After we viewed the PBS program: “Race: the power of an illusion” in class, I realized how much of a cultural and social construct race really is. The fact that had the biggest impact on me was that there can be more differences between two individuals within a “race” than two individuals of different races. For example, I, as a white person from Sweden, could potentially have more genetic similarities with a black person from Mali than that same person would have with someone from South Africa.
I think the most important thing we all should learn from the program is that race as we think of it is really just a tool for categorization and then oppression, and was invented not that long ago. Humans love to categorize things, and I think race is a manifestation of that. I really think that the whole “colors” thing is pretty ridiculous concept, because, like I said earlier, I as a “white” guy could be very similar to a “black” guy or girl. That being said, race certainly still is one of the largest factors of oppression in America today, and even if we like it or not (we don’t, or shouldn’t) race does matter.
I agree. Even though race is definitely a social construct used to separate and label people, it still was, and still is a huge part of American history and American culture. We should use these facts to recognize that race doesn't matter at all, and thus, we shouldn't discriminate. We should teach our children that race isn't real at all, and is just a product of our melanin. That's it.
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