Why notions of ‘race’ are fallacious and hugely problematic:

Podcast:

ALL VIDEO:

AUDIO:

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Audio in 3 Parts:

Part 1: What do we really mean to talk about when we talk about ‘race’?

Fact 1:

We are the ‘human race’.

When people talk about race, what do they really mean to talk about? I think people mean to talk about morphology, geographical location background.

Part 2: Social hierarchy

Another thing:

When we talk about race, I think we mean to talk about class.

Class is how rich or poor you are. For example in America, we are extremely classist. High class (rich) people on top, poor working-class poverty people on bottom.

Part 3: Why do we divide one another?

Certainly it is in human nature to rank and divide and weigh one another.

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When we talk about ‘white’ people, who do we really mean to say?

In America I think when we talk about ‘white’ people, we mean to say “of Northern European Descent”.

Skin pigment is a geographical, melanin thing. If you and your ancestors have evolved and lived for a long time in a geographical area that is higher north in the globe (Northern Europe, Sweden, etc), you get very little sunlight during the winter months. This means you need a lighter complexion to maximally absorb as much sun, Vitamin D, and whatever stuff your body needs to properly function.

However the closer you get to the equator (more intense sun), your body produces more melanin to off-set the intense sun. You don’t want too much Vitamin D, and you certainly do not want to burn. Therefore melanin makes your skin darker (‘melos’ means dark in Greek) in order to not roast alive.