Interracial? Interspecies?
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I tell ya, I still hate using "interracial". I'll say again that it makes me feel like I'm dating another species. Like... we're SUPPOSED to be ridiculously different and can't make it 'cause we're too different.
This was a comment from some blog.
Do you feel the same way too?
14 responses to "Interracial? Interspecies?"
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Delphine00 says:Posted: 10 Jun 09
I really love it when I know of people from certain countries where the ethnicity of origin of their populus is not touted about as the current ethnicity of their residents. Countries like Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Cuba (these are a few for which I know this is truth) have citizens that span the range of the rainbow in hue and yet they are not differentiated among or between any other. They are simply citizens of that country. It seems that the United States and many other countries, where the Brits wielded their power and made colonies, these are the ones where skin color is used as the basis of class and division.
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Salsassin says:Posted: 12 Jan 09
I definitely dislike the use of interracial, as a word as it is inaccurate. I prefer inter-ethnic. There will always be in groups and out groups, so to think that will go away is naive. But at least those in groups and out groups should be based on reality. Not fictional races based on inaccurate science and discrimination in the past. Having said that, valid ethnic forms did form from that prior racialism, and to discount their history and their culture would be wrong. So inter ethnic is the most appropriate term. Now when we can do away with ethnic groups in the same region that were formed from racialism in the past, that would be a good thing. But for that to happen, full integration has to occur. And when you have a disparity of populations sizes, the minorities have a legitimate fear of loosing the aspects of their culture they cherish. Traits that would be diluted into obscurity with a much larger population. Just look at Mexico and its Afrodiasporic experience. By vast majority, the Africans fully integrated and mixed into the Mexican population. The genetics shows this clearly. But because they were a minority at 10% of the population, they virtually seized to exist in most of Mexico, and except for crypto traditions here and there, much of Mexico has forgotten that aspect of their roots. (No, not from racism per se because it was the Afro-Indigenous leaders of the past that pushed the concept that they were not Spanish, Indigenous or African, but that they were Americanos (Yes, they consider themselves American as well)). Problem is, no many of the surviving enclaves of noticeably African descent populations are questioned about their Mexican identity, because of this amnesia. People assume that Latinos that look like they have a hint of African traits, are assumed to be either Central American, Caribbean, etc, but not Mexican. And in a country that is very hostile to migrants, this leads to questioning of Mexicans and their authenticity as Mexicans (even though that African ancestry is very likely to be in those Mexican questioners as well (not speaking about the Out of Africa concept)) Back on topic. There is a valid description of inter-ethnic relationships, and even inter-bio-regional ones. Where the disparity in features and genetic traits has to do with the distances historically between them. Consider a rainbow stretched out from South Africa to Finland. If you walked alongside it, you would never be able to tell when one color ended and the other started. It would just be a continuum. That is how phenotypic diversity works. You could walk from South Africa to Finland and if you looked at populations that have been indigenous to those lands for millenia, you could never tell when features changed because the changes would be so gradual. As far as the walker could tell, it would only be one human race. But the guy who jumps on a plane to Taiwan to Mombaza will definitely notice an immediate difference. The concept of races came about first as explorers developed the capacity to move to vastly distant regions in shorter amounts of time. So they got to see and contrast people that were much farther apart in the continuum. They only got to compare the ports. And when mass migrations of people occurred, whether forced or by choice, populations with widely disparate regional ancestries were placed together creating a huge contrast. But populations from the regions between did not migrate to allow for the full spectrum of the continuum. Hence an idea of races. "Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-That's all folks!"
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tatted2death says:Posted: 25 Dec 08
Deal or make a difference????...the age old question. Looking at it from that perspective we could get locked into that debate about alot of things: "We are always going to be stuck on this planet; there is nothing out in space"(no moon landing) "The earth is flat and you can sail right off the edge"(no discovery of other lands). LOL....yes I know we wouldn't debate those thing and I could go on and on here but those are the most simplistic examples. I am only trying to show that if we continue to have the attitude of mzn!k! then we might as well give up on alot of things. And let's face facts....superiority issues are only borne out of insecurities. ("I may be dumb...but at least I am a blonde"......JUST AN EXAMPLE). The way things are going barriers are being crossed everyday so the whole "different skin colors....different way of life" excuse can't really be used here. Yes, there will always be differences but why get caught up in them to the point of losing sight of what's really important in life. I really like what, MrOhenry suggested.....if we all did something like that, "society" (which is ......WOW, SURPRISE....US...) will be forced to change. Peace and Blessings tatted2death
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mzn!k! says:Posted: 29 Nov 08
In a perfect world, maybe. As long as we have different skin colors and different ways of life among these colors people will always judge others to be different from themselves.There will always be superiority issues, and we just need to deal with it as part of our differences.
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murph50 says:Posted: 27 Nov 08
I can still remember this “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”. As a Negro, one of whom was the first to integrate an all white school, that expression was always used when I would come home from having a bad day because of my race. So I would remind myself each day that I was only being called a word (NI_ _ER) and as the word interracial is only a word I look at it as being just that. It is in the dictionary and has a very understood meaning. One day when we all realize that we are human first and foremost then hopefully that word and all words connected to it will become obsolete or maybe some new words such as cohumanracial or coracialhuman might be considered in our future. And the meanings of these words would be: All races being human and acting as such.
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MrOHenry says:Posted: 25 Nov 08
Yes I agree that "interracial" is a misnomer. There is only ONE Race and that is the Human Race. We may have different ethnicities but if we were to bleed in front of one another, it would be the same color. Scientists and Government with their ridiculous forms are trying to keep the "differences" alive. But each time we have to fill out a form and it asks what "race", we should put Human. And then write in the ethnicity we are. Maybe if enough of that is done,it will help to change things. http://MrMillionaire.NoCashEver.com
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RomanticRich says:Posted: 21 Nov 08
Anyone who believes race or colour makes any difference will never find true love for it is true love which holds the key to life's meaning. Sometimes the 'gift' of sight can be a positive disadvantage!
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Boediccea says:Posted: 20 Nov 08
To me the original blog comments were with regard to the use of the actual word "interracial" and I have to say that I agree that the word itself sounds so dated (ha ha no pun intended). The further comments about racialism I also agree with - I loathe racism but it seems inherent not only in humans but in animals too (apes murder members of other tribes for example) Surely it is improving tho'? Look at how far America has come in such a short time?
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beffer says:Posted: 20 Nov 08
Ya know, its 2008 and you'd think that that would have gotten farther than it has...it just means that there are closed minded, narrowminded people out there that dont understand what is very natural,....hell, i believe after what i have been through, sometimes i would tell people we stayed together because no one thought we d make it...who knows? maybe in spite of. We found each other back then and we werent even looking at all. now, well, it didnt work but it wasnt for that reason it was that two people make it or they dont, period. not for any other reason---color does not rule that. ;-)
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Shelonta says:Posted: 20 Nov 08
I agree with the comment regarding the blog. I fel the same way just that I do not know if it will ever change. It is not a genuine significance on life. So, we should just be human. Now, that's a word we don't hear or use much.
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tatted2death says:Posted: 19 Nov 08
I really do feel that the word interracial is a bit tiresome but until we (mankind) do away with using "race"/color/ethnicity as a way to identify others (labeling should be exclusively for packaged foods...LOL) I am afraid that it will continue to be used. Maybe with whom we have elected President the way we view "race" will begin to change. Peace and Blessings tatted2death
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The term “interracial” doesn't make me feel like different species are involved. It is a weak term though and not really necessary but as a term, it is way ahead of "Afro Romance". LOL