Thursday 8 September 2011

The Question of Race

If there is no biological explanation for race, how did it come about and why does it continue to be so important to this day?
Our country is built upon the belief that all men are created equal. If this is so, then one may ask why so much conflict, crime, stereotypes, criticism, and debate have arisen centered around the issue of race. Race is defined as "A local geographic or global human population distinguished as a more or less distinct group by genetically transmitted physical characteristics" (see citation at end), however modern, unbiased, and what would be considered as "unracist" scientific research has proven that a person's race cannot in fact be defined by genetically transmitter physical characteristics. Are we not all considered equal? Why does it matter then, this perceived and futile term? I believe that one reason the aspect of what race you are is so present in our society today is that it has simply been around for long enough. Ingrained into our minds and often both consciously and subconsciously effecting our immediate impressions or characterizations of the people around us, race is something that has undeniably shaped our society, be it for the better or the worse. Why does race continue to be so important today? I believe it's because of fear. America is a big country, and the world is a vast, intelligent, and amazing place full of smart, innovative people. But all of these people are white. In history, the power has laid in the hands of the whites and in turn they have created the hierarchy that was present in society for hundreds of years; the concept of white supremacy over all others. Of course society has advanced and equality has become something that America can use in it's founding statement more honestly, but there is still the racial issue and there is still a very present advantage of being white. I hope that this is something our country and indeed the world will outgrow with time, but for now the world will still be affected by this concept of color.


Three Questions I Have...
1. How have whites retained the position at the top of the racial hierarchy in the western world for so long? 
2. How do people of other races characterize white people physically? We hear a lot about racial stereotypes coming from whites about others but what is it like the other way around?
3. For how much longer will the "advantage of being white" stay an advantage? Years? Decades? Centuries?

citation
http://www.answers.com/topic/race-1

1 comment:

  1. Excellent observation on the history of race. There is indeed many, many talented, smart, and innovative people who are not white. In fact, the majority of these people are not white. The "hierarchy" that whites have created keeps others down and treats their ideas as inferior. It's a system that keeps other people from being heard or reaching their potential.

    Responses to your questions:
    1. Through fear and violence, and through a steady stream of propaganda via the news, the media, and the schools teaching racist views. Sad, but this is the recipe for keeping one's group in power. This is what happened in Libya and other dictatorships currently operating.
    2. Good question! My wife's mother is full Filipino, and it's interesting to hear her family talk about how "all white people look the same". You hear this same thing from whites about blacks, or Asians. I'm reading Poisonwood Bible, about a white American family who moved to the Congo in Africa. One daughter was very blond, and the African children would constantly try to pull her hair out because they didn't think it was real, but rather attached to her head somehow. On a different note, some white missionaries were thought to be "ghosts" by the natives because their skin was so pale.
    3. It's just a guess, but probably for decades, since the system that allows whites to stay on top is firmly in place. Of course, being white in a place like Asia is a disadvantage, because whites are considered different, strange, and inferior.

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