whenever a white man seeks to live among them as their equal, they will either destroy him or devour him, and they will destroy all his work; and so for any existing relationship or for any benefit to this people let white men from anywhere in the world who would come to help Africa remember that you must continually retain this status; you the master, and they the inferior, like children that you would help or teach. Never fraternise with them as equals, never accept them as your social equals; or they will devour you; they will destroy you." Somewhat skeptical, I sought confirmation, but all I got were questionable racist sites, [one](http://africancrisis.org/NewsView.asp?Rec=793&Action=V&Sort=P&Page=5&) of which added a statement just previous to the above quote as follows; > [@](#): > > I have given my life to alleviate the sufferings of Africa. There is > something that all white men who have lived here, must learn and know; > that these individuals are a sub-race; they have neither the intellectual, > mental or emotional abilities to equate or share in any of the functions > of our civilisation. Okay, but still no serious confirmation. After googling some biographies of Schweitzer, which had nothing to say on the subject, I hit upon [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Schweitzer). They claimed that a racist quote attributed to Schweitzer was false as follows; > [@](#): > > There is a blatantly racist quote sometimes attributed to Schweitzer to the effect that Africans are an “inferior race” and must not be treated as the equal of Whites. This quote is a fabrication; it does not appear in Schweitzer’s writings and does not reflect his respect for the African people he spent sixty years working for and with. Well this is Wikipedia after all and one must be careful. So I continued to search and came upon this [site](http://www.schweitzer.org/english/diverse/asefaq.htm) The author, after providing the racist quote answers the question “Was Schweitzer a Racist” with a long convoluted apologist dissertation of which I’ll just quote; > [@](#): > > Schweitzer might be considered a colonialist or perhaps even racist. Although a frequent response that I have had from my Gabonese friends has been a look of confusion or even bewilderment at the posing of the question, another common response has been sheer laughter. For these Africans, the moral core of Schweitzer’s life and work is very simple: he gave up a privileged life in Europe to work for decades in hardship, offering every ounce of his energy and every fiber of his body to try to help alleviate the suffering of his African neighbors. Unlike many other “missionaries”, he did not try to “win over” the souls of Africans for Christianity; he tried to heal their bodies and strengthen their spirits. Far from imposing European culture as a superior form of civilization, he instead built a “village hospital” modeled after local African villages, where patients and families could feel comfortably at home, supported by their own traditions. I’m still not completely convinced that the quote is authentic, so I seek further confirmation. But if it is true, don’t you agree that it is time to relegate this 20th century revered philosopher to obscurity . He doesn’t deserve the reverence that he has heretofore recieved. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/2 "2005-10-16T16:29:57Z")
Sounds like his entire reputation depends on whether the quote is real or fake. Just wanted to note that in his book _Indian Thought and Its Development_ Schweitzer criticized Aryan Hindu thought as “life-denying” but praised Dravidian thought as “life-affirming” (the highest value in his philosophy). In India, Aryans are stereotypically “white” in skin color while Dravidians are stereotypically “black.”\* So at least as far as Hindu thought goes, Schweitzer is on record as considering black people’s philosophy as superior to white. \*In India there are people as white as Europeans and as black as Africans, though most are along the entire continuum of skin color in between. There are no distinct color lines in India in fact. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/3 "2005-10-16T16:39:24Z")
I think it’s telling that the Schweitzer site didn’t deny the quote. They printed it in full, and then proceeded to dance all around it. Why didn’t they just say, “He never wrote that.”? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/4 "2005-10-16T16:49:46Z")
> [@The Flying Dutchman](#): > > But if it is true, don’t you agree that it is time to relegate this 20th century revered philosopher to obscurity . He doesn’t deserve the reverence that he has heretofore recieved. Do you feel that same way about Abraham Lincoln? [http://www.bartleby.com/251/](http://www.bartleby.com/251/) “I have no purpose to introduce political and social equality between the white and the black races. There is a physical difference between the two which, in my judgment, will probably forbid their ever living together upon the footing of perfect equality; and inasmuch as it becomes a necessity that there must be a difference, I, as well as Judge Douglas, am in favor of the race to which I belong having the superior position.” “I will also add to the remarks I have made (for I am not going to enter at large upon this subject), that I have never had the least apprehension that I or my friends would marry negroes, if there was no law to keep them from it; but as Judge Douglas and his friends seem to be in great apprehension that they might, if there were no law to keep them from it, I give him the most solemn pledge that I will to the very last stand by the law of the State which forbids the marrying of white people with negroes.” Does Lincoln get a pass because of his earlier time? When’s the cutoff point? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/5 "2005-10-16T18:06:11Z")
> [@The Flying Dutchman](#): > > But if it is true, don’t you agree that it is time to relegate this 20th century revered philosopher to obscurity . He doesn’t deserve the reverence that he has heretofore recieved. Based on a single quotation? No. But mostly, I’m skeptical of the quote. The same Wikipedia quotes Schweitzer as saying, “Who can describe the injustice and cruelties that in the course of centuries they [the coloured peoples] have suffered at the hands of Europeans? . . . If a record could be compiled of all that has happened between the white and the coloured races, it would make a book containing numbers of pages which the reader would have to turn over unread because their contents would be too horrible.” Unless something is out of context, I have some difficulty believing he made both statements. If Schweitzer had something of a “patronizing” attitude toward Africans, I wouldn’t be surprised. We’re talking about a man born in 1875. That’s not the same as overt racism, however. Unless the racist sites provide a citation for their quotes, I’m inclined to distrust them. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/6 "2005-10-16T18:44:23Z")
Well. He could have said racist things. He could have believed racist things. But the man sure as hell never did a damn racist thing that lasted. What he did was a monument to the greatness that humanity can accomplish. A statement made under circumstances we are not sure about, compared to decades of sainthood? I’m willing to let his goodness and kindness stick around. You? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/7 "2005-10-16T23:46:26Z")
> [@The Flying Dutchman](#): > > I had just perused the Stormfront web page Is that the one that’s subtitled Stormfront White Pride? If so, I wouldn’t consider their claims even worth investigating. Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/8 "2005-10-17T01:20:41Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Well. He could have said racist things. He could have believed racist things. > > But the man sure as hell never did a damn racist thing that lasted. What he did was a monument to the greatness that humanity can accomplish. A statement made under circumstances we are not sure about, compared to decades of sainthood? > > I’m willing to let his goodness and kindness stick around. You? Based on a little Google searching, I can’t find this quote posted anyplace except forums, often racist ones. If it’s legit, I find that odd. On the other hand, the non-denial from the Schweitzer page leaves its own questions. Questions about I think we can argue about Schweitzer’s patronizing attitude and racism, if any, the same way we’ve argued about Mother Teresa. Separating their words and actions is probably a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/9 "2005-10-17T03:42:19Z")
Such racism would be in opposition to to what seemed to be the core of his beliefs by the time of the publication of his book and the awarding of the Nobel Prize. Excerpts from his Nobel Lecture: > [@](#): > > …Compassion, in which ethics takes root, does not assume its true proportions until it embraces not only man but every living being. > [@](#): > > May the men who hold the destiny of peoples in their hands, studiously avoid anything that might cause the present situation to deteriorate and become even more dangerous. May they take to heart the words of the Apostle Paul: “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” Since the book is based on his African notebooks and he was in African for such a long time, I guess it is \*possible that he could have written the racist comments early in his service there before he grew in his understanding. If he included his own ugliness after his nobility emerged, then that just makes him honest and reflects his growth. **Liberal** , you said that his website didn’t deny that he had said it. Did they address the issue at all? There is absolutely nothing that he could have written or said that would make him a “zero” though. The OP might want to learn to consider the possibility of “shades of gray” in his thinking. I’ve known about Schweitzer for over half a century now. And this is the first unkind thing I’ve ever heard said about him. I’m all for knowing the truth, but it is going to take more than a rumor and quote from the “Stormfront” of all places :rolleyes: , to change my impression. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/10 "2005-10-17T03:51:36Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > **Liberal** , you said that his website didn’t deny that he had said it. Did they address the issue at all? [They do, in a somewhat confusing way.](http://www.schweitzer.org/english/diverse/asefaq.htm) They quote the passage mentioned in the OP, but I’m not sure if they’re saying he did write it, or if they’re giving it as part of a sample question. It’s lengthy, but here’s a sample: > [@](#): > > Beginning in the 1950’s, however, an alternative and rather darker image of Schweitzer was painted by a small but significant number of detractors. As African nations and peoples threw off many of the chains of exploitative colonialism, these critics saw in Schweitzer a symbol of many of the sins of white Europeans working in Africa. Others condemned his village hospital as anachronistic and primitive, because it did not reflect the sparkling sanitary conditions of Europe and America’s modern health care institutions. > > Was Schweitzer a saint? Or a paternalistic racist? How should a critical thinker today even approach this question? […] > > Just as Jesus was in part a product of his own time and its thinking, so too was Albert Schweitzer. And just as understanding Jesus’ life and teachings requires interpreting them within the framework of his contemporary world view, so too for Schweitzer. For example, Schweitzer is often criticized for having stated, early in his career in Africa, that “the African is my brother, but he is my younger brother.” To many of today’s ears, this has an unmistakable ring of paternalism and even racist condescension. But for a white European in 1913, leaving fame and adulation behind in Europe to dedicate his life to service to Africans in desperate need, the insistence that “the African is my brother” expresses a spirit of radical solidarity that was far outside the mainstream of contemporary European culture. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/11 "2005-10-17T11:19:21Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > **Liberal** , you said that his website didn’t deny that he had said it. Did they address the issue at all? Thirteen long and rambling paragraphs, nary a word of which disparages the authenticity of the quote, when all that is required is a simple, “Nonsense. Dr. Schweitzer said no such thing.” Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s clear that he said it, and at least by today’s standards he was certainly racist. But so what? I think that sometimes people look at racism as a sin akin to how others look at homosexuality — something so grave and horrifying that it has its own special circle of hell. Nothing in the quote nullifies the work he did, and many other wonderful things he said. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/12 "2005-10-17T12:51:33Z")
There’s also an early WWII-era quote from Gandhi in which he praises Hitler. It doesn’t invalidate Gandhi’s good works. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/13 "2005-10-17T13:35:04Z")
So, what we have here is an early quote from a great man, espousing an opinion he seems to have changed by the time of his Nobel Prize speech, but does not deny, recognizing it as a part of his early character to the point of publishing it in his collected diary. People hold opinions. Sometimes they change them. Sometimes they’re honest enough to not hide the old ones. I am shocked. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/14 "2005-10-17T14:07:05Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > So, what we have here is an early quote from a great man, espousing an opinion he seems to have changed by the time of his Nobel Prize speech… Actually, according to the Schweitzer website; > [@](#): > > Q: On racist and anti-racist-sites I have found the following text: > **This is what he said shortly before his death:** > I have given my life to alleviate the sufferings of Africa. There is something that all white men who have lived here, must learn and know; that these individuals are a sub-race; they have neither the intellectual , mental or emotional abilities to equate or share in any of the functions of our civilisation… ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/15 "2005-10-17T15:59:47Z")
Don’t selectively quote, now. > [@](#): > > Was Schweitzer a racist? > > Q: On racist and anti-racist-sites I have found the following text: > This is what he said shortly before his death: > I have given my life to alleviate the sufferings of Africa. There is something that all white men who have lived here, must learn and know; that these individuals are a sub-race; they have neither the intellectual , mental or emotional abilities to equate or share in any of the functions of our civilisation. > > “I have given my life to try to bring unto them the advantages which our civilisation must offer, but I have become well aware that we must retain this status; white, the superior, and they the inferior; for whenever a white man seeks to live among them as their equal, they will either destroy him or devour him, and they will destroy all his work; and so for any existing relationship or for any benefit to this people let white men from anywhere in the world who would come to help Africa remember that you must continually retain this status; you the master, and they the inferior, like children that you would help or teach. Never fraternise with them as equals, never accept them as your social equals ; or they will devour you; they will destroy you.”- Dr. Albert Schweitzer, winner of the 1952 Nobel Prize for peace, in his 1961 book, From My African Notebook. Dr. Albert Schweitzer, winner of the 1952 Nobel Prize for peace, in his 1961 book, From My African Notebook. So, it was something he wrote in his book, which was from his notebook. > [@From the same webpage](#): > > For example, Schweitzer is often criticized for having stated, early in his career in Africa, that “the African is my brother, but he is my younger brother.” > [@](#): > > Nonetheless, later in his life Schweitzer was quoted as saying that “The time for speaking of older and younger brothers has passed.” > [@](#): > > Note on translation: Some of the most troubling and even offensive passages in Schweitzer’s writings as they have appeared in English reflect problems or even frank errors in translation, rather than Schweitzer’s own thoughts. Perhaps the most extreme in this regard are references by Dr. Schweitzer to Africans as “savages”. In fact, although Schweitzer used several different German words to refer to his African neighbors, none of those would be translated as “savage” today, but rather as “black” or “native” or “primitive”. The translation by Mrs. C.E.B. Russell of this book into English was published in 1939, and her use of the word “savage” is as mistaken and regrettable as it is offensive. Let’s see if I can find it in his notebook. Amazon does not allow searching inside that book. I can not find the phrase in his searchable books. Web: Except for [Schweitzer.org](http://Schweitzer.org), the rest of the sites are craptacular in nature. Crank through the newsgroups. People noting that it is from the notebooks… Bunch of cranks treating it like holy writ… I’m not finding it in larger context anywhere. Let’s find more out about the man, shall we? [http://www.schweitzerfellowship.org/features/about/phil/](http://www.schweitzerfellowship.org/features/about/phil/) Aha. His thoughts on Africa and Missionaries, at [http://www.schweitzerfellowship.org/features/about/phil/phil.aspx?id=21](http://www.schweitzerfellowship.org/features/about/phil/phil.aspx?id=21) > [@](#): > > The following is excerpted from a sermon Dr. Schweitzer preached on Sunday January 6, 1905, at the morning service of St. Nicolai’s Church in Strasbourg, just before his 30 th birthday. While he had decided that he would devote the rest of his life to medical training and then service in Africa, he had not yet told anyone. > > …Our culture divides people into two classes: civilized men, a title bestowed on the persons who do the classifying; and others, who have only the human form, who may perish or go to the dogs for all the “civilized men” care. > > Oh, this “noble” culture of ours! It speaks so piously of human dignity and human rights and then disregards this dignity and these rights of countless millions and treads them underfoot, only because they live overseas or because their skins are of different color or because they cannot help themselves. This culture does not know how hollow and miserable and full of glib talk it is, how common it looks to those who follow it across the seas and see what it has done there, and this culture has no right to speak of personal dignity and human rights. So… I don’t know. I need to know the broader context, and I need to know the historical condition. Anyone got a copy of the book? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/16 "2005-10-17T17:02:09Z")
**The Flying Dutchman** , any comments about my Lincoln post (#4 in the thread)? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/17 "2005-10-17T17:22:21Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > **The Flying Dutchman** , any comments about my Lincoln post (#4 in the thread)? If you insist. Not being American or black, Lincoln is not that important to me. He died after all 100 years earlier than Schweitzer, in the middle of the 19th century when racism in America was pretty well the rule. Schweitzer on the other hand is a citizen of the world who died when I was 15 years old.He is held in the highest regard yet allegedly made this extremely racist remark at the same time as the onset of apartheid in South Africa, which was immediately criticized worldwide yet would be appropriate considering the import of the alleged Schweitzer quote. I have made a query with Snopes. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/18 "2005-10-17T17:23:28Z")
With all the college students here, it should be easy for someone to drop by a library and look in the book. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/19 "2005-10-17T18:25:21Z")
> [@The Flying Dutchman](#): > > Schweitzer on the other hand is a citizen of the world who died when I was 15 years old. Although, for all of that, he was born in 1875 and raised in a time when such an attitude was not so shocking. **Lib** is right that this ought to be easy to resolve. Meanwhile, as I keep looking at the Schweitzer page, I think they’re confirming he said it. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476/20 "2005-10-17T23:49:43Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > With all the college students here, it should be easy for someone to drop by a library and look in the book. Well, the colleges are not very close to my house, but I had an errand that brought me within a few miles of the one branch of our county library that had a copy and I checked it out. I have just finished reading African Notebook, Albert Schweitzer, translated by Mrs. C. E. B. Russell. A Midland Book Indiana University Press Bloomington 1958. Copyright 1939 By Henry Holt And Company, Inc. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Catalog Number: 58-12209 Fifth Printing 1961 Having now completely read the book (it is pretty short) I can state unequivocally that the passages quoted in the OP do not appear in the book. There is no mention of “sub-races.” No passage speaks of “destroying” or “devouring” white men. In fact, while there are many passages that sound a bit paternalistic, the final chapter is an essay that indicates that the white man must meet the black man as an equal and that most of the idiosyncracies that Europeans perceive in Africans are little more than cultural diffrerences imposed by the widely differing living conditions of the two groups. Once again, those who need to instill hatred and fear have resorted to manufacturing it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-albert-schweitzer-hero-or-zero/326476.md?page=2)