Why are people classified as Races?

[Indo-Malaysia]

Have you ever wondered about this question?

What do you think? Should people be classified as different races? Should they not? What are your thought?

Personally, I think that being treated differently and classed differently due to the amount of melanin in skin is bad. They are still human aren't they? Why do varying melanin counts matter?

[Anarchist Heathenry]

Race is a concept made up by various people throughout history to create "us" and "them" groups, distracting the masses from actual issues regarding their exploitation.

It's the oldest trick in the book: divide and conquer. If the rich can convince the poor and middle class to hate other poor and middle class people, they can get away with anything.

[Great Feng]

skin color and culture differences mainly.

[Saiwania]

It matters because the racial groups look different. People are fundamentally visual creatures, sight being by far the most important of the five senses.

[Ifreann]

Because racists.

[The Impossible Maze]

Because everyone needs to feel better than someone else. "Us" and "Them" need to exist.

[Indo-Malaysia]

skin color and culture differences mainly.

So if someone has a different amount of melanin, it is right for them to be classified as 'different'?

[Kar-Esseria]

'Us' and 'Them' mentality.

People fear what they don't understand, and they tend not to understand things that are different, so they easily develop prejudices and classifications. It's not something that was planned of course, it just happened.

[Genivaria]

Outdated pseudo-science that people today have an emotional attachment to.

[Kar-Esseria]

skin color and culture differences mainly.

So if someone has a different amount of melanin, it is right for them to be classified as 'different'?

Life already classified them as different when it gave them a different amount of melanin, people just put a label on it.

I'm not defending race, mind you, just pointing that out.

[Leppikania]

Just a helpful note:
Saying "this man is innocent because he is white" is racist.
Saying "this man is innocent because he is white, and the previous witness said the killer was black" is not.

[Indo-Malaysia]

Just a helpful note:
Saying "this man is innocent because he is white" is racist.
Saying "this man is innocent because he is white, and the previous witness said the killer was black" is not.

*As

[Ashmoria]

it justified the European takeover of the rest of the world.

[Italios]

it justified the European takeover of the rest of the world.

Well it "justified" it during the times of the takeovers to the Europeans. Not so much for the conquered people.

[Ashmoria]

it justified the European takeover of the rest of the world.

Well it "justified" it during the times of the takeovers to the Europeans. Not so much for the conquered people.

lol
yes

good point.

[Czervenika]

to divide us. That's about the only explanation I can think of.

[Jochistan]

Because we look different and have different structures in body form and different traits that can be grouped into basic (but pretty loose) categories.

Probably doesn't have an effect on intelligence or something like that though.

[Teuberland]

Because everyone needs to feel better than someone else. "Us" and "Them" need to exist.

This is more of the reason for racism than race, and although this is probably true to a large degree, individuals of different ethnic groups have different bodies. For example, the descendants of yam farmers in Africa developed sickle-cell anemia as a countermeasure against malaria. Additionally, the article below claims that certain groups of Polynesians are more prone to obesity because of a trait that became useful to their less settled ancestors.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/2014041 ... -evolution

While it can often be used for racist purposes, race itself has uses of its own.

[Porksmouth]

Have you ever wondered about this question?

What do you think? Should people be classified as different races? Should they not? What are your thought?

Personally, I think that being treated differently and classed differently due to the amount of melanin in skin is bad. They are still human aren't they? Why do varying melanin counts matter?

It's only negative if you make it that way. I would think it's similar why we call wild creatures "animals." Why is a cheetah called as such and a tiger called that? It sort of helps define differences in the world of cats. Sure, Americans of the past made being black an awful thing but, it really isn't. It's just unfortunate that is still lingering in the back of people's minds.I'm curious how we as a society are going to be in the future when those that are currently 60+ years old all die off, if that negative aspect will go away or be greatly reduced.

That said, I have no clue as to why anyone would call far east Asian (Chinese, Japanese, etc.) yellow. That makes no freaking sense.

[Great Feng]

Have you ever wondered about this question?

What do you think? Should people be classified as different races? Should they not? What are your thought?

Personally, I think that being treated differently and classed differently due to the amount of melanin in skin is bad. They are still human aren't they? Why do varying melanin counts matter?

It's only negative if you make it that way. I would think it's similar why we call wild creatures "animals." Why is a cheetah called as such and a tiger called that? It sort of helps define differences in the world of cats. Sure, Americans of the past made being black an awful thing but, it really isn't. It's just unfortunate that is still lingering in the back of people's minds.I'm curious how we as a society are going to be in the future when those that are currently 60+ years old all die off, if that negative aspect will go away or be greatly reduced.

That said, I have no clue as to why anyone would call far east Asian (Chinese, Japanese, etc.) yellow. That makes no freaking sense.

their skin is more bronze than yellow anyway.

[The Two Jerseys]

The same reason that domesticated animals are classified as breeds, despite every breed of each animal being part of the same species.

[Zoice]

The same reason that domesticated animals are classified as breeds, despite every breed of each animal being part of the same species.

That's not an analagous situation. Humans are extremely genetically similar to eachother, compared to the diversity in other animals humans are practically clones. Comparing racial groups to dog breeds doesn't work because the difference is so tiny, by the standard of dog breeding, all humans would be the exact same breed.

[The Orson Empire]

The same reason that domesticated animals are classified as breeds, despite every breed of each animal being part of the same species.

That's not an analagous situation. Humans are extremely genetically similar to eachother, compared to the diversity in other animals humans are practically clones. Comparing racial groups to dog breeds doesn't work because the difference is so tiny, by the standard of dog breeding, all humans would be the exact same breed.

A dog is nothing more than a domesticated wolf. All dog breeds are still apart of the same species, and different breeds can mate and produce viable offspring.

[Zoice]

That's not an analagous situation. Humans are extremely genetically similar to eachother, compared to the diversity in other animals humans are practically clones. Comparing racial groups to dog breeds doesn't work because the difference is so tiny, by the standard of dog breeding, all humans would be the exact same breed.

A dog is nothing more than a domesticated wolf. All dog breeds are still apart of the same species, and different breeds can mate and produce viable offspring.

Right. And yet, genetic diversity among humans is so small that by the standards of dogs, we would all be the same breed. We aren't different breeds, just slightly different looking versions of the same one.

[Risottia]

Have you ever wondered about this question?

What do you think? Should people be classified as different races? Should they not? What are your thought?

Personally, I think that being treated differently and classed differently due to the amount of melanin in skin is bad. They are still human aren't they? Why do varying melanin counts matter?

People aren't classified by "race" in biology, or in most countries.
People are classified by "race" in America.

Considering how America is a democracy, it's evidently what a plurality of the American electors want.