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i'm not saying that there are no biological differences between different groups of people. you're missing the key point here: race doesn't classify people into
by r14c 1y ago
i'm not saying that there are no biological differences between different groups of people. you're missing the key point here: race doesn't classify people into genetic groups, it classifies people based on phenotypes that appear in genetically distinct groups. you're also conflating race with heritable traits in general.
that's what I'm trying to point out with this example: https://www.npr.org/2009/02/02/100057939/your-family-may-once-have-been-a-different-color https://www.npr.org/2009/02/02/100057939/your-family-may-onc...
- otterley 1y ago> race doesn't classify people into genetic groups Race is the word we use to do exactly that. It's not perfect, but it's what we have.
- r14c 1y agoRace is a word we use to divide society into castes. The genetic component is practically tangential to the concept of race. A much more useful concept is ethnicity
- otterley 1y agoMost people use the terms interchangably.
- prmoustache 1y agomost people *in the USA*.
- tptacek 1y agoMost people misuse these terms (don't get me started on "heritable").
- otterley 1y agoFair! I'm probably guilty of it, myself. My primary quibble was with the idea that groupable variations among humans ("race" being one of them) aren't "real" (as opposed to "imaginary"), not about whether the groupings are correct or properly used.
- kasey_junk 1y agoThe problem with race is that it’s more social convention than science. Read Winston Churchill, he’ll tell you all about the various races of the British isles.
- tptacek 1y agoThey just explained why it isn't, and you didn't engage with their point.