I can't believe I'm starting a race thread...

[vhawk01]

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The old example of the pile of pebbles applies here again: We "know" when we have a pile but we are unable to define exactly when it begins and when it ends, i.e. when precisely we have a pile instead of lotsa pebbles, or when precisely we have a hill instead of a pile.

Attempting to precisely define human races is like trying to define precisely those piles of pebbles.


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Yet for some reason, people don't quarrel too much about whether something is a pile or a hill or a mound. If people disagree, they might cover the subject for one or two sentences, reach a compromise for sake of argument and move on.

With race there's this underlying paranoia that by delineating it, we'll have slavery, genocide and a bunch of other nasty stuff. Sure it did indeed happen in the past, but why can't the fault be laid on the actual actions themselves rather than something only tangentially related?

Other peoples' paranoia shouldn't be my problem IMO.

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They don't quibble in the UNIMPORTANT cases, no. When it doesn't matter in the least, most people can agree that something is a mound. Put something at stake and you might be surprised. And of course, you are talking about things on the obvious, large end of the spectrum. Its inbetween, where the pile becomes a mound, that the disagreements occur.