Is this racist? (obviously I can't tell)

[Warren Dew]

You're right. At least from what I've understood of what I've read, genes don't show racial difference-- race is a cultural and social construct. (Though I'm a little unclear on how to resolve that with things like sickle-cell anemia or certain congenital disorders that seem to occur in a race-specific way.)

There's a graph that may help illuminate the issue here:

http://infoproc.blogspot.com/2010/08/connect-dots.html

Whether that graph shows races or just continuous geographic variation is probably in the eye of the beholder.

But does it make any difference? If race has a genetic component rather than being purely a cultural and social construct, does that suddenly make it okay to be racially bigoted? I would think not.

[charlou]

Was it Sugar Ray Leonard on that seinfeld episode?

Especially ironic, considering what happened to Kramer.

Eh, I don't think there's any way I could know enough to have a stance on this story, but I do know that some people are, from my point of view, oversensitive to the lookalike remarks that happen when any person looks at people of a race they're not that familiar with.

For example, a black woman stopped my friend Roxana and me to ask if we were sisters.
R and I are different heights, have different color and texture hair, different eye color, different skin tone, different builds...

After she left, R looked at me and said, "I guess all us white chicks look the same!"

"Racist bitch!"

We laughed and went to get lunch.

On the other hand, we weren't eleven-year-olds, and it wasn't someone talking about our dads...

I think it's kinda natural (not a value judgement, just an observation) for our ability to discern unique differentiating features to be hampered by something new or unusual to our mind.

Take pets for example ... Anyone who has pets will know that their pet has unique features that sets them apart from others ... If your pet is a german shepherd you'll pick your pet out easily among a group of german shepherds who all look kinda different from each other ... but if your pet is a german shepherd, and you are introduced to a poodle association, you'll maybe just see your pet and a bunch of poodles. The more familiar (and interested?) we become, the better able we are to discern less obvious / more subtle differences.

I think it's an intriguing aspect of how we process information.

Another example that comes to mind ... When you buy a car how readily you notice similar cars in traffic ... Or even if you're just interested in that type or those types of cars, for whatever reason ... you tend to pick them out in traffic ... while other types, not so much and tend to blend more.

I'm sure there are heaps of examples of where our familiarity and/or interest level makes a difference to perception.

[charlou]

Manufacturers use design and advertising to exploit that pattern and association tendency.

[JimC]

Warren Dew wrote:

But does it make any difference? If race has a genetic component rather than being purely a cultural and social construct, does that suddenly make it okay to be racially bigoted? I would think not.

Very, very true...

[Santa_Claus]

I remember when I was working a lame job at a bank, a Korean student came in to open an account. Out of nowhere, she asked if I could tell what country she came from.

Koreans are quite easy to spot - they look like Japanese..............who have been hit in the face by a brick.

[Tyrannical]

Judging from the picture the parents are just as bigoted as the kid, which explains the kid's behavior.

You said that without any irony, didn't you?

You didn't look at the picture, did you?

You didn't read the article
They don't dislike Blacks




That includes Julian Eubanks, a childhood friend of Grayson’s mother who bunked with the Thomas family for the first six months of 2011 while he looked for acting work.

I am the friend that stayed with the Thomas family, mentioned in this article. I have known Tina Thomas my entire life. Back when she was Tina Combs, we grew up acrossed the street from one another in a fairly interegrated neighborhood back in Alabama. She and her sister were my babysitters and her younger brother was my partner in neighborhood mischief. Our families have remained close. After their marriage, in which I attended, I got to know Darren as well. These have always been two people who have judged on peoples hearts and minds, not the color of ones exterior. This is the manner in which they’ve raised their children.

Last spring while staying with the Thomas family, I got to know all three of their children. At no time had the kids ever given me the inkling of a racists ideology. Especially seeing their friends parade in and out of the house. During this time, 11 year old Grayson, the victim in the farce, became my buddy and(uh’em) my favorite Thomas. He’s precocious and mischeivious as most any 11 year old boy, but anything far and away from being a racist. Or, making comments that could be misconstrued as racist. It’s just not who these people, or any of their children are!

As a man of color and a close friend to this family, I am offened that such a grotesque accusation could be made against any of them, especially my “G-Man”. The so called adults in control of this situation have handled it horribly and the the Thomas’s have payed the price. I’m not sure what can be done at this point, but it’s gotten to a point where they need to intervene and clear this young man’s name. It’s absolutely the least that they could do. Still, I’m not sure they are wise enough to see how badly this whole thing has been mishandled. I won’t hold breathe. As we say in the
south,”you can’t fix stupid”.

[Gallstones]

Warren Dew wrote:

But does it make any difference? If race has a genetic component rather than being purely a cultural and social construct, does that suddenly make it okay to be racially bigoted? I would think not.

Very, very true...

All of pheontypy is genetic.
Clearly traits and features are heritable and gentic.

I am of the opinion that there are races. I am also of the opinion that that is a good thing--genetic diversity.
I am also of the opinion that these heritable features are not reason for prejudice.

[Gallstones]

As for the kid, if the full story reveals that there was intended bigotry then he probably learned it at home--like I did.
Expelling him confines him to that environment where he can no longer associate with people who are different and removes his opportunity to learn to appreciate differences.

If the school cares about his character then expulsion was the perfectly wrong thing to do.

[Gallstones]

Another thing, if I like you I like you. If I don't I don't.
This causing people to walk on eggs for disliking a person who happens to be of a different race and being called racist for it is bullshit.

[Gallstones]

Another thing, for those people who claim there are no races, why is it that Obama is considered black?

[hadespussercats]

Another thing, for those people who claim there are no races, why is it that Obama is considered black?

I'm not claiming there aren't races-- just that racial differences are superficial. I've read that I'm as likely (if not more likely) to have genetic similarities with someone of a different race than with someone who's white. Which means, at least in my view, that I could claim to be a different race from a person with pale skin, freckles, and red hair. But socially and culturally, brunettes and gingers both count as white.

As far as Obama goes, well, he's biracial. People like to forget his white mother, and laugh at him if he does things like celebrate his Irish heritage. He's called black because he has dark skin and kinky hair. And maybe because of that old slavery-days notion that one drop of black blood makes you black.

I think it'd be great if we could talk about being black in the same offhand way someone might talk about having green eyes. Some people already do.

[hadespussercats]

As for the kid, if the full story reveals that there was intended bigotry then he probably learned it at home--like I did.
Expelling him confines him to that environment where he can no longer associate with people who are different and removes his opportunity to learn to appreciate differences.

If the school cares about his character then expulsion was the perfectly wrong thing to do.

I heartily second this. He's a kid. Teach him how not to be a racist, if that's the problem.

[hadespussercats]

But does it make any difference? If race has a genetic component rather than being purely a cultural and social construct, does that suddenly make it okay to be racially bigoted? I would think not.

Of course not. But the lack of genetic difference makes clear that racial difference is not inherent, or an insurmountable barrier to harmony between different groups.

[hadespussercats]

But does it make any difference? If race has a genetic component rather than being purely a cultural and social construct, does that suddenly make it okay to be racially bigoted? I would think not.

Of course not. But the lack of genetic difference makes clear that racial difference is not inherent, or an insurmountable barrier to harmony between different groups.

I'm thinking of The Bell Curve controversy, and the like.

[Gallstones]

What about the medical and health issues surrounding race?
Those are more than superficial.

What this means is that race is deeper than skin.