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Returning to the discussion about race…
The late (and much missed) fan Bill Bowers used the following as his answer whenever he was asked the question ‘What is science fiction?’: “Science fiction is what I point at when I say ‘this is science fiction.’”
I don’t know if that bon mot was original to Bill or if it’s one he once heard somewhere, but it’s lovingly recursive. Yes, science fiction could be nearly anything, depending on the perspective of the reader.
I think that’s much the same with race: a race of people is what someone points at when they say “that’s a race of people.” The parameters of the race could be largely based on skin color (the Americans of the slavery era had a slew of terms for those of mixed ‘race’: mulatto, quadroon,, octoroon, and so on), or religion (to the Nazi’s, anyone practicing Judaism was a person of a separate race), or nationality (“No Irish Need Apply”), or language or any other differentiating factor.
Yes, there are genetic markers that occur within the human population, and they can correspond to our ‘racial’ populations, but the frequency varies and there’s no consistency. The mutation in the HBB gene that causes sickle cell anemia can occur frequently in those of African ancestry… but it also shows up in those of Mediterranean descent: Turks, Greeks, Italians. Or look at the so-called “Kennewick Man,” the oldest remains ever found in North America (along the Columbia River in the state of Washington): his bone structure, according to some forensic scientists, is Caucasoid; some anthropologists believe that the shape of his skull ties him to either Polynesians or the Ainu people of Japan; Native Americans believe him to be tribal, and recent DNA analysis seems to back up that claim. Attributing ‘race’ to someone is often a slippery fit.
I worked with and became friends with a person who is the daughter of a Japanese woman and a black U.S. serviceman. She often expressed frustration at forms that asked her to define her ethnicity as either “Black” or “Asian,” since she was equally both.
The concept of race, in my opinion, is primarily a social construct. The construct largely centers around social power and status, and can be used to either bring a group together (as in the early 20th century ideal of a Teutonic race) or tear a group down (as we’ve seen far too often, with obvious examples everywhere).
And while we’re talking about race, let’s talk symbols, too. I’m inordinately pleased that it appears that the Confederate battle flag is about to come down in South Carolina. I understand that it’s a piece of history, but that flag has unfortunately been adopted as a symbol by white supremacists and hate groups, in the same way that the swastika (which has a much longer history as a symbol) was adopted by the Nazi party. Both the swastika and the Confederate battle flag are, at least for the foreseeable future, stained by the hatred of the groups that have embraced them. Symbols and images are powerful -- which is why both symbols were used -- and it’s long past time for the Confederate battle flag to no longer fly.
We will be a post-racist society when the vast majority of the population realizes that the word ‘race’ is essentially meaningless in any significant biological or scientific terms, and we judge people as individuals rather than as groups.
I don’t know that such a day will ever dawn. But we can hope.
The late (and much missed) fan Bill Bowers used the following as his answer whenever he was asked the question ‘What is science fiction?’: “Science fiction is what I point at when I say ‘this is science fiction.’”
I don’t know if that bon mot was original to Bill or if it’s one he once heard somewhere, but it’s lovingly recursive. Yes, science fiction could be nearly anything, depending on the perspective of the reader.
I think that’s much the same with race: a race of people is what someone points at when they say “that’s a race of people.” The parameters of the race could be largely based on skin color (the Americans of the slavery era had a slew of terms for those of mixed ‘race’: mulatto, quadroon,, octoroon, and so on), or religion (to the Nazi’s, anyone practicing Judaism was a person of a separate race), or nationality (“No Irish Need Apply”), or language or any other differentiating factor.
Yes, there are genetic markers that occur within the human population, and they can correspond to our ‘racial’ populations, but the frequency varies and there’s no consistency. The mutation in the HBB gene that causes sickle cell anemia can occur frequently in those of African ancestry… but it also shows up in those of Mediterranean descent: Turks, Greeks, Italians. Or look at the so-called “Kennewick Man,” the oldest remains ever found in North America (along the Columbia River in the state of Washington): his bone structure, according to some forensic scientists, is Caucasoid; some anthropologists believe that the shape of his skull ties him to either Polynesians or the Ainu people of Japan; Native Americans believe him to be tribal, and recent DNA analysis seems to back up that claim. Attributing ‘race’ to someone is often a slippery fit.
I worked with and became friends with a person who is the daughter of a Japanese woman and a black U.S. serviceman. She often expressed frustration at forms that asked her to define her ethnicity as either “Black” or “Asian,” since she was equally both.
The concept of race, in my opinion, is primarily a social construct. The construct largely centers around social power and status, and can be used to either bring a group together (as in the early 20th century ideal of a Teutonic race) or tear a group down (as we’ve seen far too often, with obvious examples everywhere).
And while we’re talking about race, let’s talk symbols, too. I’m inordinately pleased that it appears that the Confederate battle flag is about to come down in South Carolina. I understand that it’s a piece of history, but that flag has unfortunately been adopted as a symbol by white supremacists and hate groups, in the same way that the swastika (which has a much longer history as a symbol) was adopted by the Nazi party. Both the swastika and the Confederate battle flag are, at least for the foreseeable future, stained by the hatred of the groups that have embraced them. Symbols and images are powerful -- which is why both symbols were used -- and it’s long past time for the Confederate battle flag to no longer fly.
We will be a post-racist society when the vast majority of the population realizes that the word ‘race’ is essentially meaningless in any significant biological or scientific terms, and we judge people as individuals rather than as groups.
I don’t know that such a day will ever dawn. But we can hope.
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