ANN BARNHARDT has a good column about Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian who entered the United States after coming in close contact with Ebola. Also see the commentary at DailyKenn. Barnhadt writes:

So there is tremendous chatter about this guy from Liberia, and we now have enough of the backstory to see just how maliciously negligent the so-called protection agencies really are.  But what I want to focus on is Thomas Eric Duncan – the Liberian who after hauling his sister’s still living yet rapidly disintegrating body to and from the hospital thought it would be a great idea to take a three-legged flight to Dallas, and then just casually forget to mention at the Dallas emergency room the whole “I hauled my sister, dying of Ebola, to and from the hospital a couple of weeks ago.”

There is speculation that Duncan is a psychopathic arch criminal, or that he was recruited by musloids to make the trip.  Nope.  I doubt this very, very seriously.  Then how in the world, you may ask, could he possibly DO THIS?  I’ll tell you the likely answer if you really want to know, but I warn you, our culture has conditioned even the “strongest” of you to reject the truth I am about to lay out.  Are you sure you want it?  Fair warning has been given.  Complaints will not be fielded.

The AVERAGE I.Q. amongst Liberians is 67.  Anything below 69 is considered severe impairment. Only people who are profoundly mentally retarded, such as with severe Down Syndrome, have lower I.Q. scores, and many folks with milder Down Syndrome actually have I.Q. scores in the 70s and 80s.  What we are talking about in Liberia is the AVERAGE IQ of non-impaired human beings.  AVERAGE.  Which means, by definition, that half the populace is above 67, and half the population is below 67.

CITATION HERE.  A ranking of nations by average IQ.  Fascinating.

Mr. Duncan, in all likelihood, got on a plane bound for Dallas because all was [sic] was thinking was “the Americans will save me”. He gave NO THOUGHT whatsoever to the consequences of his actions or to other human beings, nor did any of his family members, because people who are dim-witted think only about themselves and the immediate gratification of their immediate needs and wants. We see this manifested in our own western cultures, wherein people who OBVIOUSLY have lower I.Q.s are far, far more prone to crime – such as theft – and sexual promiscuity, as well as drug use, because they lack the powers of impulse control and consideration for other human beings that is an undeniable characteristic that goes along with an IQ that is several standard deviations “left” on the bell curve. When all you are capable of pondering is yourself and your own physical pleasure, or the maintenance of your own life, when a person or people is so collectively impaired that thinking through the consequences of actions three or four steps ahead, or of thinking of how one’s actions will affect other people, is almost impossible, then Thomas Eric Duncans happen. [cont.]

— Comments —

Bruce B. writes:

Even if Ann’s observations about Liberia and IQ are correct (for what it’s worth, I think race-realists are correct that different populations differ profoundly in both intelligence and personality) that doesn’t tell us what Mr. Duncan’s IQ is. So I don’t think we should assume that Ebola entered the U.S. from a mentally challenged person.

Given the bias against our position, I think we have to be extra careful (careful in our use of precise language – I don’t mean pulling punches) when discussing these things.

Sage McLaughlin writes:

I hate to be the one to say it, but this just isn’t true, and it cuts into the credibility of Barnhardt’s analysis:

“What we are talking about in Liberia is the AVERAGE IQ of non-impaired human beings.  AVERAGE.  Which means, by definition, that half the populace is above 67, and half the population is below 67.”

Not at all.  If the median IQ of Liberians was 67, then that would mean, “by definition,” that half of Liberians had an IQ lower than 67.  Averages are susceptible to distortion by unusually high and low values within a data set—perhaps there are an unusually large number of Liberians born with developmental defects, bringing the average figure down —that do not affect the median, which is why the median is useful in some ways that an average is not.

In any event, while I think it is very unlikely that half of Liberians have severe mental retardation, Barnhardt’s general point is sound.  I’d also note that many Liberians do not know about, and in some cases actively disbelieve, the germ theory of disease, and so may not think it relevant to mention the details that she highlights.  Which in turn means that it is positively insane to depend so heavily on questionnaires to “screen” people from countries who are suffering from an epidemic of a lethal disease.

The whole point of our public health approach to the situation in West Africa is precisely not to screen people, while giving a show of having done so, in much the same way (and for much the same reasons) that our TSA procedures at airports are not in any way designed to catch terrorists, but rather to appear to have done so while loudly broadcasting our commitment to non-discrimination.

Laura writes:

Thank you for the corrections on the figures. As Bruce says, Barnhardt does not know anything about the mental competence of Duncan. It’s an educated guess. If Duncan was fully aware of the risk he posed, he was extremely reckless and selfish.

James P. writes:

Whatever his IQ may be, he was smart enough to realize that he had a better chance to live in the USA than in Liberia.

And he was smart enough consistently to deceive many people so that he could get here:

1. The exit authorities in Liberia.
2. The entry authorities in the USA.
3. Everyone he met on the journey and when he got here.
4. The people in the Dallas hospital.

He was only caught when he was too sick to conceal it any more.

I conclude that he is not stupid. He is evil. He wanted to save himself, and did not care about the risk to 300 million Americans.

Personally I am extremely angry that the government refuses to shut down air travel to West Africa, control the border, and identify and apprehend anyone here who may have been exposed. This from an administration that banned flights to Tel Aviv because one Palestinian rocket landed vaguely near the airport…

Laura writes:

I agree with you about closing the borders.

I’m not sure what questions Duncan was asked by authorities before he boarded the plane in Liberia, and what he was asked when he arrived here. Did he necessarily deceive anyone? He was not sick when he left or when he arrived. [UPDATE: He did indeed lie on a questionnaire in Liberia. He is now listed in critical condition — I hope he survives, but if he does he should be prosecuted for criminal recklessness and sent back to Liberia.]

A reader writes:

I found out yesterday that Duncan’s son goes to the university I attend, Angelo State. Here is a local press release. The father and son have not spoken for over a decade.

George Weinbaum writes:

How smart need Duncan have been?  Consider: we are sending 3,000 soldiers to Africa to fight Ebola.  Really?  Or is Obama sending them there to catch Ebola and bring it back to the US.  Now that we have Ebola in the US, will Obama cancel their mission?  Is it redundant?

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