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Author Topic:   Evolution is antithetical to racism
Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1444 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 218 of 238 (830579)
04-03-2018 12:52 PM


Evolution provides the popular imagination with reasons for racism
I wanted a place to put a simple observation and this seems to be the place. I recently watched the Netflix film "Mudbound" -- I highly recommend it, the acting is fantastic, the story is more real than we'd like it to be.
Later I remembered a line from it, about how the black guy who served in WWII was slapped on the butt by a European girl who explained to him that the white GIs had told her the blacks were more monkey than human, so she was checking for a tail. Evidence that human descent from an apelike forbear had become the content of current racism.
I haven't read much of this thread but enough to know that people fight the idea that the theory of evolution has anything to do with racism. But historically it is known to have fueled racism. Historically Hitler did make use of it, and so did Margaret Sanger who promoted abortion -- she had in mind mostly blacks, and she was a proponent of eugenics, as was Hitler.
Of course the ToE didn't invent racism, that was already part of human experience, a form of tribalism I guess. But there is no doubt the idea that humans descend from an apelike ancestor, and that human origins are often traced to Africa, fuels the idea that there are levels of human beings, more evolved and less evolved human beings. If it was just a matter of built-in variation of the Kind there wouldn't be levels, it takes the idea of evolution to bring in levels, although granted, that is a popular misunderstanding and officially there is no reason to think in terms of progress in evolution. Supposedly anyway. I think it's the natural conclusion but OK you can claim it's a mistake.
There was racism even before evolution of course, and the hard thing to grasp is how it could have coexisted with Christianity since Biblically it is very clear we are all descended from one set of human parents, so we're all cousins.

Replies to this message:
 Message 219 by jar, posted 04-03-2018 1:16 PM Faith has replied
 Message 222 by PaulK, posted 04-03-2018 2:23 PM Faith has replied

  
Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1444 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 220 of 238 (830590)
04-03-2018 1:53 PM
Reply to: Message 219 by jar
04-03-2018 1:16 PM


Re: Evolution provides the popular imagination with reasons for racism
Adam and Eve were quite real.
You aren't thinking any further back "historically" than a century or two. Racism is antithetical to Christianity.

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Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1444 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 223 of 238 (830598)
04-03-2018 2:45 PM
Reply to: Message 222 by PaulK
04-03-2018 2:23 PM


Re: Evolution provides the popular imagination with reasons for racism
True, people have used those Biblical events as excuses for racism too.

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Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1444 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 225 of 238 (830602)
04-03-2018 3:06 PM
Reply to: Message 224 by PaulK
04-03-2018 3:01 PM


Re: Evolution provides the popular imagination with reasons for racism
The Jews of the day did call for Jesus' execution and for the release of another instead, one Barabbas. But Jesus forgave all His persecutors so there is no excuse for persecuting the Jews based on that Biblical fact.

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Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1444 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 228 of 238 (830632)
04-04-2018 1:28 PM
Reply to: Message 227 by Coyote
04-03-2018 6:00 PM


Re: Racism and anthropology
Seems to me the idea of race is pretty simple: it's the collection of traits that emerge in an isolated part of the species gene pool over years of inbreeding. In animals this often leads to inability to breed with the parent population or other populations or races for one reason or another, but humans continue to be able to interbreed. So in animals races often become new "species." But I agree, overall the idea is artificial, it's just an accident of history that a group gets isolated and inbred.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

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Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1444 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 230 of 238 (830636)
04-04-2018 2:28 PM
Reply to: Message 229 by NoNukes
04-04-2018 2:12 PM


Re: Racism and anthropology
Are ad hominems all you have to offer? Why not your own understanding of race?

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Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1444 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 232 of 238 (830638)
04-04-2018 2:44 PM
Reply to: Message 231 by PaulK
04-04-2018 2:36 PM


Re: Racism and anthropology
I was responding to Coyote. What's your problem?

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Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1444 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 234 of 238 (830654)
04-04-2018 4:08 PM
Reply to: Message 233 by PaulK
04-04-2018 2:50 PM


Re: Racism and anthropology
I responded to Coyote with my understanding of how races come about. I have no reason whatever to think anything different than that. NoNukes said nothing about my description just started putting me down personally. What led you to get into this I have no idea, and I don't even know what you are talking about.

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Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1444 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 237 of 238 (830672)
04-04-2018 6:28 PM
Reply to: Message 236 by NoNukes
04-04-2018 5:50 PM


Re: Racism and anthropology
Well thanks for the clarification. I had no idea what on earth you had in mind. Mutations eh? That's your excuse for the personal attack? Byond that, single species, where did I disagree with that?: Single sub-species? Under wht species?
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

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