Does RACE exist?

the only race I belong to is the human race...

thank you for this info
I have a very colorful family and its wonderful

you go B F

That is very true & I think we are all related if you really think about it. Adam & Eve were the 1st parents on earth & so we all come from their seed in some way. ;o)

i definitely dont get the idea of race at all ..but there are people that benefit from racism so as long as someone beneifts unfortunately all of us have to suffer outdated stupid ideas

Yes race very much exist

We are all human. People are different because of where they live on the planet. I think it's great that all people are different. To me it adds taste to life.

Thanks for the great info. I've only been telling others this for years and they thought I was nuts. They would argue until they turned blue.

Great bit of history. My generation seems to be better about it, but I remember listening to my great grandma complain about blacks in stores and such. It was so hard for me to relate racisim with my own family, since it was not prevelant in social situations to me. I agree with Lyla, we will all end up brown some day. Too bad for me I was too early, I will be helping to keep the gene pool white, and unable to tan.

Maybe race doesn't exist, but culture surely does, and it's up to us to learn to embrace worldviews that are outside the cultural norms we were born into.

I totally agree and what is the big deal anyway? I read a book as a child called Freckles, Freckles, Freckles that explained pigment differnces at a child's level.

Depending on where you are there are those that think nationality and race are one in the same. For example there are those that are surpised and say that I can't be Cuban because all Cubans are black. Cubans come in all shades and tones...it is a nationality not a race as defined by society. And why is it on all forms italians/ french/ irish etc are all white? and everyone from a spanish country is bunched in as "hispanic"? Where did that come from? Hispanol? I guess it is better than in the old days when it was just listed as other.

My question is why ask at all? At least now a day you can decline to fill out that section of applications etc.

There is only one race..THE HUMAN RACE!! :)
Blue skies and warm breezes

This is a wonderful way of looking at the world. I am a member of one race (the human) and participate regularly enough to likely be deemed a member of another (the rat).

BRAVO BF!! kudos to the human race! :)

The concept of race is outdated. Not surprised.
"The Journal of Human Evolution." Who knew (that there was such a journal)?

Thanks, Dan - I'm going to reference this article in "GATHER Discusses Tolerance," a new group at nohate.gather.com.

The only race is the human race 8)

Physical anthropologists gave up the concept of race a long time ago.

Thank you for the report. I didn't believe in the color of one's skin. We are a nation of multicolored people.

Lots of traits emerge from genetics: pigmentation of hair, eyes, skin; susceptibility to certain diseases; ability to metabolize lactose, alcohol, and other food and drug chemicals; body shape and size. Whether we choose refer to certain combinations of these traits as a "race" seems to make sense only if you embrace some of the ideas of the eugenics movement of early last century. Hilter pretty much did those sorts of ideas in for most of us.. Geographic diversity is lessening and we are learning more and more about explicit genetic mapping. So the concept of "race" is not as useful as it used to be. Identifying the geographical region of your predominant genetic ancestry makes some sense still for obtaining proper medical care. But if people can have their genomes mapped in the future, geographical distinctions may become much less useful. It still has many pigmentation traits listed on my driver's license.

Are there many ideas that are not "made up"?

I think this is a super-important thing to note.
I have friends across many countries and skin colours.

I don't know if race exists, but I do know that racism does. Thankfully, racism is not as prevalent as it was when I was a child. I have heard a lot of stories of racial issues over the years, and can even remember some of them being a separation of races with simple things like drinking fountains and bathroom. There was even war in the 1860's to try and settle disputes about racism. I just want you all to know that I was not born until the 1950's, therefore had nothing to do with what my ancestors said or did.
I do believe over time we will not have racism as an issue. However, I'm sure somebody will come up with something else to argue over, or maybe they already have.

It is a social construct, not a biological one. Regardless of what certain prize winners have to say.

Very nicely put!

Right on, LaRue & Stacie! Despite strides that have been made, (not only in this country, but worldwide), the issue of race will not be abated until the societal norms, beliefs, stereotypes, prejudices, and outright hatred (social constructs) have been eradicated. Sorry to say, I think we have another century to go.

Dan, well done. You sparked a very interesting debate. Much like the death of the Nobel Prize DNA scientist last week.

Cognitive psychology tells us that human minds like to organize and classify things. This is helpful to our thinking in many ways, but when it comes to our need to classify other people, it can be harmful as well. We risk stereotyping other people instead of taking them on a case-by-case basic. Race may not exist outside of certain thought patterns, but even if we were to abolish the concept of race, humans would still make up categories to define one another.

By the way, I'm part Jewish. We're an ethnic group that includes people of different "races." Some African Jews are black, while Eastern European Jews are white. I just think it's interesting because race and ethnicity don't always intersect as neatly as you might assume they would.

Well said.

If you go back far enough in history, you can trace all humans to one area of the world - one area, one group. Our diversity is based on environmental influences over time - nothing more, nothing less.

One book that I found extremely interesting regarding the argument some make about the "superiority" of one group over another is "Guns, Germs and Steel". Here's the link to the Wikopedia entry about the Pulitzer Prize winning book:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel

After reading this, you will never view the concept of "race" the same again.

Thanks for sharing

I like the reaction I get when I tell people that Jesus was black, oh yeah, he was also a jew - hmmmm - what to do with that haters in the name of god? Hmmmm?

I have 4 different races in my family. No prejudice here.

thanks for sharing

I have a very interesting book (it's packed in a box at the bottom of a hundred others, or I'd get the title for you) that deliniates the factors that are used to differentiate races (on a purely "anthropological level", mind you...) and it's really quite interesting... Skin color, of course, only being ONE of the criteria used (blood type, hair type, etc. also cited -- to differenciate, say, between Native Americans and South Pacific Islanders...) I find it a quite fascinating subject on a purely academic level. All humans, though, have been proved to be "Africans" -- since that is where human kind originated... :o)

One of my favorite courses in college was Human Evolution, and this was one of the principles I remember the most strongly.

I agree with Kevin. Race does not exist but our culture does react to people who are externally different.

Thanks for this article--what is seen as race seems to be more about culture and socioeconmoics. Some of us are very shallow to think that we can know a person by how that person presents him/herself, much less by the inborn traits--hair color, size of feet, height, hair texture, skin color, shape of face or eyes--some valued and some not depending on culture.

Nice Post, Please Feel Free To Take A Look At My Work As Well.

Here to spread some Christmas Cheer!!!!! Merry Christmas!

Thank you for posting this article. I am just stopping in to give you a 10 and to let you know I appreciate your posting here!

Take care! more

I am commenting on all of your articles and photos as you have asked us to do in the mass email sent out! Not all my comments will be personalized as there are 20 pages of articles to read through and even more than that on photos and I would rather spend the time reading and looking and enjoying then writing! Btw I saw you were listed as having 20 pages of articles but it will only let me see 19 of them so I will Comment on everything it lets me see!

Thanks For Your Thoughts Everyone.

Thank You For Posting To:
http://friendsofdanh.gather.com.
Our goal is to help you further your exposure and to support other gather members.