Black or white, red
or brown, the first noticeable difference between people around the world is
the color of their skin. And as a consequence, races are classified based on
this simple variation. This has led to a lot of controversy, and even physical segregation.
The height of this being all out racial discrimination. The notion of racial
differences seems absurd and for good reason. My reason would be stated much
later.
First, the word RACE
in the context of human existence means what? One definition is, "one of
the groups that the world population can be divided into based on physical
characteristics such as skin and, or hair color." Another definition, a
much broader one, defines race as "humanity as a whole." Examining
critically, both definitions cannot be correct, hence the need for expatiating.
If the general, and
obviously correct belief that all humans on earth, come from just one pair of
humans, who obviously lived in some part of the middle east, is something to go
by, questions such as these arise: Why are we all not of the same skin and hair
color; Where did the variation come from; Why did it occur; Does it have any
benefit, and if it does, what is it? And to top it all, which of the above
definitions are correct?
To begin, why do we all
not have the same skin, hair and eye color? Simply put, we live under different
climates around the world. That is putting it mildly though. The human body is
made to adapt and protect itself from environmental insult, as long as enough
time to adapt is given, and this can be related to. As humans migrated in
search of food and all, toward the equator, they were exposed to increased
sunlight intensity and for longer hours. This means more exposure to ultra
violet radiation. UV-radiation in excess can predispose normal cells to become
cancerous. Hence, as a protective measure, the body over time produces more
amount of the substance, melanin, which absorbs the UV radiation energy in a
way unknown by medical professionals. The effect of absorbing UV radiation is
the darkening of the skin. Then, why do the dark skinned people in places away
from the equator still maintain their disposition. This is genetic based, some
people are predisposed to higher melanin production. And, take note, they are
not necessarily domiciled in Africa. The Aboriginal Australians are dark
skinned also.
As an added
information, even naturally light skinned people can get a tan, by sunbathing
in the open air or using sun lamps. The protective functions of melanin cannot
be over emphasized as, sunburns are a visible effect of UV-ray/melanin
imbalance i.e. UV-rays is more than can be absorbed by melanin in the skin.
Thanks for reading
all the earlier gibberish, now to the main point.
Which of the above definitions of race is correct? Read the
following sentences carefully.
Genetics scientists and anthropologists have come to the following conclusions:
Genetics scientists and anthropologists have come to the following conclusions:
1 Any two humans randomly picked from any part of the world,
are 99.5% genetically alike. The 0.5% difference has been seen to be due the
genes that code for characteristics such as susceptibility to certain diseases
and response to environmental agents and drugs. Also included are the genes
that code for physical traits, those used for racial differentiation.
Surprisingly, though, there is an overlapping of traits that bear to
relationship to another, thus rendering the clustering of people into discrete
racial packages impossible.
2 There are more genetic differences between two people from
the same race, than between races. So you have more in common with a person in
Finland than with the person in the next state. Funny, right?
3 The history of racial classification is based on social
and cultural factors rather than biological. This is seen in colonization,
black-white segregations of the United States, the Apartheid in South Africa,
and so on.
In conclusion, as the
preceding lines of reasoning have shown, WE HUMANS ARE JUST ONE RACE, WITH
VARIETIES, we are all Homo sapiens. Just as the common apple, is just
one species with over 7500 varieties.
