At 07:48 AM 11/08/2001 +0200, KPJ wrote:
>Racism follows logically from evolution, as it makes all the units of a
>potential new species to support the species. A species needs to wish to
>exist, or it will die out.
Actually, I don't think it does follow logically. It may possibly be an
accidental (and maladaptive) result of the desire for a "normal" healthy
mate, but I don't think it *has* to come from that, and I doubt that we
could ever prove that it comes from one or another factor, so we can
speculate but never really come to a conclusion on this.
The danger of associating it with evolution is that many people think that
evolution is an infallible mechanism for creating better and better
organisms. But that isn't so. Evolution is a grand game of roulette.
Sometimes good designs get wiped out by trivial accidents and bad designs
flourish. On the whole evolution works, but only in a blind, stumbling way.
Racism could be seen as an expression of a desire for normalcy so that we
tend to choose breeding mates who are healthy and not stricken with any
really dangerous mutations. Unfortunately this means that superficial,
trivial but obvious changes to the person's appearance would be biased
heavily against (like different colored skin) when in fact they can be of
great advantage to our genetic stock (my fair-skinned genetic line could
certainly do with a bit more protection against the sun). At the same time
this tendency to select based upon appearance can overlook very nasty
traits like aberrant blood clotting and actually concentrate such genetic
weaknesses in the limited "pure" gene pool.
But I kinda doubt that this selection mechanism is genetic though. I think
it is more likely to be social. I, with my anglo genes, am most attracted
to Indian and Asian features in women... so I don't think an evolutionary
explanation is really compelling.
>Racism and wish for longevity form the sides of he same coin, one of them
>collectivistic (racism), the other individualistic (wish for longevity).
>
>I believe one could say the problem lies with collectivism, of which
>racism forms just a small part.
Your point here eludes me completely, I'm sorry.
I don't understand the connection you are trying to find between racism and
collectivism, or even the opposition between those two and individualism
and longevity.
Cheers,
- Miriam
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Q. What is the similarity between an elephant and a grape?
A. They are both purple... except for the elephant.
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