Race

[Thorne]

Sure, and if we all stuck to our own and only interbred like with like we'd end up with different species. But humans mix, throughout history, all over the world. Differences are fluid, not set! And just because there are variations in ethnic types does not mean we are different races.

I thought I had made this point, and that this is not necessarily bad.

I disagree. It's a scientific, semantic, cultural and moral issue. Using the term 'race' to describe ethnic differences encourages those with the advantages to view those different from themselves as lesser, a different category of human almost, and inhumanely castigates the disadvantaged.

Yes, I have to agree that 'ethnic group' is a less inflammatory way of describing our differences than 'race'. And please remember, these are simply differences, not necessarily better or worse, just different.

Humans are basicly the same, regardless of that which is traditionally called race. No human is better or worse on this or that, just because of his/her race. Compare this to dog breeds, a dog of a hunting breed is better at hunting than a dog of a herding breed. There are no such differences between the traditionally defined different human races.

I respectfully disagree with this statement. Evolution has allowed different groups to survive in different environments, making them more adapted to those environments. As denuseri points out in her post, these traits are crucial to individuals survival, even in a modern culture. But these are not necessarily bad or good! A native of Saharan Africa would have just as much difficulty surviving in a Himalayan country, as a Sherpa would in the Sahara.

I saw a program today which stated that all of humanity's genes can be traced back about 75,000 years to about 5,000 breeding females on the African continent. Humans are among the least genetically diverse species on the planet, something which came as a surprise to me. According to this program, a person from, say, Scandinavia has fewer genetic differences from a person from Africa, than do two chimpanzees in the same social group!

At the genetic level, we are more alike than I ever realized. And continued interbreeding between ethnic groups narrows those differences even more. The time will come, I have no doubt, when we will all be same, both genetically and politically. It's inevitable.