Is Everything Racist?

[seer]

"However, when she camps or hikes as an adult, Tariq said she still faces assumptions that she doesn't belong and a sense of "imposter syndrome" and fear -- even facing questions from rangers about whether she has followed park rules when she doesn't see white visitors asked the same questions.”

Oh please that is just silly. Most of the state parks in my area have a good mix of races, and no one is treated differently. One of the problems is that many inner city families don't own cars, they generally use public transportation. They just don't have a way to get there. When we used to bring kids up from New York City (for a Christian camp), we had to go down and bus them up because none of the parents had cars.

[Mountain Man]

It is, but nobody is making that argument either.

Yeah, they are.

[Mountain Man]

I thought it was a trivially obvious statement without any specifics. The question I would have is what kind of structural biases exist and how to do something productive about it. It might be that some of the minorities coming there experience bias against them.

Did you read the rest, it some interesting testimonies.

"However, when she camps or hikes as an adult, Tariq said she still faces assumptions that she doesn't belong and a sense of "imposter syndrome" and fear -- even facing questions from rangers about whether she has followed park rules when she doesn't see white visitors asked the same questions.”

Paranoia is not evidence of racism.

[Leonhard]

Yeah, they are.

No they aren’t. That argument is not made in this article and I know of no one making that argument.

[Leonhard]

Oh please that is just silly. Most of the state parks in my area have a good mix of races, and no one is treated differently. One of the problems is that many inner city families don't own cars, they generally use public transportation.

I think that point is valid as well and wouldn’t be surprised if things were okay in many places.

[seanD]

I think that point is valid as well and wouldn’t be surprised if things were okay in many places.

Maybe there is racism, but it's on the part of blacks. Maybe they consider that "white boy" or red neck activity and thus aren't interested in it.

[Leonhard]

Maybe there is racism, but it's on the part of blacks. Maybe they consider that "white boy" or red neck activity and thus aren't interested in it.

Agreed, that's a possibility. I think it's fair game for that park to investigate it, do some research, talk to park guests. You know, all the sensible activity you'd do to find out if there is a problem and deal with it if it is there. Honestly I'm not calling for anything different and that's what I extracted from the article.

[rogue06]

I mean really, who is stopping brown and black people from going to parks?

America's national parks face existential crisis over race

As millions of Americans escape home quarantine to the great outdoors this summer, they'll venture into parks, campgrounds and forest lands that remain stubborn bastions of self-segregation.

"The outdoors and public lands suffer from the same systemic racism that the rest of our society does," said Joel Pannell, associate director of the Sierra Club, which is leading an effort to boost diversity in the wilderness and access to natural spaces.

New government data, shared first with ABC News, shows the country's premier outdoor spaces -- the 419 national parks -- remain overwhelmingly white. Just 23% of visitors to the parks were people of color, the National Park Service found in its most recent 10-year survey; 77% were white. Minorities make up 42% of the U.S. population.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/amer...l_twitter_abcn

IIRC there was a discussion about this a few years back and someone posted a couple studies showing that there just aren't very many blacks who enjoy camping. When given a choice between the mountains and the beach almost all will pick the latter every single time.

[seanD]

IIRC there was a discussion about this a few years back and someone posted a couple studies showing that there just aren't very many blacks who enjoy camping. When given a choice between the mountains and the beach almost all will pick the latter every single time.

Nah, man, that's based on facts. There is SYSTEMIC RACISM, period, and it starts with national parks!

[Sparko]

I thought it was a trivially obvious statement without any specifics. The question I would have is what kind of structural biases exist and how to do something productive about it. It might be that some of the minorities coming there experience bias against them.

Did you read the rest, it some interesting testimonies.

"However, when she camps or hikes as an adult, Tariq said she still faces assumptions that she doesn't belong and a sense of "imposter syndrome" and fear -- even facing questions from rangers about whether she has followed park rules when she doesn't see white visitors asked the same questions.”

That sounds more like paranoia on her part than racism on the park rangers part.

Women in general also don't like camping or hanging out in the woods compared to men. Is that sexism?

[Ronson]

There is no biological reality to the concept of race, it remains entirely a social construction.

That is one crazy statement. Is that seriously what you meant to say?

[rogue06]

That is one crazy statement. Is that seriously what you meant to say?

I believe that he's saying that geneticists have conclusively demonstrated that race is an artificial construct and that genetically speaking we are remarkably homogeneous. IOW, genetic analysis has revealed that the vast majority of variation between humans correlates little, if at all, with any supposed racial boundaries^[1].

In short, the fact that all humans are only one biological race has led modern biologists to conclude that race isn't a valid biological classification.






1. going back at least as far as Darwin when he observed that far larger differences could be observed within a "so-called race" (a term that he often employed) than between them. In pointing out the problems with even trying to divide humanity into separate races he emphatically stated that, "they graduate into each other, and that it is hardly possible to discover clear distinctive characters between them" as well as "It may be doubted whether any character can be named which is distinctive of a race and is constant.”

[seer]

In short, the fact that all humans are only one biological race has led modern biologists to conclude that race isn't a valid biological classification.

Didn't the bible tell us that?

Acts 17

God made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation

[Leonhard]

That is one crazy statement. Is that seriously what you meant to say?

I meant it exactly as I said it, the concept of race is entirely a social construction.

[Leonhard]

I believe that he's saying that geneticists have conclusively demonstrated that race is an artificial construct and that genetically speaking we are remarkably homogeneous. IOW, genetic analysis has revealed that the vast majority of variation between humans correlates little, if at all, with any supposed racial boundaries^[1].

In short, the fact that all humans are only one biological race has led modern biologists to conclude that race isn't a valid biological classification.






1. going back at least as far as Darwin when he observed that far larger differences could be observed within a "so-called race" (a term that he often employed) than between them. In pointing out the problems with even trying to divide humanity into separate races he emphatically stated that, "they graduate into each other, and that it is hardly possible to discover clear distinctive characters between them" as well as "It may be doubted whether any character can be named which is distinctive of a race and is constant.”