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Bill Flarsheim's avatar

While race is not real, I find the history of who is white fascinating. My parents were not born white. They became white during their teenage years, I think roughly between 1945 and 1948, though it may have taken longer. As you are a bit younger than me, I imagine that it was your grandparents that went through this social transformation.

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Noah Berlatsky's avatar

hah; I'm older than you think!

whiteness is always negotiated and provisional, precisely because it's a concept rather than a biological truth...

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CirceIYKYK's avatar

I see your point and it's valid. Love the actual science referenced. I do think that racism is a bit of a misnomer. I think the hate especially since the world has become so small with modern technology is directed swords cultures. The watermelon refrences was from the black southern culture. Not the African American population as a whole. Puerto Ricans have a very distinct culture but the racist tend to lump them is with the Hispanic culture as an added insult, often out of malignant ignorance. I did reply to this way to early in the day so please excuse any mistakes I have made.

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Noah Berlatsky's avatar

So, again, race isn’t real, so cultural

Aspects are often framed as an excuse for racism, or as an aspect of race.

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Marce's avatar

Excellent post! Another thing about being white or black--now that we're able to examine smaller bits of DNA, it's been proven that way back, northern Europeans were black, with blue eyes.

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Noah Berlatsky's avatar

!!! I hadn't heard that!

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Kathryn Huse's avatar

Thank you for this. Thinking of people who have different physical characteristics as "other" justifies treating them as less than.

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Robert Spottswood, M.A.'s avatar

I think it all resides on what one feminist labeled “the hierarchy of worthlessness.”

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Susan Travis's avatar

I really DO like your writing and how your mind works! So glad to be a subscriber ❣️

Thoughtful and thought-provoking.

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