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Obviously, we are human. We are also Democrats, Republicans, Americans, Africans, Armenians, etc.
Quite simply. group politics are here to stay. And race is just a subset of that (perhaps the most incendiary subset). There is no way to convince a substantial number of people, through argument, to surrender their group membership. Through war, subjugation, and forced assimilation, perhaps, but not through conversation.
Even if you did, other group dividers, equally unscientific, such as nationality, would still persist.
Humanism is a beautiful theory and it would be great to see it implemented. However, currently, the resources of the world are controlled by politics...and politics are controlled by groups. Certain groups get more than others because of historical reasons (usu. b/c they killed, exploited, or enslaved someone else). Breaking large racial groups into smaller ethnic groups does nothing to redistribute these resources.
Black people currently mobilize ourselves through race. Certainly some black people "look white". Certainly black people have many disparate ethnic and cultural origins. Still, eliminating race as an organizing force just leaves us divided when we most need a united front. (I'm sure you aren't encouraging whites to eliminate their racial group while others maintain their own, as that would be illogical).
You cited "Soul on Ice"...Eldridge Cleaver was a strong believer in racial politics...if you told him your theory on eliminating racial classification at the time he wrote "Soul on Ice", he'd probably call you an Uncle Tom assimilationist...
Spread love,
Spirit http://www.theamphibians.com
9 out of 10 people with two arms find something interesting about http://www.theamphibians.com This summer: new audio, same odd sense of humor. Don't get "left" out, mossie your two-armed self on over and check it out.
Peace,
Spirit (Alan) http://wutangbook.com
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