gee wonder who that was aimed at. whatever race exists, and if u (in general not you specificly) are going to make stupid arguements with no basis i will call bullshit on it. It's not a personal attack so get off your courthouse, Judge.
There's a difference between a debate and an argument no need to turn into an asshole when i bring up my point
I'm with Surgery on this one, the belief that race exists indicates a belief that people are biologically different because of the colour of their skin or that culture is somehow inherited instincts genetically rather than purely being learned behaviors which scientifically speaking is complete tosh.
My heart wants to say you are right, my mind on the other hand doesn't agree.... I do think there are substantial genetically inherited biological differences, biological evolution in full effect. We are not done being cooked, we are still evolving, and we are evolving in different ways and at different paces. Racism comes in when disputes on what is more evolved or more civilized are ridiculously introduced. When the Spaniards and the French and English came to the Americas, they brought 'civilization' in the form of disease, pestilence, intrusive non-native animals and plant species, and the varied indigenous peoples were greatly harmed and in some cases wiped off the face of the earth. The whites were acclimated and had adapted to those diseases in great part, the natives had not. This is not to say whites were superior, far from it, they were evolved in a different manner and biologically adapted to survive the conditions in their homelands. This is but a small example in the difference and importance of geographical surroundings and their effect on biological evolution that can be found in different cultures.
I agree with you completely. Race doesn't physically exist; however it does exist to most people. Just like god, race is a man made construct to explain away fears that could be calmed by fact. God doesn't exist, neither does race. People are scared of death or being alone (or whatever) so they believe in god, people are scared that they are biologically the same as a person who they don't look like or who's culture they don't understand so they create race. or at least that's how i see it
So what you're saying is that the commonly held genetic legacy of a group of people having similar geographic roots, going back for generations, is meaningless? That African-Americans don't have a higher incidence of sickle-cell anemia? Or that 10% of persons of East Asian descent don't turn bright red when they drink alcohol? Yes yes, race as racists believe is a foul, false concept (although repeating "LALALALA I DON'T BELIEVE IN RACE" doesn't affect racists in the slightest). But from the standpoint of medicine, of biology, of anthropology, there is a taxonomy of human beings that is larger than an ethnic group but smaller than the whole of the species. If it makes it uncomfortable to call it race, you can call it Horatio P. Horsefucker the Clown if you like, it still is a thing that exists. And remember, race isn't just important to racists. Some people take a lot of pride in their heritage, and although you're free to devalue that, you should respect their beliefs.
Thanks for posting all that, you hit the nail on the head. I was going to post something about how certain races are more likely to get certain diseases than others. iT's real cute and hippy to say we are all the same race, the human race and shit, but it is not accurate, nor truthful.
Well bunny when they mapped the human genome they discovered that we share 98.9% of our genes with chimpanzees, and that means that only that 1.1% difference in genes makes up the vast differences between the two species. All humans share the gene that starts the chain thus we are all evolved from one place and thus all related, but there are very minute differences in genetics because we adapt genetically to our environment. I myself am a rabid, militant anti-racist.... but I am against the loss of culture and the blurring of all of mankind into one colorless and bland species. Celebrating our differences and acknowledging the importance of each others cultures and heritage whether in defeat or triumph, whether in the wrong, or in the right, to move forward together, I believe it is utterly important.
These things you talk about are depended on ethnic background, not race South Africans have a high level of risk for HIV But people like african americans don't have the same risk factor, and are likely to develop different diseases than those who share the same skin color in other parts of the world
As for the Sickle-cell anemia It has been founded that the people around the african area (India, The arabian peninsula, mediterranean countries, and spanish speaking regions) are just as much at risk as those in africa. The disease was believed to be started in africa, that is why it is so prevalent in that country, and is passed on through generations, but through people of all skin colors. Disease knows no race. also: I turn red when drink and i know others who do as well who are not of asian descent If you do some reading around you'll find that race is often referred to as "an obsolete anthropological term" What you think of as races are better referred to as Ethnic groups The connotation of race is not applicable to a species as genetically homogenous as humans The difference is too little to separate us into these categories Ethnic groups however refer to things like a common language, a common culture (often including a shared religion) and a tradition of common ancestry
The only time I've turned red whilst drinking was when I had a headband on, clearly cutting off the circulation to my braiiiiiiinnnnnn Arrrrgghhhh! Re diseases: Some people have resilience to certain diseases because they've come into contact with something similar or have higher immune systems, its to do with exposure and evolving to adapt to the environment through the exposure. Vaccines to such diseases are created from exposure. It has almost nothing to do with where you come from, rather that such diseases are more dormant in different climates. And I have no problem respecting peoples heritage provided they don't use it as a basis to forcefully tell people how to live in a correct way. The Japanese and Whaling is one example of this.
what do you mean by ethnic background? what does that term denote? South Africans have a high level of risk of HIV due to socio-economic circumstances, and no thanks to the Catholic Church either.
The example you gave would fall into ethnic background. The common history of a mass of people is the simplest term other things include "common language, a common culture and a tradition of common ancestry" Most people confuse these things as race, but the two terms differ tremendously such as the fact that language and culture are not biological traits
what is your explanation for why black people have noticeable different features then other races (like their lips and noses) or why asian people do (their eye lids) etc. How is that not race????
Well as i may or may not have previously stated all humans DNA are 99.99% identical <---- this is key That .01 is the only thing that has mutated in the past 200,000 years or so due to different climates and conditions that almost non-existent percent accounts for all superficial things such as skin color and facial features I guess you have to decide for yourself whether or not you really feel the need to take these small differences and seperate them into races But to me that doesn't make any sense If you use the logic that most people do to categorize races, wouldn't all people be considered a different race? My brother has a larger nose than mine and a slightly different skin tone so is he race X and I would be race Y?
Are People Really Identical? Even though humans share 100% of the same genes, the instructions contained within the genes are not entirely identical. Each person is unique. People have different hair colors, facial structures, and other traits. These differences between individuals result from very small differences in their DNA sequences. DNA also contains many so-called "housekeeping genes" that control important metabolic processes. As you will see, some of the differences in these genes can cause illness.
the bottom line here is really this, whether or not we agree or not on this website that race exists or doesn't, Nazi's certainly believe they do. All racist groups believe they do. And as a result of these people, racism exists. So like ungovernable said, instead of endlessly debating whether there is such thing as different races, we should be more worried about racist groups that do, and don;'t care about debates, but want to hurt whoever is not identical to them.
