NationStates Jolt Archive

I was reading Brave New World, and, by way of two extremely radical tangents that only I could possible hope to understand, I came to realize that there really wouldn't be any black people in a Star Wars-like scenario. No black people, no Hispanics, no Asians, no white people; in fact, race as we know it would not only not be an issue, but it wouldn't exist. Now just hear me out, because it makes sense if you think about it. The Galactic Republic kept order in an entire galaxy for, what was it, 25,000 years? So, needless to say, people had to have gotten along pretty well. There would have to be virtually no serious sources of conflict between the peoples of the Republic, because otherwise it would have split up after not too long. Basically, everyone would be assimilated into the same galactic culture. For a government to peacefully control such vast territories, petty issues such as race could not get in the way of unity.

After a certain amount of time, true equality between races would be achieved. Even in this day and age, and much as we'd like to deny it, interracial marriage is still sort of taboo in America. People just tend to marry into their own race, for reasons which most people don't care to think about. It's not that they're racist, exactly, just that people prefer to stick to what's familiar. But in this hypothetical Star Wars galaxy, race wouldn't even be an issue. After such prolonged exposure to people of other "races," having different colored skin would be no different from having different colored eyes. The likelyhood that someone would breed with an individual of a given race would be determined primarily by the proportion of the population made up of that race. So if a certain race made up 10% of the population, then nine times out of ten, they would marry into another race. Over many generations (keep in mind, the Republic lasted THOUSANDS of years), this interbreeding would occur so much that everyone would be a complete mutt, so to speak. Then, there wouldn't be any racist fringe groups like the Aryan Union disturbing the peace.

I just find it somewhat perplexing that, in the U.S., people of mixed-race descent are the exception, and by no small margin. There really aren't any barriers to interracial sexual relationships, just the ones we as individuals create. I can almost guarantee you that, if you go to an American highschool with an even mix of two races, only a very small minority of the couples there will be interracial. Doesn't anyone else find themselves asking why?





*wonders how many people will read this and call me a racist*

Interesting idea, I guess. I'm not quite ssure how Brave New World ties in with this as they had ppeople of different races, and didn't have breeding as we would think of it today.
However, the reason why people tend to reproduce within their race is one of physical attraction. Simply put, people tend to prefer a certain amount of sameness, and while some will go outside their race, many won't.

The places that are exceptions--and you nailed it in your analogy to the Star Wars universe--are places where multiple cultures come together and mingle. Seaports, traditionally. Go to someplace like Miami and you see far less racial segregation. Why? Because everyone is from somewhere else and thus there's less native disapproval, there's more openness to other cultures and peoples because they're familiar. The strangeness and the taboo is removed.

Don't get me wrong--there's still racism abundant even in places like that, but it's far less virulent and is generally limited to insular communities inside the larger group. In Miami, the Cuban exile community is one of those groups.

I was reading Brave New World, and, by way of two extremely radical tangents that only I could possible hope to understand, I came to realize that there really wouldn't be any black people in a Star Wars-like scenario. No black people, no Hispanics, no Asians, no white people; in fact, race as we know it would not only not be an issue, but it wouldn't exist. Now just hear me out, because it makes sense if you think about it. The Galactic Republic kept order in an entire galaxy for, what was it, 25,000 years? So, needless to say, people had to have gotten along pretty well. There would have to be virtually no serious sources of conflict between the peoples of the Republic, because otherwise it would have split up after not too long. Basically, everyone would be assimilated into the same galactic culture. For a government to peacefully control such vast territories, petty issues such as race could not get in the way of unity.

After a certain amount of time, true equality between races would be achieved. Even in this day and age, and much as we'd like to deny it, interracial marriage is still sort of taboo in America. People just tend to marry into their own race, for reasons which most people don't care to think about. It's not that they're racist, exactly, just that people prefer to stick to what's familiar. But in this hypothetical Star Wars galaxy, race wouldn't even be an issue. After such prolonged exposure to people of other "races," having different colored skin would be no different from having different colored eyes. The likelyhood that someone would breed with an individual of a given race would be determined primarily by the proportion of the population made up of that race. So if a certain race made up 10% of the population, then nine times out of ten, they would marry into another race. Over many generations (keep in mind, the Republic lasted THOUSANDS of years), this interbreeding would occur so much that everyone would be a complete mutt, so to speak. Then, there wouldn't be any racist fringe groups like the Aryan Union disturbing the peace.

Thats just what you think. Plenty of planets in the galaxy of the Republic where secluded groups of colonists of a specific race can settle and in time grow larger and spread to neighbouring systems without interbreeding.

Interesting idea, I guess. I'm not quite ssure how Brave New World ties in with this as they had ppeople of different races, and didn't have breeding as we would think of it today.
Yeah, like I said, I sort of went off on a tangent a couple of times there, and ended up nowhere near where I started.

There were black people in Brave New World.... I don't see why you're comparing it to Star Wars.

"You should see the way a negro ovary responds to pituiary!"

And they mentioned several times how the Deltas and Epsilons were swarthy. And that film "Three weeks in a Helicopter" the blonde Beta's captor was repeatedly reffered to as black. However, I wouldn't go so far as to call the Brave New World as racist society. Not only because of the manditory conditioning, but, as the film's plot went, the black man had a normal relationship with the Beta, but, he hit his head, and that's why he developed an infatuation with her and kidnapped her, and so on and so forth.

Thats just what you think. Plenty of planets in the galaxy of the Republic where secluded groups of colonists of a specific race can settle and in time grow larger and spread to neighbouring systems without interbreeding.
Well, I suppose they could provide the occasional influx of "purebreds", but like you said, those are secluded groups, the small minority who choose to like outside of general society. Kind of like the Amish, I guess. Though I must admit, I'm not an expert on Star Wars, that's just the example I came up with.

There were black people in Brave New World.... I don't see why you're comparing it to Star Wars.
I wasn't comparing it to Star Wars, I was just saying that's where my train of thought started.

Well, I suppose they could provide the occasional influx of "purebreds", but like you said, those are secluded groups, the small minority who choose to like outside of general society. Kind of like the Amish, I guess. Though I must admit, I'm not an expert on Star Wars, that's just the example I came up with.
No. I just said secluded groups. That doesn't have to mean a minority of any race. It just as well could be a group numbering as many as the population of new york. And of course they do grow after time. So, even if they are a minority at the beginning that can change in time.

No. I just said secluded groups. That doesn't have to mean a minority of any race. It just as well could be a group numbering as many as the population of new york. And of course they do grow after time. So, even if they are a minority at the beginning that can change in time.
By minority, I meant a minority in their thinking, not anything to do with physical features. And a group the population of New York would still be a tiny minority in relation to the entire population of the Republic.



God, I feel like such a Star Wars nerd.

By minority, I meant a minority in their thinking, not anything to do with physical features. And a group the population of New York would still be a tiny minority in relation to the entire population of the Republic.
And still that can change in due time.

Funny title, interesting post

calrisian always looked kinda cuban to me.

the different planets would have gene pools of their own. i dont think there would be utter mixing of human genes throughout the galaxy. i dont remember of lando calrissian was FROM that planet or not but perhaps he was from a planet where pretty much everyone had his same skin color. no one would NOTICE the difference because in the star wars galaxy race isnt an issue. at most it would be like a "wow that guy has a good tan" response that a white person might have toward another white person with dark skin today.

and woudlnt it be "but luke skywalker was white" thing? in the well mixed future we will all be asian.

Or maybe he comes from a very long line of inbreds.

I just find it somewhat perplexing that, in the U.S., people of mixed-race descent are the exception, and by no small margin.

What are you talking about?!

Early theories of race suggested that black skin was essentially a race "tan"... from all those Africans spending so much time in the sun. Why??

Because for some strange reason over several generations people of African descent started getting lighter after they were brought to the Americas as slaves... That whole "sun" issue was just what the white guys had to tell their wives.

Compare the average American "black" to the average African... then try to tell me that mixed-race descent is the exception in America.

(Moreover... if you read the complicated systems that some slave societies came up with for determining race, you realize pretty quickly that it doesn't take too many generations of inter-breeding before blacks could "pass," meaning that a casual observer could not tell them apart from a racially "pure" white person. So... there are probably far more white people walking around of mixed race than you suspect.)


On the other hand, this goes to prove the point that treating skin color like eye color is racist in itself... since the result would be to eliminate the minority, not to arrive at something "in between." If the vast majority of pairings for just a few generations were interracial, in not too long we would all be white... So, for those people who want equality AND value diversity, it's not necessarily such a bright idea.

and wouldnt it be "but luke skywalker was white" thing? in the well mixed future we will all be asian.

Did the whole "a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" thing just pass you by?

Do we have any evidence that the racial characteristics we recognise and define as black/white/asian/whatever and are displayed in Star Wars aren't the result of gene-therapy in order to follow fashions in body modification (either in the generation we see on screen or more likely several generations in the past)?

Obviously glossing over the fact that the chances of their existing creatures which act and appear almost identical to homo sapiens "a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" is as close to zero as makes no difference...

Because for some strange reason over several generations people of African descent started getting lighter after they were brought to the Americas as slaves... That whole "sun" issue was just what the white guys had to tell their wives.

Why would ultra-racists have sex with them?

The Star Wars universe is pretty well integrated in terms of born rather than CREATED people, folks -- or are you also forgetting Mace Windu and Padme's right hand man, Captain Talbot (?).

You have people with fur, scales, different skin colors and different appendages living and working side by side. The one true prejudice we DID see was organic v. inorganic life -- prejudice against droids ("We don't serve their kind" -- A New Hope).

Why would ultra-racists have sex with them?

You don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire.

Why would ultra-racists have sex with them?

1) Power over the oppressed people.
2) Cheap way to create more labor (a slave's children were also property).

Maybe George Lucas didn't think about it that much and casted blacks simply to be an equal oppurtunity employer.

Movies aren't always made to make sense.

Maybe George Lucas didn't think about it that much and casted blacks simply to be an equal oppurtunity employer.

IIRC correctly there was some unease felt at the way the first film contained no black characters, and used aliens to fill the roles which would have been played by non-whites in the 1930s serials that Lucas drew so heavily upon.

1) Power over the oppressed people.
2) Cheap way to create more labor (a slave's children were also property).

Pretty much all racists I know are worried about non-white people raping them and have no desire to have sex with them. I could see the second possibility, but weren't there both male and female slaves?

Did the whole "a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" thing just pass you by?

Do we have any evidence that the racial characteristics we recognise and define as black/white/asian/whatever and are displayed in Star Wars aren't the result of gene-therapy in order to follow fashions in body modification (either in the generation we see on screen or more likely several generations in the past)?

Obviously glossing over the fact that the chances of their existing creatures which act and appear almost identical to homo sapiens "a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" is as close to zero as makes no difference...
Yeah. All those stormtroopers afterall were clones from Jango fatt.

Did the whole "a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" thing just pass you by?

Do we have any evidence that the racial characteristics we recognise and define as black/white/asian/whatever and are displayed in Star Wars aren't the result of gene-therapy in order to follow fashions in body modification (either in the generation we see on screen or more likely several generations in the past)?

Obviously glossing over the fact that the chances of their existing creatures which act and appear almost identical to homo sapiens "a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" is as close to zero as makes no difference...
*rolling my eyes*
FINE
well then perhaps lando wasnt "human" at all and his black skin is indicative of his being from a whole nother specie.

so why was roach wondering about it at all?

Not to mention that there was NOT "relative peace" during the Galactic Republic's time.
Otherwise, there would have been no need for the Jedi Order.
There were suppossedly uprisings, and rebellions all the time, in one system or another.

The Star Wars universe is pretty well integrated in terms of born rather than CREATED people, folks -- or are you also forgetting Mace Windu and Padme's right hand man, Captain Talbot (?)
Lets also remember that every single storm trooper is a clone of Temuera Morrison who is definitely black, though not african.

So if a certain race made up 10% of the population, then nine times out of ten, they would marry into another race. Over many generations (keep in mind, the Republic lasted THOUSANDS of years), this interbreeding would occur so much that everyone would be a complete mutt, so to speak.






*wonders how many people will read this and call me a racist*


Because people want to be with people of the same race. Your assumption that nine times out of ten they marry into another race is based on the false assumption that they won't segregate themselves along racial lines in their choice of a mate. People practice segregation when it comes to the bedroom. If a white liberal says he doesn't mind a black going to his daughter's school, just wait when you ask him if a black can go to his daughter's bedroom. That is the difference between racists and "non-racists", racists draw the line publicly and don't beat around the bush, "non-racists" only draw the line privately with nobody around to see.

Not to mention that there was NOT "relative peace" during the Galactic Republic's time.
Otherwise, there would have been no need for the Jedi Order.
There were suppossedly uprisings, and rebellions all the time, in one system or another.
But it did manage to remain in power for millenia, which would have been impossible if it didn't have the support of the majority of its subjects.

I was reading Brave New World, and, by way of two extremely radical tangents that only I could possible hope to understand, I came to realize that there really wouldn't be any black people in a Star Wars-like scenario. No black people, no Hispanics, no Asians, no white people; in fact, race as we know it would not only not be an issue, but it wouldn't exist. Now just hear me out, because it makes sense if you think about it. The Galactic Republic kept order in an entire galaxy for, what was it, 25,000 years? So, needless to say, people had to have gotten along pretty well. There would have to be virtually no serious sources of conflict between the peoples of the Republic, because otherwise it would have split up after not too long. Basically, everyone would be assimilated into the same galactic culture. For a government to peacefully control such vast territories, petty issues such as race could not get in the way of unity.

After a certain amount of time, true equality between races would be achieved. Even in this day and age, and much as we'd like to deny it, interracial marriage is still sort of taboo in America. People just tend to marry into their own race, for reasons which most people don't care to think about. It's not that they're racist, exactly, just that people prefer to stick to what's familiar. But in this hypothetical Star Wars galaxy, race wouldn't even be an issue. After such prolonged exposure to people of other "races," having different colored skin would be no different from having different colored eyes. The likelyhood that someone would breed with an individual of a given race would be determined primarily by the proportion of the population made up of that race. So if a certain race made up 10% of the population, then nine times out of ten, they would marry into another race. Over many generations (keep in mind, the Republic lasted THOUSANDS of years), this interbreeding would occur so much that everyone would be a complete mutt, so to speak. Then, there wouldn't be any racist fringe groups like the Aryan Union disturbing the peace.

I just find it somewhat perplexing that, in the U.S., people of mixed-race descent are the exception, and by no small margin. There really aren't any barriers to interracial sexual relationships, just the ones we as individuals create. I can almost guarantee you that, if you go to an American highschool with an even mix of two races, only a very small minority of the couples there will be interracial. Doesn't anyone else find themselves asking why?





*wonders how many people will read this and call me a racist*

RACIST!

right... well...

Interesting idea except that it's wrong. over 25,000 years of everyone living in the same conditions skin color would homogenize, but since there are tons of different conditions on tons of different planets skin color would be as varied as ever. Having dark skin would be advantageous on Tattoine while skin color wouldn't matter on Coroscant and while light skin would be advantageous on Hoth. Also, even over 25,000 years the genetic propensity to mate within a race would still exist. It's not just social taboo that keeps people breeding with others of the same race, there is a genetic incentive to breed with others of similar genetic heritage, to keep the same DNA lines going.

But it did manage to remain in power for millenia, which would have been impossible if it didn't have the support of the majority of its subjects.

...or a very effective 'secret police' with mystical powers of mind control...

But it did manage to remain in power for millenia, which would have been impossible if it didn't have the support of the majority of its subjects.


Wich would have very little to do with racial relations, since the republic was a committee of thousands of different star systems.
You might have "specie-ism" but its not likely you would see racial difficulties on a galaxy wide council.

It's not just social taboo that keeps people breeding with others of the same race, there is a genetic incentive to breed with others of similar genetic heritage, to keep the same DNA lines going.

Surely then the strongest genetic incentive is to breed with those who are closest to you in genetic heritage - your siblings - or has this been bred out of homo sap by the resultant percentage of genetic disadvantages?

Surely then the strongest genetic incentive is to breed with those who are closest to you in genetic heritage - your siblings - or has this been bred out of homo sap by the resultant percentage of genetic disadvantages?


No, genetic mutation has answered that nicely.

No, genetic mutation has answered that nicely.

So how does an individual determine that their prospective mate bears a similar genetic makeup to themself? External appearances? Similarity in body height/mass? Or are we just genetically predisposed to mate with someone that resembles our father or mother?


And is it not the case that the genetic differences between races are less than those within races: so how does this affect OE's claim? We may be drawn to mate with someone who seems to share a similar genetic makeup to ourselves, but they may be of a different race...

If we are going to accept Our Earth's claims we still need to find a way to explain those communities which practice exogamy in preference to endogamy.

Surely then the strongest genetic incentive is to breed with those who are closest to you in genetic heritage - your siblings - or has this been bred out of homo sap by the resultant percentage of genetic disadvantages?

There is actually no real greater risk of genetic defaults from inbreeding, but long term inbreeding will result in a genetically weaker species because the lack of genetic diversity means that a single virus could wipe everyone out. There is a certain distance from oneself which is ideal. It balances the wish of the DNA to perpetuate itself and the need for genetic diversity so that the species will stay alive. Essentially the species is fighting the DNA of the individuals because the species needs genetic diversity while the DNA would love to simply clone itself. So when you find the person who you feel perfect with, a lot of the time it will be the result of feremones and your body sensing that that person is just the right balance of the same and different from you.

So how does an individual determine that their prospective mate bears a similar genetic makeup to themself? External appearances? Similarity in body height/mass? Or are we just genetically predisposed to mate with someone that resembles our father or mother?

If we are going to accept Our Earth's claims we still need to find a way to explain those communities which practice exogamy in preference to endogamy.

Subconscious ques, including appearance and feremone reckognition. I suppose I should just refer you to my last post.

There is actually no real greater risk of genetic defaults from inbreeding...
Tell that to the Hapsburgs.

So how does an individual determine that their prospective mate bears a similar genetic makeup to themself? External appearances? Similarity in body height/mass? Or are we just genetically predisposed to mate with someone that resembles our father or mother?

If we are going to accept Our Earth's claims we still need to find a way to explain those communities which practice exogamy in preference to endogamy.


Im not sure.

I would think that there would be an urge to NOT to breed with those with similar genetic materials.
If you look at dogs, a purebreed is always less healthy, and do not live as long as mixed breeds.
But perhaps there is an urge to breed with those with similar hair color, or eye color, or skin tone.
Afterall, animals are attracted to mates with the better plumage.

There is actually no real greater risk of genetic defaults from inbreeding, but long term inbreeding will result in a genetically weaker species because the lack of genetic diversity means that a single virus could wipe everyone out. There is a certain distance from oneself which is ideal. It balances the wish of the DNA to perpetuate itself and the need for genetic diversity so that the species will stay alive.

Well, the DNA doesn't actually wish for anything, does it? At best it can be said to predispose an individual to act in a certain manner, if only because those DNA structures which have predisposed other individuals to act in other manners have fucked up and died out.

So when you find the person who you feel perfect with, a lot of the time it will be the result of feremones and your body sensing that that person is just the right balance of the same and different from you.

Quite possibly, but this doesn't explain why if we take wikipedia's word for it that "by far the greater part of human genetic variation, however, occurs within "racial" groups and the variation between racial groups accounts for less than 10% of the total" there would be a tendency (other than due to geographic accident) to mate within the same race.

Don't most Latin American countries have a majority of their populations with mixed race (European/Native American) heritage? I'm pretty sure in places like Chile it's 90 odd percent. Of course, I don't know what attitudes to race are in those countries.

Tell that to the Hapsburgs.

They are a good example of why inbreeding is bad, but it is not because of any increase in the chance of defects. The Hapsburgs had hereditary defects which were magnified by their inbreeding, but at the same time their strengths were magnified. Essentially their genome become more extreme in all ways as they cut out diversity. Diveristy in breeding allows for a strong, stable species, inbreeding causes those defects which do exist to surface more often and weakens the species against the onslaught of some viruses while strengthening it against others.

Tell that to the Hapsburgs.

Or the people of Nueva Germania: a group of white Germans that moved to Paraguay in the 1880s (lead by Elizabthe Nietzsche) and refused to breed with the indigenous poulation - split-palates and other deformities are now endemic to their poulation.

Well, the DNA doesn't actually wish for anything, does it? At best it can be said to predispose an individual to act in a certain manner, if only because those DNA structures which have predisposed other individuals to act in other manners have fucked up and died out.

I say that the DNA "wishes" for something because essentially that's what it's doing. The goal of DNA is to perpetuate itself. It codes an organism that will be best suited to carry the DNA and create new organisms when the original is going to die. Think of DNA as a symbiotic organism, existing inside of all animals and using those animals to perpetuate itself while allowing the organisms to adapt, over time, to their environment. You can think of a species in much the same way. A species acts as one enourmous, multicellular organism with each individual representing a cell. There is intra-species comptetion, but it is significantly less common than inter-species competition. How many animals can you think of that cannibalize others of the same species except as part of mating rituals (praying mantus females eat the males to provide for the children, so the male has served its purpose to the species before it dies). You can even look at social groups as competing organisms, look at religions or nations, they compete over resources and territory, and while they can get along nicely, when push comes to shove and resources become scarce they work first with others in the same group and second with others from other groups.



Quite possibly, but this doesn't explain why if we take wikipedia's word for it that "by far the greater part of human genetic variation, however, occurs within "racial" groups and the variation between racial groups accounts for less than 10% of the total" there would be a tendency (other than due to geographic accident) to mate within the same race.

That quote is a little bit misleading. There isn't less genetic difference between a person of one race and another than there is between that person and another of the same race, necessarily. The genetic difference between the two extremes within a race are as great as the genetic difference between an extreme from one race and the opposite extreme from another race. Essentially, race is not a significant indicator of genetic difference between individuals. However, there are some genetic similarities common between all members of a given race and different from all others and that similarity, coupled with the effects of "geographic accident" have had the effect of created a propensity to mate within your own race. Geographic accident accounts for the existence of "sub-races" which keep the major phenotypic similarities of the main race but with different group similarities. So you aren't necessary more likely to mate with someone in your race, but you are more likely to mate with someone in your sub-race. As the borders between races and sub-races blurs because of improvements in transportation and communication this propensity will weaken, but as long as 25,000 years seems it's nothing in terms of evolution.

Don't most Latin American countries have a majority of their populations with mixed race (European/Native American) heritage? I'm pretty sure in places like Chile it's 90 odd percent. Of course, I don't know what attitudes to race are in those countries.

That's because when the first Europeans arrived there it was only men. Since the men couldn't mate and produce offspring and since they weren't looking for families, just sex, it is easy to see how so many Chileans could be of mixed European and Native American heritage. And once they're mixed continuing to mate within that group makes sense.

That's because when the first Europeans arrived there it was only men. Since the men couldn't mate and produce offspring and since they weren't looking for families, just sex, it is easy to see how so many Chileans could be of mixed European and Native American heritage. And once they're mixed continuing to mate within that group makes sense.


Argentina is 97% white, the whitest nation on earth, I know that for sure.

CIA factbook.

Argentina is 97% white, the whitest nation on earth, I know that for sure.

CIA factbook.

Alright... and?

We were talking about Chile.

Argentina is 97% white, the whitest nation on earth, I know that for sure.

CIA factbook.

And it pales in comparision to the US and other "impure" nations. I thought Iceland was the most "white", though.

Don't know if anyone has already brought this up, but: physical characteristics of various ethnicities are primarily based on environmental factors. People from hot sunny climates have darker skin, those from cold climates have lighter skin etc.

It could be argued that the environmental factors of planets, and even seperate continents in thos planets, would produce different ethnic characteristics after many generations. And since factors on planets would vary even more than different areas of Earth do...gravity, atmosphere etc.

True, with interstellar travel available a lot of interbreeding would occur, but there would be enough remote systems, and systems that were "backwater" and people had little reason to travel to, to still have distinct ethnicities.

So while ethnicities wouldn't mirror those on earth precisiely, I'm sure that, even given interplanetary travel, there would be disctinct ethnicities in the Star Wars universe.

Whenever I post something long and no one responds I wonder if it's because they just left while I was typing, if my argument is strong and they just gave up, or if it was too confusing. It happens a lot though and it's annoying...

Alright... and?

We were talking about Chile.


Argentina is mostly white because the way it was colonized, many spanish and other white women went with the men, and most of the natives were killed off in a campaign of genocide, or by disease. Further west into South America (Chile) fewer white women went, it was mostly male adventurers, and they obviously took native indians as brides.

Argentina is mostly white because the way it was colonized, many spanish and other white women went with the men, and most of the natives were killed off in a campaign of genocide, or by disease. Further west into South America (Chile) fewer white women went, it was mostly male adventurers, and they obviously took native indians as brides.

Which differs from what I said in what way?

Which differs from what I said in what way?


Since I didn't read your post before making mine...

I say that the DNA "wishes" for something because essentially that's what it's doing.

No, that's metaphorically what is going on, not essentially. I find it much more interesting to actually deal with the existing mechanism, rather than hiding it behind analogy.



So you aren't necessary more likely to mate with someone in your race, but you are more likely to mate with someone in your sub-race.

This assumes that you share closer genetic characteristics with those of your sub-race than those of another: which is not necessarilly true for all individuals in that sub-race.

Argentina is mostly white because the way it was colonized, many spanish and other white women went with the men, and most of the natives were killed off in a campaign of genocide, or by disease. Further west into South America (Chile) fewer white women went, it was mostly male adventurers, and they obviously took native indians as brides.

I'm sure that just fills you with glorious aryan pride, doesn't it?

No, that's metaphorically what is going on, not essentially. I find it much more interesting to actually deal with the existing mechanism, rather than hiding it behind analogy.

I would say that that is what is actually happening, not metaphorically, it's just impossible to demonstrate it one way or the other.

This assumes that you share closer genetic characteristics with those of your sub-race than those of another: which is not necessarilly true for all individuals in that sub-race.

That is the nature of a sub-race. By definition its member share more of their genome than other groups. This is not to say that there won't be people to whom a person is better suited outside their sub-race, but the chances of finding a suitable mate within a sub-race are better than finding one without.

I'm sure that just fills you with glorious aryan pride, doesn't it?

AHGAHHAFHASFHa;l shd'asd

Oh man that's one of the funniest things you've said in a long time. Thank you for that good, relaxing laugh.

We've managed, remarkably to keep ignorance and bigotry out of this discussion so far despite the sensitive subject material, do everyone a favor and keep quiet with your nonsense.

I would say that that is what is actually happening, not metaphorically, it's just impossible to demonstrate it one way or the other.

So are you asserting that DNA is sentient? Or am I to read that it 'wishes' to do something in the same way that a stone in mid-air 'wishes' to fall?

So are you asserting that DNA is sentient? Or am I to read that it 'wishes' to do something in the same way that a stone in mid-air 'wishes' to fall?

A falling stone is under the power of something else. By its own means DNA perpetuates itself. Every organism, and I can extend the argument to every ordered system, seeks immortality. Since immortality of an individual animal is impossible DNA perpetuates itself through the offspring of that animal. Rocks in their own way work towards immortality by being difficult to destroy. What may seem a passive process to us is often anything but. The diversity of approaches to the problem of immortality is astounding, but essentially everything has that same goal.

Actually, at my school, children of interracial couples are quite common. I'd say a fairly significant portion of the student body is racially ambiguous (as in, you can't tell all what's in them) like my friend who's last name is chin but he has fiery red hair (he's mostly irish).

A falling stone is under the power of something else. By its own means DNA perpetuates itself.

Yeah: bad example - I was trying to think of a closer parallel in chemistry but was drawing a blank. However, just as the Earth pulls on the stone, so too does the stone pull on the Earth.

Yeah: bad example - I was trying to think of a closer parallel in chemistry but was drawing a blank. However, just as the Earth pulls on the stone, so too does the stone pull on the Earth.

I would like first to say that I'm really tired and feeling a bit feverish so I don't really expect this to make much sense.

Gravity exists outside of both the Earth and the stone, indepentent of each of them. The stone couldn't say, "you know what, it's in my best interest to be floating off in space so I'm going to ignore gravity." All organisms have to work within the framework of universal laws underwhich they live but within that framework actions can be taken to further life.

Or maybe Star Wars is a movie and Lando was a black guy cast for a part?

Don't take too much stock in a writer who didn't do enough back checking to know that a parsec is a measure of distance. Most of the cast and Lucas himself said that it's just a movie, and people need to lighten up.

If you want to talk about hypothetical situations in another universe, then that's fine, since it's fun. But please don't argue about Lucas's mistakes or inconsistencies.

I grew up in Hawaii. Full 20% of the population is mixed race (it's 4% nationally). For the younger crowd, the percentage is even higher. At my school, everyone was mixed race. It's at the point that we hardly even noticed. Interracial dating was not even thought of as interracial dating. It was the norm.

Eventually race is gonna become less and less meaningful (in America at least) to the point that no one really cares anymore. We're slowly getting there. Should be interesting.

Your whole racial mixing theory in the Republic seems to assume that, for example, a Wookie and a Hut would have viable offspring. On individual planets, race-mixing would probably occur to its completion within individual sentient species, but then some planets are less advanced. Maybe Lando came from a planet of humanoids where the final racial mixture had negroid features, or maybe he just came from a planet that still had a racial caste system.

Good threads are so few and far between and my pack rat nature prevents me from throwing anything away, and when you put them together it is so hard for me to let a good thread go. This was about half way down on page 6 but I'm going to give it one last bump, then pronounce it officially dead if nothing happens.

Good threads are so few and far between and my pack rat nature prevents me from throwing anything away, and when you put them together it is so hard for me to let a good thread go. This was about half way down on page 6 but I'm going to give it one last bump, then pronounce it officially dead if nothing happens.
This is a good thread? Wow, I should start writing down all my random barely-coherent thoughts! :p

Pretty much all racists I know are worried about non-white people raping them and have no desire to have sex with them. I could see the second possibility, but weren't there both male and female slaves?

It was white male slave masters raping female slaves. If brown babies had started popping out of white women, that "fading from lack of sun" argument wouldn't have held up so well...

In other racial slave societies, Saint Domingue (Haiti) for instance, you have more of it going both ways... but it was a completely different social and economic structure. (Also, you won't see as many present-day examples of mixed-race Haitians, because they pretty much killed all the white people in the only successful slave revolution in history.)

This is a good thread? Wow, I should start writing down all my random barely-coherent thoughts! :p

Not great, but the vast majority of threads here are now terrible, so this is well above average.