tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5909266595230883267.post1102045571065427502..comments2023-09-17T01:59:30.592-07:00Comments on <b>Remembrance in Spacetime</b>: The Race PlagueTheBigHenryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04917973198063733316noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5909266595230883267.post-38784946433349286832011-07-18T07:42:11.903-07:002011-07-18T07:42:11.903-07:00Mon Ami, I think you are correct.
In my experienc...Mon Ami, I think you are correct.<br /><br />In my experience with that grand pattern recognition engine that sits between our ears, the point of much that goes on in there is "discrimination". We discriminate between the odors of foul and good food, the soothing sound of Mama's voice and The Other, and in a crowded railroad station we discriminate the acoustic pattern of our own name buried in a sea of noise.<br /><br />In fact, even Genesis remarks on discrimination. The first task God gave Adam was naming the animals, which is a task of categorization, requiring discrimination. <br /><br />A few years ago, after the publication of "The Bell Curve", anthropologists and apologists argued strongly that race does not exist. And I do see that point at a genetic level. But everybody knows that races do exist. To establish this, one need do no more than carefully measure the anthropometric dimensions and the albedo, if you will, of ten thousand randomly selected people from, say, the streets of Manhattan and perform a linear discriminant analysis on the data. I predict that such an effort would yield, more or less, the same race classifications our brain sees.<br /><br />As I see it :-), the problem with race is not its perceptibility. Outlawing "discrimination" is like outlawing vision, or memory - not going to happen. It's necessary for survival. Hardwired.<br /><br />No, the problem with race, as I see it, is the seemingly universal cultural need for scapegoats. In effect, scapegoats serve to reconcile "sin", and, more importantly, the consequences (poverty, shortages, etc.) of "sin", in every culture. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, acapegoats cannot be other human beings (at least theoretically, if not always in practice). Therefore, if other human beings are chosen as scapegoats they must be demoted to animals or otherwise be shown to "deserve" their treatment. Once that is done, it matters much less what one does with them. They no longer have dignity.<br /><br />Having a different color skin or a differently shaped eye serves the perceptual discrimination processes and helps identify scapegoats. If it's a more subtle discrimination, one might require the wearing of armbands, or distinctive patches.<br /><br />I'm actually not very optimistic about finding a solution, mainly because I'm not optimistic that a need for scapegoats is going away. The particular feature set that identifies members of the scapegoated category may Change, but I donĀ“t consider that to be cause for Hope.Secular Apostatehttp://www.secularapostate.netnoreply@blogger.com