Race is a topic I am fascinated about, because it makes no sense. Aren’t we all ‘the human race’?
Upon philosophizing on this, this is my takeaway thus far:
Race ain’t real, but morphology is.
How does google know I’m Korean?
When using Google’s art and culture app and shooting selfies of myself; I have found … it knows I am Korean with great accuracy. Why? The morphology of my face! Facial mapping and proportions indicates one’s “race” or ethnicity.
‘White’ is a bad label
Consider:
If your family is Irish, are you ‘white’? If your family is Polish, are you ‘white’? If you’re Turkish, are you ‘white’? If you’re Jewish, are you ‘white’?
Once upon a time in America, certain peoples were not considered ‘white’. This included the Irish, the Italians, the Eastern Europeans, etc. Any foreigner [even though morphologically they had lighter skin] were not considered ‘white’. The best way isn’t to call someone white; it is to call them elite or not elite.
The elite look different
I wondered:
Why on average are richer people taller and better looking?
My thought:
It is social-breeding of an elite class.
Thus my thought is this:
Racism isn’t really the thing … it is actually classicism.
Korean privilege in Vietnam
For example in Asia and Southeast Asia, there is a hierarchy. It seems nowadays:
Koreans are on top (maybe tied with Japanese), and on the bottom are Southeast Asians (such as Indonesian, Thai, Filipino, etc).
When I was living in Vietnam, straight up my Korean-ness was a huuuuuge advantage. Why? Morphologically I look Korean (I am quite certain my ancestry is mostly on the Korean Peninsula, and probably going back I am part Chinese and or Mongolian [I have the Mongolian birth mark on my right butt cheek]).
In Vietnam (where political correctness doesn’t exist), people could spot a trillion miles away I was Korean, even before I opened my mouth. Why? They can spot my facial features and see morphologically I am more Korean than Vietnamese.
Skin tone?
It ain’t about skin tone; it is about power.
For example, let us ask:
Who has more power — JAY Z or a ‘white’ middle-manager at boring Company X?
Of course JAY Z. Why? His cultural, money power.
Money is more important than race in America.
What is ‘racial privilege’?
It seems this is the case:
We tend to make stereotypical benchmarks on the morphology of an individual and their income and richness.
But how does one overcome this? Through the luxury goods they wear, or how they walk. Cindy noted this while in Japan: rich people walk different.
What is morphology?
Morph: the shape. For example it is true that *ON AVERAGE* the East Asian person will have smaller eyes than people with different regions. Why? Perhaps it had to do with the climate, sun, or other features about living in Asia.
Why do people look different?
Simply put — the world is a big place, and the climate is different everywhere. Of course if you have a certain population who lived in a long time in a very hot and sunny place, they would have developed more melanin in their skin to fight the sun. And people living in very northern parts of the world (Sweden) are lighter skinned … because they needed to absorb more Vitamin D or whatever during the winter months.
Why are asian people called ‘yellow’?
Apparently the history is something like:
When there were early explorers to Asia, they were called a certain word in Greek which could either mean white or ‘yellow’. Over time through confusion about the term, people started to call Asians yellow.
For example in Korean, there is no difference between the color blue and purple. And did you ever wonder why Homer calls the sea ‘wine-colored’?
Don’t talk about people in their chrome
For example a lot of Turkish men who are from the Caucaus area, they look like ‘white’ people. But technically, they are very ‘ethnic’. There is much morphology diversity in the Levant, Middle East, Northern Africa, etc.
Nationalism
Another funny thing I discovered in my travels:
When going to Australia for the first time, the hilarity of the minority racism.
For example the Greeks and Chinese were once the victims of racism, now they are the perps. Why? Some Greek and Chinese individuals in Australia don’t like Nigerians and ‘other’ people coming in.
Purebreed vs mutt?
What is ‘white’ in America? My best definition that I learned from talking to a lot of people who consider themselves ‘white’:
Once you’ve become some sort of mutt from all these random European ancestors, and some actually from the levant, etc.
It seems once you’ve lived in America at least 3 generations and you got some European blood in you, you’re “white”.
Are Jewish people white?
A question I like to ask my Jewish friends:
Are you guys ‘white’?
Their thoughts is divided.
For example, if you just saw a random Jewish guy at a Whole Foods, most likely you would just think he was a ‘white’ guy.
And in Nazi Germany, of course Jews were not considered ‘white’ or the “superior” race. Ironically the notion of an ‘Aryan’ race actually comes from India … the elite class of India were seen as the ‘Aryans’.
Were the ancient greeks white?
Apparently another lesson:
Some people who study the classics in Ivy League universities are low-key racists.
Why? Some people want to assert that the ancient Greeks were ‘white’ and because they had the apex culture, thus ‘white’ people are supreme.
But … what do the Greeks look like? They look “brown”!!! And certainly even in Ancient Greece there was much morphological differences between individuals.
Seneca was Roman and Spanish
When studying the Roman Empire this is where things get interesting:
One is either a barbarian or a Roman.
Seneca was a Roman, but resided in Spain. He was considered a roman, not a “spaniard”, even though he resided in Cordoba.
Why I like to call people ‘American’ instead of ‘white’
For example, I have more in common with someone else who grew up in the Bay Area (than someone who grew up in South Korea), even though we might look different morphologically.
What are ‘American’ values? Hard work. Anti laziness. Grocery shopping at Costco. American movies and pop media. This is all American.
I also think this is interesting when visiting Germany:
A Turkish person and a ‘white’ German are both German, even though they look different.
Why it is good to look different
We all know that when it comes to animals, mutts are healthier, stronger, and superior to pure-bred animals. When it comes to humanity, diversity in DNA and regionality is good. It makes us stronger. In fact, if we want to evolve humanity forward, we must embrace more of a ‘melting pot’ approach.
Don’t be racist to yourself
Growing up as an Asian guy, I always had a chip on my shoulder. Why? The stereotype that Asian guys have small dicks (some of us have small dicks, some of us have big dicks), and that Asian guys are physically inferior to African Americans or Caucasian or Latino men.
I don’t believe in genetics
It all comes down to effort, environment, the right social setting, the right mindset, the right nutrition, the right climate, and the right direction of willpower. Everything else is false.
ERIC KIM