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Post by ronmiller on Apr 3, 2020 15:22:48 GMT
You are quite right. But I think that it is still a good thing to avoid the use of the word "race"---especially when what is really meant is "species." For instance Homo sapiens, Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalis, et al are all species of humans, just as Felis catus and Felis panthera are species of cat. I think it's especially important when talking about human beings to not confuse the words since blacks, Asians, Caucasians, etc. are not different species. To even suggest (which I hasten to say you did not!) that people of different races may be of different species lays the groundwork for discrimination. In fact, it was long argued that blacks were in fact a different---and "lower"---species than whites. Ron,
All good, and part of the reason I get into specificity when humans start throwing the word race around is because more often than not they use it incorrectly, for the very reasons you listed. Chimpanzees are Tribe Hominini just as humans are, though falling under Genus Pan while we're under Genus Homo. We share 98.8% percent of our DNA with them and their sister species bonobos.
By comparison we share 99.7% of our DNA with Neanderthals [also Genus Homo] and at a rough guesstimate about 99.68% or our DNA with the Denisovans [also Genus Homo].
Despite having some non-Anatomically Modern Human DNA, and some Indigenous American and sub-Saharan African in my background, at most I consider myself multi-ethnic because it doesn't matter what species of Genus Homo we descend from, we're all human.
We share 50% of our DNA with bananas for that matter.
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Post by Retread-Retired-Cameron on Apr 3, 2020 15:41:24 GMT
Ron,
All good, and part of the reason I get into specificity when humans start throwing the word race around is because more often than not they use it incorrectly, for the very reasons you listed. Chimpanzees are Tribe Hominini just as humans are, though falling under Genus Pan while we're under Genus Homo. We share 98.8% percent of our DNA with them and their sister species bonobos.
By comparison we share 99.7% of our DNA with Neanderthals [also Genus Homo] and at a rough guesstimate about 99.68% or our DNA with the Denisovans [also Genus Homo].
Despite having some non-Anatomically Modern Human DNA, and some Indigenous American and sub-Saharan African in my background, at most I consider myself multi-ethnic because it doesn't matter what species of Genus Homo we descend from, we're all human.
We share 50% of our DNA with bananas for that matter. We share about 84% of our DNA with dogs and 90% with cats, and 82% of our DNA with the platypus.
Whenever some people try to tell me how different they are from and so much better than animals I tend to laugh as I let them know they're really not as special as they'd like to think.
Come to think of it, I have some genetically modified human characters in a novel I need to finish writing. Since one of the mods was having egg-laying genes from the platypus inserted, "normal humans" consider them chattel, though somewhat more useful in a bordello.
Yeah, I know, I have a lot of work to finish before my duty station ends.
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