"Plz refrain from discussing race" ??!!

[Apoc Arad]

"Plz refrain from discussing race" ??!!

It's in the Starbuck Forum's description, the entire sentences is "Please refrain from discussing race/religion/politics " .

I totally understand for politics ( capitalism is better!- no, communism is!) or religion (god exist - no he doesnt!) topics; those discussion are often neverending and useless, people dont changing their mind from and just argue to death with others.

But races ??!! Is it possible to have several opinions on race ? There's one and only human race , that's all.

So, can a mod explain me ? Many thanks.

 

[Monoxide]

Re: "Plz refrain from discussing race" ??!!

From the scientific point of view there is only one race of humans, but some people use the word "race" when describing different cultures or varying levels of melanin. It's to keep the impact of ignorance and the imperfect English language to a minimum.

You don't need a mod response.

 

[dyckens cydur]

Re: "Plz refrain from discussing race" ??!!

Some people suggest that blacks or whites or whatever are different races. While there is scientific evidence that suggests this there is also scientific evidence that suggests its not. Maybe whoever made it thought they are different races.

Just think of words like "racial" or "racist." Where do they derive from? Its just a word thats used.

 

[Monoxide]

Re: "Plz refrain from discussing race" ??!!

Usage Note: The notion of race is nearly as problematic from a scientific point of view as it is from a social one. European physical anthropologists of the 17th and 18th centuries proposed various systems of racial classifications based on such observable characteristics as skin color, hair type, body proportions, and skull measurements, essentially codifying the perceived differences among broad geographic populations of humans. The traditional terms for these populationsCaucasoid (or Caucasian), Mongoloid, Negroid, and in some systems Australoidare now controversial in both technical and nontechnical usage, and in some cases they may well be considered offensive. (Caucasian does retain a certain currency in American English, but it is used almost exclusively to mean “white” or “European” rather than “belonging to the Caucasian race,” a group that includes a variety of peoples generally categorized as nonwhite.) The biological aspect of race is described today not in observable physical features but rather in such genetic characteristics as blood groups and metabolic processes, and the groupings indicated by these factors seldom coincide very neatly with those put forward by earlier physical anthropologists. Citing this and other points such as the fact that a person who is considered black in one society might be nonblack in another many cultural anthropologists now consider race to be more a social or mental construct than an objective biological fact.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/race

 

[dyckens cydur]

Re: "Plz refrain from discussing race" ??!!

Yes, I think we can all use a dictionary. Nice post..