Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jason R Fields on June 30, 2010 at 12:37pm

Of course it wouldn't disappear over night but it's a start. Ethnic, culture, race, dogma, creed, and religion all of it is man made and all it does is separate us from one another. We should be promoting the human race instead of theses different cultures that doesn't progress us forward. Instead of wondering why people wear this type of clothing or why they believe in this type of god, we should be wondering how to expand the life expectancy of humans. Any way not to get off track dropping our race titles does help especially for young kids who will grow up seeing each other as command humans. I'm thinking in terms of the future not the present.

Permalink Reply by Jason R Fields on June 30, 2010 at 6:14pm

6 Billions you have to think big lol

Permalink Reply by Ralph Dumain on June 30, 2010 at 9:58am

We tend to conflate certain categories because that is what was effected historically. So in the USA, color = culture = identity. The complexity of the phenomenon was hidden by segregation, but now this allegedly seamless fabrication is beginning to unravel, though with extreme unevenness. People are a combination of who they want to be and what others force them to be. One might take a tip from Duke Ellington: defend where you came from when it's appropriate, but think "beyond category".

Permalink Reply by Jason R Fields on June 30, 2010 at 12:38pm

I agree the days of defining ones identity from a race is coming to an end.

Permalink Reply by Donald R Barbera on June 30, 2010 at 10:17am

I self-identify as black. It is not a skin color but a state of mind and that is the group that comes closest to my sentiments, although I reserve the right to pickl and choose from any. When it comes to skin-kin, there are many I'd leave standing at the curb when I passed on the way to better things because they are no more related to me than a star, even not that close. The differences in people are beginning to look like they are highly random and affected by things most cannot control. "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared Diamond, makes it very clear that much of dominance is a product of nature and evolution. It is a good book and fairly easy to follow. I am with you in that I am a universal creature despite what others may wish to claim. If I belong at all, it is to my my particular genetic pool we call family and even that is strained.

Don

Permalink Reply by Shawn Anonymous on June 30, 2010 at 2:10pm

Though there is only one "race" of humans, the concept of differing races (based on skin color) is not going away. We have seen a decline in racism amongst enlightened people, but, as evidenced by the Tea Party crowd, there is a vast and venomous army of racist out there. Furthermore, I am proud to identify as black- no- I am black (it is more than an identification). The cultural norms and traditions developed and celebrated by our people are beautiful. If as a black person one has never embraced their culture then I would wonder if they were self-hating. Self-hate is as big a problem with those who reject blackness as it is with those who minstrelize it (i.e., black people who throw around the "N" word on CDs, in movies, etc.). That being said, and with all due respect to Jason, there is no black person alive for which "race has never existed".

Permalink Reply by jeffery on June 30, 2010 at 5:13pm

if "race" is the wrong word, PEOPLE ARE STILL NOT THE SAME. body types, head structure, fast twitch muscles, etc. its not just culture either, there are different types of human beings under the umbrella of being human. are all dogs the same? NO. and i know better to use the word "breed" when talking about humans, what a reaction that gets!

my mother told me one day i came home from kindergarten and she asked what color was a new friend, i replied "i don't know." but as an adult to strip a person of their ethnicity by not recognizing it is just as bad as being racist maybe. my color or race or whatever sets me apart from others and im proud of that. i always notice race and color. when i walk into a room i instantly notice how many of each "race" i see in that room. and i will sometimes whisper "we're the only black people in here." or "there aint no white people here" (but thats rare as there is ALWAYS a white girl around LOL). to not be aware of that is a form of ignorance.

plus even though i act the same everywhere, behavior is adjusted depending where you are and who you are with. if im out hanging with black folks, i communicate and body language as if with black folks. people of other "races" may not understand or feel this communication protocol so i dont use it when around other ethnicities. and the other way around also, if im in a room full of white folks. its a way to maximize communication to understand who and what you are talking to and to have a feel for what they are use to receiving.

now to dislike or hate or hold a grudge or draw hardlined prejudices along these "racial" lines is not "good." there is a difference between recognizing the differences and holding that difference "against" someone. yeah we are different and we should be able to celebrate and recognize the differences without any kind of "negative" feelings.

and actually, if you are a racist and you are sincere about being racist who am i to say that its "wrong?" hell as long as you dont touch me or break any laws, you are free to be as racist as you want! who is to say that it wont be a racist group who didnt mix itself ethnically that will be the one to have that special gene to fight that incurable disease and saves humanity? there is no right or wrong in the long run. only outcomes.

i understand folks trying to end racial hatred or whatever, but to eliminate race by eliminating the definitions aint gonna get it. like abolishing the word nigger. how silly is that? soon as you make a stand that you dont use that word, you make it a weapon that can be used "against" you.


slowly humanity is making progress to a higher consciousness and understanding and one day we will have all this race and sex stuff 90% worked out. and it will take everybody's efforts and ideas to get it done. in the big big big picture of this universe and all the universes that have ever existed, its all gonna work out one way or another and until we know why we are here and whats this all for there is no good, bad, postive, negative, right or wrong except on the individual level

thank you for this opportunity to express, i so love to write...

Permalink Reply by Jason R Fields on June 30, 2010 at 6:11pm

Humans are actually are the same the explanation for the change in head structures, blood types etc, are do to human mutation over time from living in different climate areas on earth. Comparing humans to other species is irrelevant no other species on this earth are identical(genetically speaking) to one another other then humans. Dropping race as title is not the same as kill the word nigger that word is a product of bigotry, and race is a product of culture. I don't understand why people think this can't happen it's already starting. Most of my friends outside my so called race are rejecting there culture and even despise it, saying that it cause stereotypes in which I agree.And it's not the first time someone had offered this solution Alexander the Great try to united all races into one people then he died of the flu, Genghis Khan did the same. And was it Martin Luther King the one who said he dreamed of a world when a person isn't judge by the color of his skin but by the content of his character. Not taking apart in the process of progressing humans and just seating on the side line and saying it'll work it self out is a bigger atrocity.

Permalink Reply by Jason R Fields on July 8, 2010 at 2:09pm

Ha ha maybe not in our life time but it will happen.

Permalink Reply by Naomi on July 27, 2010 at 4:45am

Wow, great post!

Permalink Reply by gerard26 on July 11, 2010 at 12:55pm

I, too, think that race as a way of identifying people is on it's way out. The science of genetics is clearly showing us that humans are 99.9% compose of the same stuff. That being said, no, I do not feel people will abandon race- based thinking anytime soon, it is still strongly ingrained in the culture. I do think as people become more enlightened and change the way they think about 'race' they will understand how useless and out dated that thinking is. I am reminded of something the late author Richard Wright had written in his book 'Pagan Spain' when talking about himself, "I have no race except that which is forced on me". That sums it up for me.

Permalink Reply by Ralph Dumain on July 12, 2010 at 9:17pm

Ahhhhh, Pagan Spain. See my review:

RICHARD WRIGHT'S PAGAN SPAIN: MILITANT MODERNISM AT THE APEX
http://autodidactproject.org/my/pagan.html

Nevertheless, I don't think race as a construct will disappear in our lifetimes, certainly not in the USA. The definitions are being stretched due to (1) the increase in "mixed" couples and "mixed" children; (2) the differentiation of the educated middle class, especially among the young, a percentage of which can no longer be classified unambiguously as "culturally" black. However, the category of race remains firmly in place for the time being.

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