Does The NAACP Really Care About Black Rights?

[Tyler7940]

Is it just me, or does the NAACP have too much power over white americans? I just find it terrible that if a white man says ni**er, It is a racial slur yet black men can say Ni**er and it does not matter. If they really cared about black rights, they would reprimand blacks just as severely as whites for use of the word. I personally believe they were just put on earth to get money from the white man.

[preservanation]

IMO,
Just like a lot of things, it was started with good intentions but has morphed into the liberal policy arm of the race baiting industry in America.

[Alonzo]

Is it just me, or does the NAACP have too much power over white americans? I just find it terrible that if a white man says ni**er, It is a racial slur yet black men can say Ni**er and it does not matter.




DETROIT (Real Times News Service) - Ever since comedian Michael Richards went on a tirade using the ‘N’ word against a Black heckler during a show, and T.V. host Don Imus’ use of “nappy headed hoes” to describe Rutgers University mostly Black female basketball team, Black America has been on fire over the use of racial epithets.

Marching to the sound of African drumming and Cass Tech High School marching band, the NAACP organized a historic mock funeral July 9 in downtown Detroit to bury once and for all the “N” word.

The event, which attracted national media as well as Black leaders across the country, was a major highlight of the NAACP’s 98th annual convention on July 7-12 currently taking place at Cobo Convention Center in Detroit.

The funeral procession began at about 11am at Cobo where thousands, including NAACP delegates marched to the funeral site at the Hart Plaza.

“This represents a paradigm shift in the thinking of us [as] a people,” declared Detroit NAACP Chapter President, the Rev. Wendell Anthony. “This is not an attack on young people. This is not an attack on rap. All of us have been guilty of using this word.”

NAACP National Board Chairman Julian Bond underscored the importance of the funeral.

“This is the first funeral I have been to where people were happy to be here,” Bond said. “The entity in this casket deserves to be dead. The word is deep in the ground.”

Bond said the organization will continue the fight against the use of such derogatory terms especially against women.

“We won’t stop until our women feel safe from attack,” Bond said.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick echoed similar sentiments, saying “Black women are queens,” in his message. And he admonished all who attended the funeral to abandon the “N” word and all other racial epithets for good.

“Stand up for your people,” Kilpatrick said. “Let’s bury it for good.”

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Grandholm used the event to trumpet other social justice issues the NAACP is concerned with, such as insurance redlining, predatory lending practices.
Granholm said such practices are exclusively targeted toward African- Americans and called for such practices to be buried as well.

“We are proud this historic funeral is in the state of Michigan and I would like to see us bury the effort of Ward Connerly,” Granholm said. “We need to bury insurance rates in urban areas that end up being attacks on African Americans.”

Victoria Lanier an NAACP leader from New York, said [the] racial slur has its roots in slavery.

“We will bury this offensive usage among all people, including African Americans,” Lanier said. “We promise that we will be more creative in our rap lyrics, more respectful to our ancestors.”

Hip-hop artist Kurtis Blow was the only visible representative from the rap industry which has taken several blows from cultural critics, arguing that it not only uses the ‘N’ word in lyrics, but also denigrates Black women.

“I have recorded 150 songs and I’ve never used profanity,” Blow said to a cheering crowd. “You can have hip-hop and not offend anyone. We need to transform our minds so this doesn’t happen anymore.”

Blow harped on the power of language as a tool of liberation.

“The condition of our community is a direct result of the conditions of our mind,” Blow said. “If you change the condition of your mind you can change your community.”

He called on young people to boycott any rap music they deem offensive, even though recent statistics have shown that rap is mostly purchased by White youth.

“They wouldn’t make the rap songs if you didn’t buy it,” Blow said. “Stop buying those records you don’t want to hear.”

Alabama resident Tracey Maxwell who attended the funeral said it was significant.

“This [is] profound that it is taking place in Detroit which is the largest African-American city,” Maxwell said. “I don’t think it is symbolism. I’m most impressed by the number of senior citizens who are here for the funeral because this word means more to them than my (young) generation.”

Rev Lawrence Foster of Calvary Baptist Church in Detroit said the event was historic.

“This makes the NAACP relevant,” Foster said. “I’m grateful that the NAACP has embraced this moment.”

Philadelphia Mayor John Street who stood in the crowd watching the ceremony said it sends the right message across the country.

“This word has been used to denigrate, dehumanize African-Americans. If you can kill this word, then people can begin to be free in a different kind of way,” Street said. “There is no question that the reach of this message will reach beyond. It is a simple message that has great appeal.”

http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/articlelive/articles/38205/1/NAACP-lays-N-word-to-rest/Page1.html

[apdst]

The Civil Rights Movement has become The Civil Rights Industry. The NAACP is just another cog in that machine.

Black orginizations don't want to see racism disappear. If it did, they would lose millions of dollars.

[4Reaganomics]

IMO,
Just like a lot of things, it was started with good intentions but has morphed into the liberal policy arm of the race baiting industry in America.


just like Unions

Good intentions lead the way to hell sometimes

[firefox]

Yeah. I'm not a racial minority (not a high enough % to count at least), but it seems to me that if I was, I'd feel like a political pawn to some of these campaigns. God knows "the children" are used and abused for this purpose all the time.

[davo]

I don't think its correct to call the NAACP a 'civil rights' organization. They don't seem to care much about the civil rights of the American people. They just care about their leaderships $$ and ego, and making it appear they do something for their pet supporters.

[preservanation]

The Civil Rights Movement has become The Civil Rights Industry. The NAACP is just another cog in that machine.

Black orginizations don't want to see racism disappear. If it did, they would lose millions of dollars.
This is absolutely correct.
Similar to the NEA and teachers union....if they actually cared about teaching our kids instead of protecting their members and securing more money from the Feds, their gravy train would dry up.
There is an entire industry, contrary to their stated goals, which thrives on racial divisum.
Quite insidious.

People like the NAACP or J Wright for that matter want to pit one group against the other. It is their bread and butter

[GHJ]

Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton are two who would have to go to work to earn a living if the "Civil Rights" industry dissolved. Jessie Jackson has made a good living off scamming corporations and threatening them with "demonstrations" and lawsuits if they didn't cave to his demands.

[namguy]

Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton are two who would have to go to work to earn a living if the "Civil Rights" industry dissolved. Jessie Jackson has made a good living off scamming corporations and threatening them with "demonstrations" and lawsuits if they didn't cave to his demands.


You speak the truth:thumbsup:

What I find disturbing is the hypocrisy amoung some Black People. My people didn't come to this country 'till 1918-1922, we, and I'm not just speaking of my lineage, had nothing to do with the Black Peoples problems, much less the salvery issue. Yet if your white you automatically are a qualified bigot, what's up that un-based assumption. So they don't care for the white man so much, doesn't seem to apply when it comes to white women:help:

[apdst]

Yet if your white you automatically are a qualified bigot

Of course. If blatant racism doesn't exist, then it's the job of the NAACP, or a similar org to invent racism. What did Robert D'niro say on A Good Shepard? "It's always in someone's best interest to promote enemies, real, or imagined".

[namguy]

Yet if your white you automatically are a qualified bigot

Of course. If blatant racism doesn't exist, then it's the job of the NAACP, or a similar org to invent racism. What did Robert D'niro say on A Good Shepard? "It's always in someone's best interest to promote enemies, real, or imagined".


Seems to be just that:thumbsup:

[Sublimating]

The Civil Rights Movement has become The Civil Rights Industry. The NAACP is just another cog in that machine.

Black orginizations don't want to see racism disappear. If it did, they would lose millions of dollars.


This is perhaps the most ignorant generalized statement I have ever read in these forums. You really think that racism is something black people want...?
That's like saying cops don't want crime to stop because they would loose the pay checks or Doctors don't want people to be healthy. Just because people have learned to turn white racism to their benefit that doesn't mean they want it to continue....This is a backwards dumb remark that screams unintelligent.

[apdst]

You really think that racism is something black people want...?

Did I say that? No, I didn't. I said, black orgs, such as the NAACP wants racism. If they can't find it, they will invent it. Go back, read what I actually said, then come back and we'll talk about the latest cover of Vogue.

[Sublimating]

The Civil Rights Movement has become The Civil Rights Industry. The NAACP is just another cog in that machine.

Black orginizations don't want to see racism disappear. If it did, they would lose millions of dollars.
This is absolutely correct.
Similar to the NEA and teachers union....if they actually cared about teaching our kids instead of protecting their members and securing more money from the Feds, their gravy train would dry up.
There is an entire industry, contrary to their stated goals, which thrives on racial divisum.
Quite insidious.

People like the NAACP or J Wright for that matter want to pit one group against the other. It is their bread and butter


Every industry and organization run by blacks in America is based on the models provided by whites. This is a condemnation of every supposedly good organization and group black or white. I can't believe the idiocy of this post. I challenge you all to name one organization that any cynic can't say the same thing about.

Why not just come out and say you want to be able to call blacks N****rs? It never fail that every time I start to see some evolution or progress in race relations, some idiotic crap like this comes to my attention.

[apdst]

It never fail that every time I start to see some evolution or progress in race relations

That'll never happen as long as the NAACP exists.

Check out the latest racist brew-ha-ha. If you don't think it's rediculous, then you're the one that is being idiotic.




Vogue steps over a grey line
Published:Mar 29, 2008

LeBron is straight up perpetuating a stereotype

A move by Vogue magazine to feature a black man on its cover for the first time in 116 years has erupted in criticism — of racism and racial stereotyping.

The cover showing basketball player LeBron James clutching Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen was “screaming King Kong”, as one commentator put it.

“LeBron is straight up perpetuating a stereotype that helped enslave, lynch and murder hundreds of thousands of our black men for centuries,” wrote one blogger on an African-American website.

The controversy erupted after renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz shot the 6 foot 9 inch (2.06m) James — known to his fans as King James — with one hand around the waist of Bundchen, who apparently looks like she is trying to escape.

The image led magazine analyst Samir Husni to dub it deliberately provocative .

Another analyst, Jemele Hill, called the cover “memorable for all the wrong reasons”. She argued that the image was not unusual — white athletes are generally portrayed smiling or laughing, while black sports figures are given a “beastly sort of vibe”.

But Vogue and James have shrugged off the criticism. James told a newspaper he was pleased with the cover, saying he was “just showing a little emotion”.

“Everything my name is on is going to be criticised in a good way or bad way,” James told the paper. “Who cares what anyone says?”

A Vogue spokesman said the magazine “sought to celebrate two superstars at the top of their game” for the magazine’s annual issue devoted to size and shape. “We think LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen look beautiful together,” he said.

Vogue has featured men on its cover only twice before: Richard Gere appeared with Cindy Crawford in 1992 and George Clooney in 2000, also with Bundchen.

In both cases the man looked groomed and stylish, and the supermodel looked at ease. Or, as one blogger at Guanabee.com puts it: “The last time Gisele was on the cover she got to hug the guy back.”

[Sublimating]

Is it just me, or does the NAACP have too much power over white americans? I just find it terrible that if a white man says ni**er, It is a racial slur yet black men can say Ni**er and it does not matter. If they really cared about black rights, they would reprimand blacks just as severely as whites for use of the word. I personally believe they were just put on earth to get money from the white man.


The NAACP doesn't have enough power over white Americans! Why don't you Google hate groups and see what comes up a few obscure black hate groups and about 1000 white hate groups.? These organizations like the NAACP are a result of White Americas fascination with hate, and racism. If you want to be able to call blacks Ni****s just come out and say it. I can't stand closet racist. White America has a few little black groups to contend with..boo hoo poor white America. Give me a break. It's not enough that every president and 99% of the government have been whites
since forever,now you want to nuder the few black organizations that try to even the playing field. The problem is that White America has too much power over Black America. You remind me of this idiot I heard complaining about BET saying "why don't we have a WET?"

BECAUSE EVERY OTHER CHANNEL IS WET YOU FREAKIN NUMBNUTTS!!!
Nothing is worse than listen to a bunch of spoiled, whiny, pampered, clueless people who have always had practically everything designed for them by them complain about a few groups that are looking out for someone else STFU!

[apdst]

now you want to nuder the few black organizations that try to even the playing field.

That's what we're trying to say. The Black orgs want to keep the playing field slanted against the black community, because there are millions of dollars at stake.

[preservanation]

http://img.slate.com/media/1/123125/123011/2076278/2083790/030612_ALSharpton.jpg

Charge: In 1987, a 15-year-old black girl named Tawana Brawley went missing and was found four days later covered in dog feces and with racial slurs written on her body. She claimed that at least two and possibly six white men, one of them carrying a badge, had repeatedly raped her in the woods in upstate New York. Sharpton took up Brawley's cause and defended her refusal to cooperate with prosecutors, saying that asking her to meet with New York's attorney general (who had been asked by Gov. Mario Cuomo to supervise the investigation) would be like "asking someone who watched someone killed in the gas chamber to sit down with Mr. Hitler." According to the Associated Press, Sharpton and Brawley's lawyers asserted "on 33 separate occasions" that a local prosecutor named Steven Pagones "had kidnapped, abused and raped" Brawley. There was no evidence, and Pagones was soon cleared. Sharpton then accused a local police cult with ties to the Irish Republican Army of perpetrating the alleged assault. The case fizzled when a security guard for Brawley's lawyers testified that the lawyers and Sharpton knew Brawley was lying. A grand jury investigation concluded in late 1988 that Brawley "was not the victim of forcible sexual assault" and that the whole thing was a hoax. The report specifically exonerated Pagones, and in 1998 Pagones won a defamation lawsuit against Sharpton, Brawley, and Brawley's lawyers. Sharpton was ordered to pay Pagones $65,000. Johnnie Cochran and other Sharpton benefactors subsidized the payment.
http://www.slate.com/id/2087557

Not only that but Sharpton incited a mob, with his trade-mark bullhorn, to march against Pagones and eventually burned down his business...all based on a lie and a hoax, feeding on racism.
Did nothing but attack, besmirch and exacerbate race relations in NYC...oh yeah...and make Sharpton rich and famous.

This is nothing more than racial extortion, Sharpton and Jackson are experts in this.
In certain circles this is refered to as "mau mau the white man". This term was especially used in the 70's but the concept is alive and well and used by the NAACP and other race baiters regularly.

[Pookie]

I'm a white woman. I have been booted out of jobs because they need to hire blacks.
Wonder how the NAACP would deal with that.
We whites have to go elsewhere when we are told they have to hire blacks.
So, where do we turn?
Purrs,
Pookie

[preservanation]

now you want to nuder the few black organizations that try to even the playing field.

That's what we're trying to say. The Black orgs want to keep the playing field slanted against the black community, because there are millions of dollars at stake.
The best way to keep a segment of the population down is to tell them that it's not their fault if they are unhappy. When people are told it doesn't matter what they do, whitey will always keep you down and America is a racist nation who's whole purpose is to keep you down, where's the incentive to succeed?
What's the point to try if you are just doomed to failure by forces beyond your control.

Not only does this breed contempt from blacks but guilt and resentment from whites.
The deeper the divide between races the more their "industry" thrives.
It reminds of that movie "For a Few Dollars more" with Clint Eastwood. Pitting the two families against each other so he could soak them both for everything they got.

[Pookie]

No one answered my question. Why?

And why, when I get booted from a job because they need a black female, why can't I yell "discrimination"?

I was more qualified. No one cares about anything but their minority numbers.

That has always hurt, and the letter they sent was very insulting. They said I "was not of a caliber of a minority" and "...this applicant is white and therefore not what we are looking for at this time."

[Sublimating]

I'm a white woman. I have been booted out of jobs because they need to hire blacks.
Wonder how the NAACP would deal with that.
We whites have to go elsewhere when we are told they have to hire blacks.
So, where do we turn?
Purrs,
Pookie


Every time Whites want to discredit blacks or black organizations they go digging for some Rev Jackson / Al Sharpton crap as if they represent black America. The NAACP does good and I'm sure bad as well. They will never be worse than the white racist that brought the organization about in the first place.

[namguy]

No one answered my question. Why?

And why, when I get booted from a job because they need a black female, why can't I yell "discrimination"?

I was more qualified. No one cares about anything but their minority numbers.

That has always hurt, and the letter they sent was very insulting. They said I "was not of a caliber of a minority" and "...this applicant is white and therefore not what we are looking for at this time."


I agree with you and your certainly on solid ground proclaiming dicrimination in this case.

[Sublimating]

I'm a white woman. I have been booted out of jobs because they need to hire blacks.
Wonder how the NAACP would deal with that.
We whites have to go elsewhere when we are told they have to hire blacks.
So, where do we turn?
Purrs,
Pookie


Just go fill out some more applications, blacks have been doing it for years. Welcome to America.
"cue violin"

[namguy]

I'm a white woman. I have been booted out of jobs because they need to hire blacks.
Wonder how the NAACP would deal with that.
We whites have to go elsewhere when we are told they have to hire blacks.
So, where do we turn?
Purrs,
Pookie


Every time Whites want to discredit blacks or black organizations they go digging for some Rev Jackson / Al Sharpton crap as if they represent black America. The NAACP does good and I'm sure bad as well. They will never be worse than the white racist that brought the organization about in the first place.


I believe any "militant" group is bad, white, black, yellow, red, etc. I've experenced reverse dicrimination, I complained about it at the time but to no resolve.

[apdst]

Rev Jackson / Al Sharpton crap as if they represent black America.

They do.

[Sublimating]

now you want to nuder the few black organizations that try to even the playing field.

That's what we're trying to say. The Black orgs want to keep the playing field slanted against the black community, because there are millions of dollars at stake.
The best way to keep a segment of the population down is to tell them that it's not their fault if they are unhappy. When people are told it doesn't matter what they do, whitey will always keep you down and America is a racist nation who's whole purpose is to keep you down, where's the incentive to succeed?
What's the point to try if you are just doomed to failure by forces beyond your control.

Not only does this breed contempt from blacks but guilt and resentment from whites.
The deeper the divide between races the more their "industry" thrives.
It reminds of that movie "For a Few Dollars more" with Clint Eastwood. Pitting the two families against each other so he could soak them both for everything they got.


Now you're going into another whole area with this. Whites who participated in state sponsored racism are responsible for a lot of crap that black people have dealt with and still deal with. Blacks are responsible for most of the crap their own problems. The problem is that a lot of blacks blame whites for too many of their problems, and a lot of whites aren't taking blame for the problems they have caused blacks. What's worse is no one can seem to really figure out the difference.

The best way to keep a segment of the population down is to tell them that it's not their fault if they are unhappy.

No the best way to do that is they way whites did it and it didn't involve telling them that it's not their fault if they are unhappy.

It was by institutionalizing racism and discrimination...and punishing them for trying to learn, worked for years.
Thank God that not all whites were down with that crap and that not all blacks were willing to stand for it.

Most black people have never been involved with the NAACP and they aren't marching with Al Sharpton, they aren't siting around bitching about white America they're just everyday hard working Americans living their lives.

[namguy]

Rev Jackson / Al Sharpton crap as if they represent black America.

They do.


They do to a large degree.

[NDNdancer]

Does The NAACP Really Care About Black Rights?

I answered the poll as "yes" thinking I was answering this question.

After entering my response, I saw the REAL question and my answer to that is a resounding "NO".

Pookie, if you really had a case, if you really had evidence of discrimination, I'm, certain you would have sued by now. White people have more access to attorneys and the legal system, use it and quit whining.

Oh, what's that? You really don't have any evidence, not enough to stand up in court? Yeah, that's what I thought.

I'm really really tired of the "white whine" folks. If any of you presented any real evidence, hard truths of what you're saying rather then just opinion and ad hoc, stories and mythology, ad nauseum I might be tempted to actually debate the issue. Unfortuntately not one of you has brought anything of value to the table to debate other then your OPNIONS.

[apdst]

Aren't you from Canada, Kyi?

[preservanation]

The NAACP needs to an an "L" in their acronym, for obvious reasons.

[namguy]

Does The NAACP Really Care About Black Rights?

I answered the poll as "yes" thinking I was answering this question.

After entering my response, I saw the REAL question and my answer to that is a resounding "NO".

Pookie, if you really had a case, if you really had evidence of discrimination, I'm, certain you would have sued by now. White people have more access to attorneys and the legal system, use it and quit whining.

Oh, what's that? You really don't have any evidence, not enough to stand up in court? Yeah, that's what I thought.

I'm really really tired of the "white whine" folks. If any of you presented any real evidence, hard truths of what you're saying rather then just opinion and ad hoc, stories and mythology, ad nauseum I might be tempted to actually debate the issue. Unfortuntately not one of you has brought anything of value to the table to debate other then your OPNIONS.


In todays world, unless your in a six, seven figure earning bracket, weather it be Black or White people, we're all in the same boat. The wealthy have always exploited the poor and working man. I believe the real issue here is economics. The only color that means anything today is green paper with pictures of dead presidents...business is. This is not an 'opinion,' it's the bigger part of truth.

This isn't directed at any one person with such saleries, I'm speaking as a whole.

[NDNdancer]

Aren't you from Canada, Kyi?


I was born on the Blood Reserve in Canada. I'm a member of the Kainah Nation and have dual citizenship in Canada and the US. I live in the States right now.

[apdst]

I see. So, where do you live? Montana? North Dakota? Not too many colored folks living there, huh?

I'm really really tired of the "white whine" folks.

As to this comment, no one is whining. We are complaining that the black community is being kept down, by other blacks. Just imagine the positive effect it would have on our country if black leaders took their boots off the neck of the black community.

Hey, if black folks want to invent racism, I don't give a shit. That's their problem, not mine. If they are actually stupid enough to go along with it then there's nothing I can do to help them.

[namguy]

Aren't you from Canada, Kyi?


I was born on the Blood Reserve in Canada. I'm a member of the Kainah Nation and have dual citizenship in Canada and the US. I live in the States right now.


Have you seen first hand the terrible living conditions our Native Americans are in? OUR OWN NATIVE PEOPLE, and there're treated badly...shame.

[NDNdancer]

I see. So, where do you live? Montana? North Dakota? Not too many colored folks living there, huh?

No there aren't many African Americans living here. We have our own brand of racism here in Montana. It's against Indians. A friend of mine did a study of the African Americans going to school at the two biggest universities and found out that they loved it here because the white folks loved them. "But they sure do hate Indians here" was one of the most frequent comments.

We make up 11% of the population in Montana and have huge reservations with large deposits of oil, coal and gold. We also have large tracts of timber and control the headwaters of most of the major river systems. So, we're constantly fighting off the feds and the state who want to steal those things from us as well as more land.

We're actually on the top of the FBI's list. We're number one in the nation for hate groups.

So, yeah, we know all about "white whine" and white racism first hand.

Hey, if black folks want to invent racism, I don't give a sh1t. That's their problem, not mine. If they are actually stupid enough to go along with it then there's nothing I can do to help them.


Let me educate you. Racism is exclusively an American invention that has become our gift to the world. Yay American ingenuity.

See, the founding fathers had to figure out a way to get around that pesky "All men are created equal" clause. So, they used made up science to do it. Using science, they tried and succeeded for several hundred years to "prove" that blacks were inferior so they could keep them enslaved. I mean how the hell were they gonna get this country running if they had to actually pay for labor? They had a fledgling country to get up on it's feet, an economy based on slavery so they had to find some way to get around treating them as truly equal eh?

Then there was those pesky Indians. If they were truly equal, then they had to be treated like human beings and heaven forbid they do that. They needed their land!

So, ta da! Racism is born!

ONLY in America do you find laws, policies, institutions built around the subjegation of humans based entirely on skin color. Other countries were behind the time and based it on language, religion....... you know those old timey ways men used to make themselves feel superior to one another.

But America sweeps all those aside briefly and does it based on skin color.

BTW, the word Caucasion was invented in 1776. What timing eh?

I'll post this tidbit for you to chew on, then come back and give you a list of the laws put into place from the inception of America designed to do two things:
1. Keep blacks slaves
2. Steal Indian land

Let's take a look at the invention of Caucasion first. I wrote this years ago for another board and will just print it in it's entirety. Some of it's not pertinent, but I'll leave it.

There is this great site that I would highly recommend everyone wander through. There's stuff for teachers, parents, kids and it's very accurate. There's a couple of essays that discuss how race politics was used to divest Native Americans of their land. I think one is about the Cherokee. A great read about the politics and policy of that time in American history.

http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm

It's very interesting how the race based laws of Jamestown came into being in the 1600's.

There are a couple of things that I didn't see on that wonderful site and will discuss them below.

It's important to the science that you all understand that race isn't biological. There is no physical or genetic way to differentiate between "races" because, there is no such thing as race. Race is an American myth that somehow has gained widespread acceptance and is now as firmly entrenched as the mythology about Thanksgiving.

Race is a historical phenomenon, not a scientific one. Even the mythical three "races" Mongoloid, Negroid and Caucasian were made up for political and economic reasons. Caucasian as a “race”? began in 1776. Wow, what timing eh? This significant year was when the German biologist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach published his book called "On the Natural Varieties of Mankind". At the time, his theories made sense in the context of the "Age of Reason" theorists of the times. Never mind that they made absolutely no sense geographically, they had a symmetry and logic that our "visually patterned" brains wanted to believe. Here are a few highlights of his theory -
- Native Americans were the transitional race that led to Asians (honest, but it gets worse!)
- Malayans evolved over time to become Africans (let’s not sweat geography, this is science!)

Here's the kicker, at center stage of all of this is the white race, which in his theories remains constant. The further you are away from the white “race”?, the darker and more imperfect the "race". All of mankind had fallen away from perfection, but the darker you were, the further the fall.

Still with me? Okay, well, according to Blumenbach, the best way to locate the Garden of Eden was to follow human....... (insert drum roll)”¦”¦. BEAUTY! Yup, that's right, the hotter the women, the hunkier the men, the closer you were to finding the remnants of that Garden (please someone take note how western science is following the Bible stories for proof!). So, here's how Blumenbach explains the etymology of the new word he coined:

"I have taken the name of this variety from Mount Caucasus, both because its neighborhood, and especially its southern slope, produces the most beautiful race of men, I mean the Georgian........"

Ta da! Thus is born Caucasian, Gods' most gorgeous creation! Anything else he wrote has been lost in obscurity and it's rarely even remembered that he coined the term Caucasian. ~chuckles~ Now how's that for a scientific term? Caucasoid doesn't mean anything different, it's just anthropologists way of making it sound more "scientific" ~grins~. Caucasian means Caucasoid, means God's most gorgeous creation. Now how about that for a bit of mixing science and religion! I just died laughing when I "discovered" all of this ~cheeky grin~. Yup, felt like ole Colombe I did. Of course a whole bunch of people been there, done that way before me, but oh well, I say I discovered it first!

Okay, all goofiness aside. I’m sorry, every time I go through this stuff in a class or something I get positively silly. I especially love the pomposity of science when people start pontificating on the “science of race”?.

All right, so shall we continue on? Now that you all know the scientific etymology of Caucasian. What a beautiful word eh? How it just rolls off the tongue, not like Mongoloid or Negroid, the other two “races”? of man. Those hard g’s just kind of sound field-handish don’t they? Not like the patrician sound of Caucasian. ~grins~

So, every since ole Blumenbach, we’ve been stuck trying to figure out this race thing. The basic three have gone as high as Ernst Haeckel’s 34 races in 1879 or Paul Topinard’s 19 in 1885 or Stanley Garn’s nine in 1971. Today, we ask if you’re Caucasian, African American, Native American, Asian, or of Hawaiian or Pacific Islander descent. You’ll still see some of the older names among the older anthropologist’s papers, we could dust off the Armenoids, the Assyroids, the Veddoids, the Orientalids, the Australoids, the Dalo-Nordics, the Falish, the Alpines, the Dinarics, the Fenno-Nordic, the Osteuropids, the Lapponoids, the Osterdals, the Cappadocians, the Danubians, the Ladogans, the Trondelagens, and the Pile Dwellers. What a mouthful eh?

Now, that we’ve explored the pseudo-science/mythology/religion of race, lets take a look at skin color? The actual solution was published in 2000 by Nina Jablonski, but it doesn’t fit with anyone’s pre-conceived notions of the “science”? of race so no one hardly noticed. It wasn’t flashy enough. Maybe the National Geographic could be persuaded to “doll”? it up a bit for the public.

There was a paradox. Surely skin tone had something to do with colder climates creating paler shades, but then how come Siberians aren’t as pale as Swedes and there’s those pesky dark skinned Eskimos. How do we account for that? Skin pigmentation changed long ago not only to protect skin from different levels of sun exposure, but also in order to regulate the amount of vitamin D3 manufactured by the sun just under the skin. So when the first dark skinned inhabitants of modern Scandinavia were confronted with a lack of uv light, their kind quickly selected out for paler children whose skin would manufacture enough vitamin D3 to keep them healthy. Meanwhile, the Eskimos were living on a diet of seal and whale which is rich in vitamin D3, so the skin was never summoned into action. Evolution has one big rule, if there’s no pressure on the system to change, then it doesn’t. So Eskimos remained dark. So, when you look at the different races, what you’re actually seeing, the ONLY thing you’re seeing when you look at skin color, is a meandering trail of vitamin D3 adaptation rates.

Okay, now that we’re done with skin color, let’s take a look at skull measurements as a “science”?. It used to be called craniometry back in it’s hey day. Probably the best book about this subject was written by Stephen J. Gould and is called “The Mis-Measure of Man”?. Gould goes into the data itself in this book. The data that was used in the 1800’s to “prove”? that Native Americans were less intelligent then Caucasians is included in this book. What Gould did was take the skulls that were NOT included in the original statistical analysis of the data and recalculated using all of the data with some surprising results. It was a wonderful book written in 1981 and revised and re-published in 1996 with a wonderful new expose’ of the faulty statistics used in “The Bell Curve”?.

The upshot of all of the study of skulls is that there is no “Native”? skull, nor is there a Caucasian skull or Negroid skull. Again, this debate raged decades ago, yet the mythology of it is being perpetuated today. There are too many variables, there is too much “difference”? within groups of peoples to EVER make craniometry a truly valid science. One of the truths of science is that there is more variation within a group then there is without, genetically speaking and skull measurement speaking.

There is a new group who are trying to revive this "lost" science. I will talk more about them in another post about the Ancient Ones.

In forensic pathology, they admit that their skull reconstructions are at the most, %50 accurate. Well, that’s about as accurate statistically as flipping a coin. Very scientific ~sage nod~.

So, what does race mean? Race was and is a political and economic tool. It was used systematically and imposed by laws, federal policies on groups of people in order to do the following:
- justify continuation of the slave trade
- divest Native Americans of their lands and resources

I can just imagine old George Washington’s nightmares over this. How the hell was he to continue to own, buy, sell slaves and protect the economic wealth of this new fledgling Nation if all men were truly created equal? It’s a good thing science stepped in and found the answer for him eh?