Re: virus: Hail Virus!

JakePrime@aol.com
Mon, 15 Jun 1998 20:53:35 EDT


In a message dated 98-06-15 19:15:58 EDT, you write:

>>The question is, how do these fall out among the 3 differing races. Which,
by the way, there are only 3 distinct seperations of race genetically
speaking.<<

The "3 distinct races" ("mongloid", "caucusoid", and "negroid") dogma of
racial theory, was created before there was any capacity for DNA testing.
Therefore these distinction could only have been culturally motivated. I
won't be impressed with ANY genetic theories of race until they throw ALL of
that old culturally motivated garbage, and start completely over from scratch
with the only thing that matters at all - DNA.

Until that happens, I will remain skeptically agnostic about genetic race. As
best as I can tell, all of the racial theories that I have heard are still
using the old culturally generated distinctions. Anyone that clings to those
distinctions is wasting my time as far as I am concerned.

>>Jake, what a witty response, I am impressed with your semantic agility.<<

This wasn't intended to display wit. It often takes a lot of words to dissect
cultural artifacts which are themselves composed of a lot of words. Often
nothing less will do the job. In the case of genetic "theories" of race that
were culturally generated long before anything was known about DNA, it is
worth the extra words, and the effort is sincere.