[ExI] Race Biology

[Olga Bourlin]

From: "Lee Corbin" <lcorbin at rawbw.com>
To: "ExI chat list" <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 4:39 AM

>> My stepdaughter (who sports white skin and wavy blonde hair - as a baby 
>> she
>> was absolutely tow-headed) is 3/4 white and 1/4 black.  Were you to meet
>> her, there's no way you'd think she was anything but "white."
>
> I'll bet that a *lot* of the reason is due to the color of her skin.

So you would consider her "white?"

>> I'm confused about what you meant by "coloration."

> Just that.

So you would consider her "white?"

>> Are you saying that a  person is considered "black" as long as there
>> is some evidence (i.e.,  physical difference from "whites") of this from
>> his/her appearance?
>
> In most countries, this is true.  In the U.S., and I think in Oceania,
> white people are so deemed chiefly because they have very light
> colored skin (even compared to Japanese women, to the great
> consternation of the late 19th century Japanese). They also have
> other obvious outward physical markers, such as thin noses and
> with more of a tendency towards dolichocephalism.

So you would consider her "white?"

>> The reason my stepdaughter is considered "black" is due to the racist
>> "one-drop" rule - it has nothing to do with her appearance (or 
>> coloration).

This is not MY rule.  It's just the rule - and that is how people get 
classified (when things like college admissions, certain scholarships, etc. 
are involved).

> Really.  And just how do people on the street know her family
> history.  As they say here, can't she easily "pass for white"?
> Unless you're not being entirely forthcoming about her appearance.

Who said people on the street know her family history?  I neither said it 
nor implied anything of the kind.  I quess I don't understand what you're 
saying here.  And she doesn't just *easily* pass for "white" - she does it 
ALL the time.

> But I'm eager to learn:  is there some kind of official classification
> where she lives, like there used to be in South Africa (and, for all
> I know, still is)?

I don't understand what you're saying here, either.  She lives in America. 
She's a "quadroon" (I hate to use such terms, and would do away with them 
altogether if I could ...).  Percentage-wise, Pushkin (Russia's beloved 
poet) was a lot less "black" than my daughter (he's an "octoroon").  Having 
been reared in a Russian family, I was always told he was a "black man" 
("neg'r" in Russian).

Disclaimer (of sorts):  I have no idea why or how the world works.  I'm just 
trying to crawl my way through the chaos.

Olga