Re: What Are the Race Deniers Denying?
Gerold Firl (geroldf@sdd.hp.com)
29 Oct 1996 21:02:21 GMT
In article <553ake$2nl@pelican.unf.edu>, Ron Kephart <rkephart@osprey.unf.edu> writes:
|> frank@clark.net () wrote:
|> > Now if you'll just tell me what you mean by "meaningful," you'll have
|> > answered the original question, "What are the race deniers denying?"
|> By "biologically meaningful" I meant genetically determined traits
|> which cluster together within a given population and which do not
|> occur in other populations.
Your definition is too strict. Subspecies are often defined using less
absolute criteria.
Imagine a species of squirrel which lives on both sides of the grand
canyon. The north rim population has a slightly different color than
the south rim population; hence, they're considered to be different
subspecies. From a suitably olympian perspective, you can argue that
the distinction isn't particularly meaningful; they're both squirrels,
after all. But if you're interested in squirrels, and you want to
understand how they got to be the way they are, then it can be very
meaningful.
If you choose to willfully deny the existance of race in humans, then
you will compromise your ability to understand how we got to be where
we are. Of course, the political benefits of such denial may make it
worth your while; you'll have to be the judge of that.
--
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