Why is "race" such a sensitive topic if it doesn't exist?

1. 61

   CertifiedHandyposted 10 years ago

   Why is "race" such a sensitive topic if it doesn't exist?
   
   Is race more political than social?
   
   

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2. 85

   SidKempposted 10 years ago

   I would say that racial issues are more social than political. For those who are racist, the feelings and beliefs are deep, strong, and often unconscious. Such feelings can be stirred up politically, but they run deeper than politics.
   
   I'm not sure what you mean when you say race "doesn't exist." I do agree that race has no significance regarding the qualities of people in any way at all. But the whole human species can be divided into three races (they would be called inter-breeding subspecies in animals): Negroid, Caucasian, and Oriental. The genetic differences are tiny, but identifiable.
   
   As for what makes race a sensitive topic. All prejudices are sensitive topics because the feelings run deep, the beliefs are largely unconscious, the effects on people's lives and security are huge, and the attitudes are deep and slow to change. Racial prejudice - like any other prejudice - is a deeply harmful human quality with a high cost in human lives and suffering, a deep injustice, that we can't get rid of easily.

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   1. 61

      CertifiedHandyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      @Sid "race" is a social construction. It was invented so people could claim and justify superiority over "others".

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   2. 85

      SidKempposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hi CertifiedHandy. I think that "race" like many terms, has many meanings in different parts of society and science. It is a way of coping with apparent differences, and a social construction related to superiority, & a fact in physical anthropol

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3. 54

   celafoeposted 10 years ago

   Race is only an issue to those who use it for gain.    There  are  certain groups and individuals that keep the race thing alive.   
   There is no difference in persons because of color or ethnicity, only because of the wicked  hearts of some.
   Take the skin off an we all look pretty much alike.    Yes there are places where certain races congregate and the majority are not good , but that is true of ALL races.
   WE must look at who the person is as an individual, not his color or where he came from.

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4. 60

   Che Rogersposted 9 years ago

   The cause of racism was to make one "race" or ethnicity seem more dominant and more intelligent so that they can be entitled to dominating the other ethnicities. Without this concept we would all be on an equal playing field. It is why those in power today continue to use it to keep their dominance. Those who are the same ethnicity as those in power reap the benefits of this system but are given the illusion they are equal to those in power. It is the concept of divide and conquer. Have us waste our time fighting for small difference like ethnicity, religion, or politics and we can never fight the true issues. Once we all get on the same page as human beings we can become an effective democracy in unity. Do away with elitism and racism by doing away with those who created the system. We have been brainwashed into thinking this system is good for us yet history has proven this to be untrue for the majority of americans. There is a small number of rich elite that profit from this system and give the illusion anyone can make it to where they are.

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