Does anyone other than me realize that the color of an individual's skin does not under any circumstance make him part of any race, it's a skin tone. Please allow me to elaborate much deeper and with greater detail so no one thinks I'm just spewing nonsense. Factually speaking, the definition of race is specific to physical features, which in turn "used to" also identify ethnicity based on the different regions of the world where these physical features were prominent. However, everyone dismisses the fact that neither race or ethnicity can be proven or predicted by testing the human genome. A vivid example of that fact is an individual who exhibits what some typically refer to as an "Albino Black person" the name is literally a contradiction within itself. You're calling someone white and black at the same time. Does that make this person less of an African American if his skin tone is white? OF COURSE NOT! The term "race" is a social construct specifically used to define groups of people. So why are we using a social construct, which seems pretty clear to me, that's specifically used to segregate the population and divide them into groups based on appearance and physical features? I, an olive-skinned son of Portuguese immigrants, served in the US Army and held the line with African, Latino, Korean, Filipino, Italian, Greek, and Spanish Americans. At no point did we act differently towards each other because of the shade or color of each other's skin. I'm convinced that was because we were in it together from day one. We put our lives in another person's hands and they put their lives in our hands. Until we as a society drop the social constructs that bigots put in place to keep race and ethnicities segregated we are never going to be rid of bigots and bigotry as a whole. I do understand that African Americans have gone through unimaginable horrors. However, we can't forget the Japanese inturnment camps of the 1940s during WWII, which wasn't ok either. Have we already forgotten that children from South American countries were ripped from their parents and put in cages? How is that different exactly, from ripping African men from their families and putting them in chains? Oh, that's right, they were then sold as slaves. Isn't that similar to what the Germans did to the Jews in the concentration camps? As I mentioned earlier, I'm of Portuguese descent. I am very well aware of which nation was the worst offender when we're talking about the slave trade. I didn't personally do that, nor would I ever condone putting a pet in a cage; never mind a human being. Can we please stop with the race or ethnicity competitions? It only takes one group of powerful morons to subjugate a group of people based on nothing more than physical features they find less desirable. As long as we, as a people continue to define ourselves using the same social constructs bigots created it is only a matter of time before a different skin tone or physical feature is used to select a new group of people. I can't stand when good people sit back and say it has nothing to do with me. It has everything to do with everyone. If bigots are allowed to run out in the open unchecked, what happens when they add others to their list of undesirables? What if the next group is yours, your mom's, your dad's, or your partner's skin tone or physical features? Would it be ok if African Americans, Japanese Americans, or Latino Anericans did to other American families what was done to them? While it would be well within their right to do so in the true spirit of justice (Eye for an Eye, etc.) that would just change the dynamics between oppressor and oppressed. It would do nothing to rid us of bigotry and would simply empower radical bigots who have found a platform from which to speak to the masses over the past 5 years. To me that's unacceptable. So please stop using your physical description as the primary narrative of who you are or where you're from. Even people that are color blind can distinguish the difference between a black person and a white person. It says nothing about you or the content of your character. It doesn't honor your family heritage or describe it's origins. Isn't the latter far more important than the color of your skin?
I'd like to thank you for reading and welcome opposing views. Conversations about hard topics inevitably leads to better understanding. It is to that purpose I decided to post this thread. Hopefully, I didn't offend anyone. It most certainly is not my intention and please accept my sincere apology if I have offended anyone unintentionally.
Please be save and prosperous.
PJ
Next time you may want to do a smidgeon of research before making such an authoritative statement.
How Many Races Are There in the World?
By Staff WriterLast Updated May 27, 2020 7:37:09 PM ET
https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?te.../world-view/many-races-world-bb7c1ea95ddd1c57
Helge V. Keitel/ flickr
Human race and a person’s ethnicity are often confused with one another. However, there is a big difference between these two. Race deals with the physical characteristics of a person or group of people. These include their bone structure, skin, eye color, and hair. Ethnicity is used in reference to cultural factors. These factors include nationality, regional culture, ancestry, and language. It is by all standards a subcategory of a specific race.
The Meyers Konversations-Lexikon was a German encyclopedia that was used from 1839 until 1984. According to its contents, three major human races around the world were recognized. These included Caucasian, Mongolian, and Negroid. Today, four major divisions of the human race are acknowledged. These include Caucasian/White, Mongoloid/Asian, Negroid/Black and Australoid. The United States Census Bureau goes as far as to include six races that it recognizes as living within the U.S. and its territories. These being White, Black/African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. Let’s explore the four major races recognized worldwide.
Caucasian/White
Caucasian races include Aryans, Hamites, and Semites. Their distinctive physical characteristics include a long head with a high forehead. They have little supraorbital development. Their face is mainly narrow. The nose is long and narrow. Both the root and bridge sit at a high level. Their skin is classified as being white or lightly pigmented. The origins of the Caucasian race come from Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.
Negroid/Black
Negroid races include African, Hottentots, Melanesians/Papua, Negrito, Australian Aborigine, Dravidians, and the Sinhalese. Their physical characteristics include having a dolichocephalic skull with a small number being Brachycephalic. They have a high forehead that has little supraorbital development. The jaw is pointed forward. The nose sits low and has a broad root and bridge. Identifiable depressions can often be seen at the root of the nose. The origins of the Negroid race come from different groups residing throughout Africa.
Mongoloid/Asian
Mongolian races include northern Mongolian, Chinese, Indo-Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, Malayan, Polynesian, Maori, Micronesian, Eskimo, and American Indian or Native American. Their physical characteristics include having a short round head that has a high crown. Their foreheads are slightly lower than that of a Caucasian. They have no supraorbital development. Their face is wide and short with a projecting cheekbone structure. Those from Asian groups often have shovel-shaped incisors. Mongolian races have low and broad noses at the root and bridge. Mongolian races originate from areas including Korea, India, Japan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Alaska, and Pakistan.
Australoid
Australoid races originate from different parts of Asia and Oceania. Their physical characteristics include a long head. Their hair is often black and curly with a silky texture. They possess prominent brow ridges and moderate to large supraorbital ridges. They do possess a large prominent jaw structure. Many Australoid races can be found in the Mediterranean region of Melanochroi, Myanmar, Cambodia, Japan, Australia, Melanesia, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines.
There are a lot of misconceptions about the various races around the world. Decide for yourself if you feel these classifications fit today's world.
www.reference.com
