“Where do you stand on race, heritage, and the destruction of what makes unique and interesting people, unique and interesting people; in the hopes of a world with 'one people?'”
You ask this question as one who thinks that the fulfillment of ANY concept of “One People” requires that differences of culture, heritage, language, etc. must be erased. There are probably some who want to have such a uniform version of a world with “one people”, but I have yet to converse on this topic with any. There have been many cases in history of a conquering culture imposing their ways upon the culture of the conquered (Europeans over native Americans, for example.) These are aggressive and unjust acts of oppression, which are entirely contrary to the ideals of most people who talk about having “One planet, one people”. Most of the advocates that I know of a world with one people (and I am one myself) are well acquainted with the concept of “unity in diversity”. This means that the only part of a culture that must be sacrificed is the drive to dominate, compete with, and belittle others for being of another race or culture. To say that we are all “one people” is to embrace our differences and to cooperate together for the common good, instead of being in conflict because of our differences. Part of the process of attaining this oneness is the adoption of a universal, auxiliary language which will allow anyone to communicate with anyone else. “Universal” in that it will be taught in schools everywhere in the world. “Auxiliary” in the sense that it will be learned in addition to one's native tongue. Unity in diversity teaches that we need to develop a loyalty to all of homo sapiens sapiens; that love for our fellow human should be stronger than our love for our separate race, culture, heritage, or other affiliation. At the same time it teaches that, like a garden that is made more beautiful by having many different kinds of flowers, the human race is more beautiful because of the many different cultures, colors and languages that have developed. On Jan 8, 2:39 am, fiddler <[email protected]> wrote: > Many people -in a misguided effort to be pc- claim race to be non- > existent. > Others -simply misguided- view melanin to be the only indicator of > race. > Many view race in an unhealthy and divisive manner, some reason not to > like "them." > Many view race in an equally unhealthy fascination, such as people > that only date others of a specific and different race. > > Race is best described as a set of genetic traits that pass down in a > predictable pattern. Dark skin is only more melanin than light skin, > therefore is not a racial indicator. However, dark skin, small > stature, specific and recognizable facial features, arm length, trunk > length, eye colour, blood type, etc., can all combine to give one a > racial heritage. A turkish nose combined with a slanted eye structure > and blonde hair only mean that you are of no definite race. Any person > that has spent time in the orient, or near asians that develop "towns" > in large cities (i.e.:chinatown) can easily discern the difference > between Japanese, Chinese, Korean, or Vietnamese for this reason. All > of the indicators are similar, but subtle and genetically reproduced > traits produce different "looks." > > I meet so many people that want to appear open minded while they end > up only appearing stupid or ill-informed. Often one hears that race > doesn't exist because humans can interbreed...yes, people repeat this > absurdity. This does not indicate race, it would instead indicate a > different species. Race refers to a smaller grouping of genetically > diverse sets within a species. It is a "breed," much like dog or cat > populations. The fact that a Siamese cat can breed with a tabby does > not indicate that there is no difference between them. It merely means > that they have a different sub-grouping. I am occasionally stunned at > how vehement people protest when compared to their pets. Sorry, races > are identical in concept to breeds. > > Knowing this, how likely are you to be a "tabby" person vs. a Siamese > person? Would you detest a neighbour that allowed his Rottweiler to > impregnate a Dane? Do you view a Labradoodle to be an abomination? It > sounds quite silly, doesn't it? Even a devout racist would laugh at > the idea. But how then, can people declare human interbreeding to be > an affront to their god? Believe it or not, this is still an active > topic in many countries. An Arab "mixing" with a Pakistani or Indian, > a "white" mixing with a native American or "black", etc., are still > abhorred and occasionally murdered for the affront (or vice versa). > > I noticed a few people claim to want a world consciousness that allows > "one people" to be a concept, but can it? Remember that racial is only > one characteristic of humanity that people are murdered for. "Mixing" > or forsaking ones religion is another. Regional differences -Basque > and Spaniard, Russian and Ukrainian, etc.,- is another. > > I'm not a person that calls for the "one people" concept. I believe > that heritage is a special tie that allows one to remember their > ancestors and the past- something that allows such beautiful things as > garb, language, custom, etc.. I firmly believe that ignoring race (or > attempting to) causes far more problems than it solves. Celebrating > Chinese new year in Chinatown is something I would suggest to anyone > for an example of how awesome diversity can be. Why can't we allow > others their cultural inheritance, so long as the culture itself isn't > corrupt? Yes this seems to be contrary, but please think about a > religious fundamentalist that wants your death and whether or not you > want to "celebrate" the idea. > > Where do you stand on race, heritage, and the destruction of what > makes unique and interesting people, unique and interesting people; > in the hopes of a world with "one people?"
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