Re: What Are the Race Deniers Denying?

bterr@aol.com (CSKBB@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU)
Fri, 29 Nov 1996 17:07:37 EST

>Note to Carl Skutsch: You are contributing yourself to the
clutter on this thread. I'm trying to find out what the race deniers are
denying. If you are one that things that there is no such thing as race
in humans, please tell us what you mean by race.
Frank Forman
frank@clark.net "It is a far, far better thing to be firmly anchored in
nonsense than to put out on the troubled seas of thought" - John Kenneth
Galbraith

Yo Frank, you want my views on race, you can get them here, right off
the presses:

1 - Race, as defined by most white nationalist types does not exist.
This is the belief that peoples are linked together by some biological
bond which is made physically obvious by shared physical traits.
The problem is, the racial thinkers can never pin down scientifically
what race is. Yes, certain groups of people share certain traits,
(dark skin, rounder faces, etc) but those traits are constantly
evolving as the human race interbreeds amongst itself (as it has
always done). Biologically we have a hell of a lot more in common
with each other than a belief in race would suggest.

2 - Race does exist as a social construct. People have used this physical
fact - humans living in the same area tend to develop similar features -
to argue that these physical differences of appearance are very important
and should be the basis of political / social alliances, along the lines
of "my race good, your race can go to hell for all I care." While I think
this is silly (and sad), it is a political reality that I cannot ignore.
And, I should add, it is a belief shared by members of all racial groups:
black nationalists who argue that whites are evil ice people are just as
racist as whites who believe in aryan superiority and jews who believe
that jews have a greater right to a homeland than palestinians.

3 - In my ideal world (unrealized yet), race will be as important as hair
color in affecting our view of the world. I condemn all racism,
wherever it comes from, because it creates artificial barriers between
all of us humans--the only category that really matters.

Carl Skutsch
cskbb@cunyvm.cuny.edu