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Racism rant! (pg. 5)
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| XaNaX |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jackson
but no, the old lady decides to start by having a go at my gf and saying "We que up in this country!":whip: :whip: For christ |
Fight fire with fire. She should have told that old bag to go die somewhere and do the world a favor. |
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| el.maestro |
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jackson
So ive just had my gf crying when she just got back from the supermarket. .....
Truth is, this kind of krap happens all over the world even in places you would not expect. It is unfortunate that your gf was so hurt.
But maybe the answer is to realize that she should not allow herself to be upset because some old 'bag lady' says something stupid. After all, consider the source. The person who made this comment is no road scholar. Don't let the statement be validated by allowing to go unchallenged.
And when the time comes, I hope you both have the emotional strength to raise your right arm, palm up, make a fist and extend the middle finger :) |
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| Arbiter |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
Sorry to hear that, Jackson, this is one of the sad things that happen out of ignorance. Really, when will people learn that there's no such thing as "races"? In fact, what are they?
Definitions by colour? Well, my girlfriend's skin colour is not different than mine - they're of a whiteish beige if we don't sunbath and, after standing under the sun being red for a while, it's tanned. Yet, people insist on labelling us in different races. We got the same eye colour (brown) and same hair colour (black/dark brown).
Eye shape? The corner of her eyes are a wee bit more narrow than mine, and her eyelashes grow inner in the eyelid. That's all the difference there is, which seems to be enough for people labelling us as being from different races.
Culture? She's been Catholic for many years, just like me, although I do study Buddhism. She was born not far from where my mother was born. We both eat Pćo de Queijo and ramen and dance to Brazilian folk music. For some reason, people find it weird that she's a Catholic and dances to Brazilian music and that I study Buddhism and eat ramen.
These labels are nothing but rough simplifications. In fact, while I am white in Brazil, white in the Far East and in Mediterranean countries, I would suddenly become hispanic in North America (despite of having English, Dutch, Jewish, African and Arab heritage too).
Race, more than beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. |
This is exactly what people need to realize. Race is a completely imaginary characteristic born out of insecurity and pseudoscience.
To quote Richard Dawkins, one of the leading scientific authorities in the fields of ethology and evolutionary biology:
| quote: | | Today we know that, at the genetic level, our species is more than usually uniform. It has been said that there is more genetic variation among the chimpanzees of a small region of Africa than among the entire world population of humans (suggesting that we have been through a bottleneck in the past 100,000 years or so). Moreover, the great majority of human genetic variation is to be found within races, not between them. This means that if you were to wipe out all human races except one, the great majority of human genetic variance would be preserved. The variance between races is just a bit extra, stuck on the top of the greater quantity of variation within all races. It is for this reason that many geneticists advocate the complete abandonment of the concept of race. (http://www.world-of-dawkins.com/Daw...n-wallace.shtml) |
It's time to let go of the unjustified, unintelligible, and utterly useless notion of "races" altogether. |
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| ShadoWolf |
| quote: | Originally posted by Arbiter
It's time to let go of the unjustified, unintelligible, and utterly useless notion of "races" altogether. |
are you blind? |
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| Ian^ |
| quote: | Originally posted by ShadoWolf
are you blind? |
I'd actually say he is one of the best thinkers on the forums whose posts are always worth reading, but still :) |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by ShadoWolf
are you blind? |
In what sense would blindess be related to considering the concept of races as being "unjustified, unintelligible, and utterly useless"? There's nothing wrong with what he said. |
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| ShadoWolf |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
In what sense would blindess be related to considering the concept of races as being "unjustified, unintelligible, and utterly useless"? There's nothing wrong with what he said. |
The existence of race is self-evident.
"The Emperor has no clothes!!!" |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by ShadoWolf
The existence of race is self-evident. |
And why is that?
It's more of an abstract definition (as a rough simplification) than something that actually exists. Read my post and see what I mean.
I agree with Arbiter in this case. I like to have my concepts challenged though, so, if you think there's anything wrong, just shoot ;)
edit: By the way, what ethnic group would we belong to, then? (You and me) Would you be able to tell?
| quote: | Originally posted by ShadoWolf
"The Emperor has no clothes!!!" |
:conf: |
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| ShadoWolf |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
And why is that?
It's more of an abstract definition (as a rough simplification) than something that actually exists. Read my post and see what I mean.
I agree with Arbiter in this case. I like to have my concepts challenged though, so, if you think there's anything wrong, just shoot ;)
:conf: |
I agree that there are some over-simplifications vis-a-vis race, but to deny the existence of race is also over-simplification.
Clearly, different racial groups exist, the existence of which is confirmed by observing different physical features.
Saying there's no such thing as race is like saying the Emperor is wearing clothes, although by plain view he clearly is not. |
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| ShadoWolf |
versus
practically different species |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by ShadoWolf
I agree that there are some over-simplifications vis-a-vis race, but to deny the existence of race is also over-simplification. |
It's not a simplification, but rather the fair notion that each one of us is an individual. It just can't get any more accurate than that, as it avoids basic mistakes. | quote: | Originally posted by ShadoWolf
Clearly, different racial groups exist, the existence of which is confirmed by observing different physical features. |
Grouping people according to their physical characteristics leads quite often to misleading conclusions. So, you posted two individuals that belong to "practically different species", right?
 Hair: Both individuals have dark hair. The only difference would be the texture, as the African woman has got curly hair whereas the Korean girl has got straight hair. This difference, though, can be found within the same race - there are white people with straight hair, white people with wavy hair and white people with curly hair. This fact alone invalidates this point. Not to mention the different hair colours people can have.
- Eyes: Both individuals have dark eyes. If anything, you can claim the shape is different, as the African woman's got "round eyes" and the Korean girl's got "narrow eyes". White people have got "round eyes" as well and native Americans also have "narrow eyes" (see pic at the right bit of this post). Differences also happen within races, as eyeshapes do differ from individual to individual and, although I cannot prove it now due to the lack of pictures but I've seen at least a couple of "non-hybrid" Japanese blooded people with "rounded eyes". This fact alone would invalidate this point. Not to mention the different eye colours people can have.
- Skin colour: If anything, skin colour would be the greatest difference between them, but as we all know, this is yet another difference that can be found within races. I know Asian people who have got fairer skin when compared to me and Asian people who have got darker skin when compared to me. The same is valid when it comes to native Americans, and, as weird as it may sound, also to white and black people. A proof of how misleading these labels can be: Usually Far East Asians are known to have "yellow" skin, although the only reason why they're called "yello" is because when the first European travellers got to China, they noticed their clothes were yellow because of a river they cleaned their clothes in. Thus, they were known among them as "yellow" people. Nevertheless my girlfriend's birth certificate declares she's got yellow skin, and my birth certificate declares I've got white skin... and when we compare, our skins' hue are not that difference - in fact, this small difference could be found amongst people from the same race, once again. Yet another fact that could invalidate your theory.
- Body: both individuals belong to the Homo Sapiens Sapiens species, so they're bound to have two ears, one nose, two nostrils, two arms, 10 fingers and 10 toes, et coetera. Even if the shape is different, this is also true for people from the same ethnic groups...
... the list could just go on and on.
- Combinations: So, you may even claim that all these factors alone wouldn't be able to define the person unless they were combined. What about Arabs? Many of them have dark hair, dark "rounded" eyes, white/tanned skin, and straight hair; which happens to be also the description of many individuals from Europe and other parts of Asia/Africa. This is just an example out of many others. You might even take the black and white, but there's a huge gray area.
They certainly can't be from different species...
| quote: | Originally posted by ShadoWolf
Saying there's no such thing as race is like saying the Emperor is wearing clothes, although by plain view he clearly is not. |
I don't know this tale :conf: |
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| Radagast |
| quote: | Originally posted by ShadoWolf
Saying there's no such thing as race is like saying the Emperor is wearing clothes, although by plain view he clearly is not. |
You're about as proficient at making correct analogies as you are at defending your bigotry. |
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