"Hi! I'm smarter than you are!" I exclaimed. She stopped for a moment, "Really?" "Yes, according to this Nobel Peace Prize guy, since I have more white blood than you, it follows I must be smarter!" Another pause, as she took in my theory, then the explosion followed, she laughed and laughed and LAUGHED!

As a Rhodes Scholar who speaks more languages than I have handbags, she is clearly confident of her intellect. Hopefully, this was the cause of her amusement and not just a confidence in my lack thereof!

We gave the topic little time; it was, after all, simply rubbish and not worth much discussion. Yet, what was interesting was the public's reaction to James Watson's racially charged comments.

Watson apparently said he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really." There were those who were outraged at the racism, but racism is something we may as well get used to. Sometimes it is just kept undercover.

Achieved no success

There were others on call-in programmes who defended his argument, saying that we, 'the black nation', deserved this criticism because we really had not achieved the success of the predominantly white first world.

This argument is one that bothers me most. If you measure success by way of monetary gain or GDP, well, then, the First World is certainly more 'successful'. Yet, isn't there more to success than that?

If you see a drug dealer who has made millions but has blood on his hands, do you stop and feel inferior? The first world has a host of genocides under their belt. Surely, you don't see many Tainos these days? They have wreaked havoc on the environment, and their cultures weakened into one blur - the mighty 'western culture' that idolises dysfunctional celebrities and the almighty dollar.

One woman in particular called in to ask what had we, as a people, really achieved? I immediately thought of the Egyptian pyramids, a certain sign of a superior civilisation, but more important, what have we destroyed? Relatively little.

More money

If Watson would like to argue that the Third World is not the same as the First, we could give him that. We are not the same, they do have more money, we do, however, have the moral high ground of not having achieved success on the backs of others.

Over time, civilisations have risen and fallen. Today, Rome is seen as the unproductive figurehead of Italy; history tells another story: Egypt, China, South America, the list goes on. I am certain that the future will also unfold new superpowers. Our weakness or strength as a people is only realised when we believe it.

Watson's comments can be validated when we point out our weaknesses and ignore our strengths, or they can be laughed about as we are confident in ourselves, our achievements and celebrate our success.

Watson can be gloomy all he wants, is that a white trait? I agree that we are not the same, but this is not something I feel particularly gloomy about. In fact, it is something to celebrate.

I agree that Africa is a continent rich in natural resour-ces whose success in the future will depend not on the First World's 'social policies', but on themselves and their own ability!

Tara Clivio is a freelance journalist.