Tribune article that says Vietnamese diet = aggression

Vietnamese eat rats and are aggressive, Stanford professor says in article, triggering online uproar

More info on here plus his reply to critics.

"On the issue of meat and aggressiveness, perhaps that was not as well phrased as it should have been," he wrote. "But eating a diet rich in protein will make you more robust than others, in Laos, Cambodia and other Southeast Asian states who eat rice and very little else. After all, half of Laotian children grow up stunted, even today. In Cambodia the rate is 40 percent. That means they grow up short and not so smart. Would it also follow that they would be less aggressive than Vietnamese? I think so."

As someone who studied development economics and nutritional anthropology I find that line of logic a bit disturbing. It surprises me the Tribute would publish such a piece without fact-checking.

It's not mentioned in the article, but Brinkley is a professor of journalism, not anthropology, sociology, history, biology, or medicine. That's kind of important.

Independent George wrote:It's not mentioned in the article, but Brinkley is a professor of journalism, not anthropology, sociology, history, biology, or medicine. That's kind of important.

Newspapers employ fact-checkers for that reason. And journalists can definitely write about those things if they are willing to talk to experts and do a little research.

Edit: oh good, looks like the Tribune has pulled it- their statement:

TMS has a rigorous editing process for its content, and in the case of Brinkley’s column that moved Jan. 29, all the required steps did not occur. We regret that this happened, and we will be vigilant in ensuring that our editing process works in the future.

mgmcewen wrote:Newspapers employ fact-checkers for that reason. And journalists can definitely write about those things if they are willing to talk to experts and do a little research.

And if you talk to your washroom attendants and hotel valets, you get the foreign affairs column for the NYT. Maybe he's just angling for Friedman's job.