Seven Things the World Should Know About Race | Teen Ink

Seven Things the World Should Know About Race

November 9, 2009
By AlexHeller DIAMOND, San Mateo, California
AlexHeller DIAMOND, San Mateo, California
60 articles 2 photos 16 comments

Favorite Quote:
Live with intention. walk to the edge. listen hard. practice wellness. play with abandon. laugh. choose with no regret. continue to learn. appreciate your friends. do what you love. live as if this is all there is. -Mary Anne Rabmacher


1. Race is a modern idea. Long ago, people did not group people according to their physical traits, but by their religion, status, class and even language. This was done by the people of Ancient Greece and the people Rome.

2. Race does not have ANY genetic basis. One single gene, trait, or even characteristic will NOT distinguish all the members of a “race” from the members of another “race”. An Asian will often have similar genes to a person from Africa or from Russia, rather than a person from their own “race”.

3. Human subspecies do NOT exist. They are a myth. A lie. Unlike many animals, humans today simply have not existed long enough to evolve into separate subspecies. They have not been isolated from each other enough to have to evolve. Also, on average, one of every THOUSAND of the many, MANY nucleotides that make up our DNA are what make us different from one human vs. another. Humans are one of the most genetically similar of all the species that exist. You don’t see white rabbits isolate and enslave other rabbits that are brown or have black spots. I am aware, that rabbits are nowhere near as intelligent as humans, and cannot hold pencils, but think of monkeys, or some other species that has similar genes to us humans. If every species treated its fellow animals the way we humans treat one another, the world would be in chaos, and all the carrots would go to the white rabbits.

4. Skin color really only goes skin deep. Your genes for your skin color have NOTHING to do with your hair color, eye shape, athletic abilities, blood type or intelligence. You cannot determine someone’s intelligence or interests just by looking at their skin color. And most of the variation of races is WITHIN them, not between them. 85% of human variation exists within a local populous. An about 94% of variation can be found within any given continent. For example, three random Koreans may be as genetically different as a Korean and a Russian.

5. The ideas of freedom and race were born together. The United States of America were founded on the grounds that “All men are created equal,” but the country’s economy at the time was based almost entirely on slavery. The idea of “race” was created to try to explain why SOME people were denied rights and freedom while others were allowed to be free and enslave others.

6. Race is not biological, but racism is still real. The idea of race is a very powerful one that changes and in some cases dominates our lives. Racism is a social idea that allows some people opportunities and rights, while it denies other people their freedom. Our government has created a sort of unsaid “advantage” that unfairly allows white people to have more money and more power than other people of a different “race”. I, being a Caucasian girl, do not mean to offend any other white people or make them feel badly about this. I am simply stating the facts and trying to spread the awareness of this topic.

7. Colorblindness will not end racism whatsoever. Simply turning a blind eye to this problem and pretending that race is nonexistent is not the same as creating equality. Once again, me being a white, American girl, feel that this is not something we should not ignore. I do not believe that we will create a perfect world where everyone is equal, that’s communism, but I do believe that we should not separate ourselves from others just because of how they look, and what “race” they are.


The author's comments:
This piece was inspired by a Humanities lesson we had recently on racism. i felt that otherpeople should know about the truth behind and about "Race".

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This article has 9 comments.


on Jan. 28 2015 at 9:11 pm
Mockingjay_54 GOLD, Mount Laurel, New Jersey
12 articles 0 photos 17 comments
THANK YOU! YOU UNDERSTAND!

sabine SILVER said...
on Apr. 15 2011 at 11:07 pm
sabine SILVER, Wilmette, Illinois
5 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Follow your bliss"

YES YES YES I completely agree with this article! You go out there and tell 'em!!

JocularLove said...
on Oct. 18 2010 at 6:43 pm
JocularLove, Acworth, Georgia
0 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you don't like it, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." --Maya Angelou

This is really good. Thank you for this. This will make people go WOW. You should do a speech with all this stuff you've gathered about this. If you end up on t.v. i'll be there to see you in person :) lol

poppy_lin GOLD said...
on Sep. 26 2010 at 3:24 pm
poppy_lin GOLD, Latrobe, Pennsylvania
13 articles 0 photos 26 comments
your article expressed what i want to scream at my peers. and thank you for that. i wrote an article about my chinese background, and it ticks me off to see how people are still narrowminded about immigrants. so once again thanks!

<3NCIS said...
on May. 16 2010 at 7:53 pm
Awesome article :) I really like it...a couple things; I think you should explain the part about the government setting up Caucasians for a better life? Because all I know of is that minorities get scholarships for being a minority, though as you seem like a very honest person I don't doubt you on what you have said. And remember that it goes both ways...people at my school, even whites, are incredibly racist towards whites, and I know a lot of very poor whites and very rich minorities. Great job, keep writing!! :D

Rockerchica said...
on Dec. 9 2009 at 8:34 pm
Amazin! you are such a gifted writer! im sure one day i will find your works on the shelves of a bookstore!

on Nov. 17 2009 at 10:40 pm
A great piece. You have exceptional writing talent.

Your examples are on point. I especially like your example about all the carrots going to the white rabbits.

The 3rd point in #7 is not gramatically correct. The subject, I, is missing. You might correct it simply by writing Being a white, American girl, I feel.............and the part "this is not something we should not ignore" is not what you mean. I think you mean either: (a)this is something we should not ignore or (b) this is not .........we should ignore.

Keep up the good work!

on Nov. 16 2009 at 6:51 pm
AlexHeller DIAMOND, San Mateo, California
60 articles 2 photos 16 comments

Favorite Quote:
Live with intention. walk to the edge. listen hard. practice wellness. play with abandon. laugh. choose with no regret. continue to learn. appreciate your friends. do what you love. live as if this is all there is. -Mary Anne Rabmacher

Thank you so much for taking the time to thoroughly read my article and post your very thoughtful comment. :) i did make a few mistakes, and i did mean populace, i just typed it worng :) Thank you once again!

-bunni

on Nov. 16 2009 at 4:39 pm
IsobelFree DIAMOND, Hamilton, Other
71 articles 20 photos 296 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;As long as there is open road, the familiar has the most formidable competitor.&quot; - Anonymous

Wow. That is an impressive article. I completely agree with you on all these points. I am a Caucasian Canadian girl so I have little experience with racism, but my best friend is Cree, and she has put up with racism and bigotry all her life. A few technical points: A spellcheck wouldn't catch this, but the word "populous", as you used it, is not right - I think you're thinking of "populace"? And also, you might want to talk about how it isn't just the minorities that get discriminated against - white people are sometimes the targets of racism too. But besides those few comments, I really enjoyed your article. Fabulous job! =]