| From a medical point of view, racism doesn't | | | | Genetically speaking, medium skin color in humans |
| exist. | | | | should be the most common. Very light skin or |
| How can this be? There can be no racism if there | | | | very dark skin would be equally rare in a |
| are no races. Scientifically speaking, there is only | | | | genetically mixed population. |
| one human race. | | | | The real fear on which discrimination is based is |
| When we speak of the various human races, | | | | cultural. When people don't understand each |
| what we are referring to is a set of outward | | | | other's language, beliefs, and traditions, fear |
| appearances (the phenotypical expression of the | | | | results. That which clues us to differences |
| genotype). These traits have accumulated within | | | | between human beings begins with outward |
| certain niches of the population as people mate | | | | appearances and behavior. |
| with each other. | | | | My outward appearance would be described as |
| Skin color is the easiest to understand. The more | | | | Caucasian, though with brown eyes and hair, I |
| melanin in the skin, the darker the color. | | | | might be presumed to have Italian ancestry - or |
| Discriminating on skin color is as silly as | | | | German, or Spanish, or Eastern European, or |
| discrimination based on hair color. In certain | | | | Russian. If fact, I'm a mix (like my dogs), and |
| populations other physical traits cluster with skin | | | | therefore have no particular allegiance to a distant |
| color: shape of the nose or eyes, hair color or | | | | country of origin. However, I would be much |
| texture, height, weight, body shape, muscle mass, | | | | more comfortable with peaceable citizens of |
| etc. People tend to favor the physical appearance | | | | darker skin than gang members of my own color. |
| with which they are most familiar or comfortable, | | | | One answer might be to homogenize the |
| an emotional response. | | | | population, but this should be unnecessary. There |
| Similarly, some people like dachsunds, others | | | | is beauty in all varieties of the human form. What |
| favor poodles. In many ways the physical | | | | we need to do is open our eyes to the real |
| differences in humans are analogous to the | | | | issues of cultural misunderstanding. Though this |
| differences in dogs. If dachsunds are bred to | | | | would require overcoming barriers of language, |
| dachsunds, their offspring will generally have short | | | | geography, and tradition, loving our neighbor as |
| legs and long bodies. If dachsunds are bred to | | | | ourselves is the ultimate solution to ending |
| poodles, a variety of body types will result, yet | | | | discrimination. |
| they will certainly all be dogs. | | | | Copyright 2010 Cynthia J. Koelker, M.D. |