Does RACE exist?

[Alexander's Horse]

I agree - it's not a useful term.

[Caligastia]

Then again, I reckon race is more widely understood a term than ethnicity.

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
Race does exist. The trouble is racism has so devalued the term that other terms like ethnicity are more useful.

Then you'll have no difficulty giving us a definition of race.

[Alexander's Horse]

No I can't. It's a very vague term. Did I say it was useful?

Go and attack someone who cares.

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
No I can't. It's a very vague term. Did I say it was useful?

Go and attack someone who cares.

A poor retort.

Are your trolling powers waning?

[Kramerman]

Re: Does RACE exist?

Originally posted by Lawrence of Arabia
I'm thinking that it doesnt. the use of skin color as a defining trait seems kinda arbitrary - i mean , why not use the color of eyes as a basis of race?

race is arbitrary, at least this is what i learned in my basic intro to sociology class

[Q Classic]

well, there are terms for races.

negroid
caucasoid
mongoloid

note the last one can also be defined as "retarded".

[Ben Kenobi]

A poor retort.

Are your trolling powers waning?

You need to club someone over the head to get them to bite. Subtlety is the essence of excellent trolls.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Lawrence of Arabia
i think skin color exists. i just dont see why we race has to be defiend as a difference in skin color. why not choose eye color?

Skin color is a much better indicator than eye color for geographic origin (at least of your ancestors).

[Alexander's Horse]

Originally posted by molly bloom


A poor retort.

Are your trolling powers waning?

Since you responded to my little troll there like a silly old trout leaping for a fly, I would say not

[Drake Tungsten]

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Uber KruX
physical attributes vary greatly across the gamete of the human population, and tend to cluster in areas, which creates a perception of "races" of people.

to deny it's existance is retarded.

One can advance legitimate arguments that race is a social construct based on these physical differences.


To deny the physical differences among different groups of people would be ignorant, but to argue that race is a social construct based on these differences is legitimate, IMO.

[Az]

I think the most fair claim is that nationality/ social interactions play a much stronger role than ethnical heritage. ( The ME is a living proof )

[Proteus_MST]

Originally posted by DataAeolus


Actually there have been studies in which children in kindergarten do notice skin color differences and modelling racist behaviors such as rejecting those not of the same skin color.

In Kenya, if a mzungu (white person) was to come into an isolated village full of Africans, babies tend to cry, afraid of the white monster coming to eat them.

This could lead to some more interesting Studies:

Take 4 Groups of Babies:

1. A Group of Babies which were raised from Birth on in an environment where it never encountered someone of another Race and also never saw Photos of a Member of another Race
2. A Group of Babies which was raised from Birth on in an Environment, where it either some few times encountered someone of another Race or at least saw Fotos
3. A Baby raised from Birth on in an Environment with mixed Races, but also widespread Racism
4. A Group of Babies raised from Birth on in a environment with mixed Races and all of the Races coexist in Harmony

Now check, for each of these 4 groups of Babies, which social interactions they show, if they suddenly at an age of 3 or 4 years get into a Kindergarten-group with mixed Races (where all Races are treated equally well from the Group-Leader).

[East Street Trader]

Darwin observed physical differences among the fauna inhabiting the various separate islands making up the Galapagos and was able to complete and to evidence his thory of evolution as a result.

It was not necessary for him to demonstrate 100% uniformity among the various populations. It sufficed that enough of each population shared a characteristic to be significant and that the characteristics were sufficiently different.

The explanation for one kind of bird having a different bill depending upon what food was available on different islands in a chain is exactly the same reason why people who live through generations in desert conditions develop marginally different physical characteristics to people who live for generations in rain forests.

And differences in physiology result in differences in skill. The musculature of Kenyans and Ethiopians is particularly well adapted to running long distances. The musculature of peoples living in other parts of Africa is particularly well adapted to running fast for short distances. Examine the roll of Olympic champions for the result.

If you make too much of this point and you ally it to the tendency human beings have to prefer the familiar and to be suspicious of the unfamiliar you get racism.

But founding a resistance to racism upon denying the effects of evolution on the human animal is not a good approach. Clarity and openness are the way to challenge such things. Sweeping things under the carpet tends to foster them.

As for using politically correct terms in place of terms which some people find uncomfortable I can see that it may sometimes be polite to do so. But it mostly just trivialises.