Posted by:
koriwhore
(
)
Date: July 02, 2019 10:02PM
Definition of race:
a : an interbreeding group within a species
also : a taxonomic category (such as a subspecies) representing such a group
b : BREED
c : a category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits
It's a cliche to say, "There's no such thing as race. We're all one race, the human race. Race is just a social construct."
We have different races of people.
The US Census requires you to identify yourself according to race. The most accurate figures we have on race in America is the US census. It has White on the left and Islander on the right, and 5 different races in between.
Overall Children
White, 61% 51%
Hispanic, 18 25%
Asian, 12 14%
Multi-racial, 6 5%
Native American, 2 4%
or Islander .7 < 0.5%
Those groups are all, "a category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits"
https://www.aecf.org/blog/what-the-data-say-about-race-ethnicity-and-american-youth/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwgezoBRDNARIsAGzEfe6-VFFDD54Mxekmzq2UJdvP2znGNEfGZ8JLuZhG8jHQkfYwC-MV3PcaAn_-EALw_wcB/"Members of the alt-right are enthusiastic proponents of ancestry testing as a way to prove their “pure” white heritage (with Scandinavian and Germanic ancestry being among the most desirable) and to rule out undesired descent from any other groups (including, unsurprisingly, Africans and the Ashkenazi Jews, but even certain European groups, such as Italians and Armenians). The belief in white superiority, and the need to preserve it, drives the alt-right movement—and genetics is both the weapon and battle standard of this new, supposedly “scientific” racism.
Those who disagree with alt-right ideologies may assume that the alt-right is merely spewing ignorant nonsense. This is certainly true for some of the alt-right. What is perhaps a more difficult truth is that many of the alt-right do, in fact, understand biology and genetics to an impressive extent, even if this understanding is flawed.
For instance, alt-right proponents have stated, correctly, that many people with European and Asian descent have inherited 1-4% of their DNA from Neanderthals ancestors, and those of African descent do not have Neanderthal heritage. They are similarly correct that Neanderthals had larger skulls than humans. Based on these facts, some within the alt-right have claimed that Europeans and Asians have superior intelligence because they have inherited larger brains from their Neanderthal ancestors.
However, this claim ignores that while there is evidence for the effect of Neanderthal DNA on certain traits, there has been no evidence for its effect on intelligence. Furthermore, scientific research indicates that the Neanderthals were not necessarily more intelligent simply because they had larger skulls. Unsurprisingly, the alt-right tends cherry-pick the ideas that align with their preconceived notions of racial hierarchies, ignoring the broader context of the field of human genetics.
Fighting racism with understanding
Just as the alt-right is no longer an easily dismissed fringe group, their arguments have some factual basis, and cannot be swept aside as the babbling of the scientific illiterate. The alt-right is not clumsy in their use of science and genetics in their battle for their “ideals.” Those who oppose the alt-right, and other racist entities, must arm themselves with the same weapons: education, namely scientific and genetic literacy.
Mounting scientific evidence has shown that humans are fundamentally more similar than different from each other. Nonetheless, racism has persisted. Scientific findings are often ignored, or otherwise actively misinterpreted and misused to further racist agendas of extreme political groups. Opponents of these forces must, through their own education and awareness, combat these misleading interpretations and representations of scientific findings.
Today, the question of “race” is no longer merely a political and social issue: as science has rapidly advanced, it has become irrevocably intertwined. The genome contains powerful insights about our biology that could unite us as a species, but which could also be dangerous and divisive if used without understanding. As we look forward to 2017 and onwards, it becomes ever more important to understand what our DNA says about what it means to be human."
Vivian Chou is a Ph.D. candidate in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences program at Harvard Medical School.
http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/science-genetics-reshaping-race-debate-21st-century/