I was very eager to join the BCOP in studying this book but was too busy last week.
We are genetically related not only to one another—the most distantly related people today are at the outside 100th cousins—but also to every other living thing on the planet. Our DNA is clearly of a common origin with that of an insect, a plant, a bacterium.
«Race» is a pernicious invention of society, not a biological reality. Definitions of racial groups vary across and within racist societies: plenty of people from Brazil who are not considered black there have been surprised to be called black in the US. Racial categories are most prominent in societies such as the US, Brazil, South Africa, and the Zionist entity that are highly stratified through a colour-coding scheme.
Judaism does indeed set Jewish identity up as a racial category. By traditional standards, Jews are those whose mother was Jewish when they were born or who converted to Judaism through a formal process. Very few people convert, so in practice Jewish identity is about maternal origins, which is to say that it is racial.
There no such thing as Jewish blood, Black blood, white blood, or any other similar kind of blood. Anyone who believes the contrary is simply not dealing well with reality.
I understand busyness, Scott. So no worries. Perhaps you could join other meetings in this series. Yes, the notion of race is ridiculous, but humans have always sought to justify their fears and dislikes. We are good at inventing bogus theories and philosophies to justify the atrocities we commit, and all the harm and pain we inflict. (I think inflicting pain on one another is the most enduring human legacy and it is so shameful and sad).
Psychopaths don’t need excuses for what they do—e.g. race and other bogus theories. They’re just predators who feel entitled to ‘feed’, and they don’t see any reason to justify their actions. They only invent excuses for the benefit of their followers who are not psychopathic, and need to feel justified and convinced in order to commit atrocities.
It is up to the non-psychopaths—the majority among us—to think for themselves and refuse to follow anything that requires them treat other human and non-human beings like object or garbage. The psychopaths are only 20%, there are 80% of us who are perfectly healthy and can do so much better… Thanks for reading and commenting as always.
Many people do not understand that «race» is a social construct, not a biological fact. Yes, the visible traits that are used to define race within a society are largely inherited; but so are many other traits, such as blood type, that show a different geographic distribution. We just happen to choose the one set as racial markers because they are easy to see, and we reify the resulting «races» and ascribe profound significance to them. If we used blood type instead, or any of a number of other genetic traits that also tend to be geographically distributed, people would be sorted into very different «races».
There is a pair of twin girls in Britain, one of whom would be regarded as Black throughout the West and the other as white. They shared the womb, yet they will have very different experiences in life because of the racism of British society. They have the same parents, many of the same genes; yet racists would attribute different characteristics to them just because of their appearance.
I discuss these things frequently—and the fact that each of us is cousin to every dandelion and yeast cell and protozoön—in an effort to expose and eliminate the crime that is racism. I hope that others will join the fight.
I too am privileged to be part of the book club. As ever your words inspire me to continue to strive to be a better human. “Isaac laments the silence”, this statement brings me to tears as I lament ❤️🕊️
One reason that the churches are mostly so cowed is that they fear being accused of wanting to return to The Bad Old Days.
Sort like how antisemitism was a pretty socially acceptable position in the US and UK until around 1939, when it became extremely low status by its association with Hitler.
Dr Isaac is exactly right to say that those who objected to violence only on or after 7 October 2023 are nothing but racists. They care when one group is targeted but not when another is.
The violence waged by Palestinians is a matter of resistance and national liberation. Palestinians have every right to resist settler-colonialism in their country, especially while most of the world backs the criminal invaders and occupiers to the eyeteeth.
Now that race has been raised, readers might wish to notice the images of Avigail and Munther on the screen. Two intelligent people, both of whom grew up in Palestine, each speaking natively a Semitic language, each devoted to the welfare of the world's people; yet one belongs to the Zionist master race and would enjoy superior rights in the country on racial grounds alone, while the other is _ipso facto_ a «terrorist» targeted for racially motivated expulsion if not murder.
I was very eager to join the BCOP in studying this book but was too busy last week.
We are genetically related not only to one another—the most distantly related people today are at the outside 100th cousins—but also to every other living thing on the planet. Our DNA is clearly of a common origin with that of an insect, a plant, a bacterium.
«Race» is a pernicious invention of society, not a biological reality. Definitions of racial groups vary across and within racist societies: plenty of people from Brazil who are not considered black there have been surprised to be called black in the US. Racial categories are most prominent in societies such as the US, Brazil, South Africa, and the Zionist entity that are highly stratified through a colour-coding scheme.
Judaism does indeed set Jewish identity up as a racial category. By traditional standards, Jews are those whose mother was Jewish when they were born or who converted to Judaism through a formal process. Very few people convert, so in practice Jewish identity is about maternal origins, which is to say that it is racial.
There no such thing as Jewish blood, Black blood, white blood, or any other similar kind of blood. Anyone who believes the contrary is simply not dealing well with reality.
I understand busyness, Scott. So no worries. Perhaps you could join other meetings in this series. Yes, the notion of race is ridiculous, but humans have always sought to justify their fears and dislikes. We are good at inventing bogus theories and philosophies to justify the atrocities we commit, and all the harm and pain we inflict. (I think inflicting pain on one another is the most enduring human legacy and it is so shameful and sad).
Psychopaths don’t need excuses for what they do—e.g. race and other bogus theories. They’re just predators who feel entitled to ‘feed’, and they don’t see any reason to justify their actions. They only invent excuses for the benefit of their followers who are not psychopathic, and need to feel justified and convinced in order to commit atrocities.
It is up to the non-psychopaths—the majority among us—to think for themselves and refuse to follow anything that requires them treat other human and non-human beings like object or garbage. The psychopaths are only 20%, there are 80% of us who are perfectly healthy and can do so much better… Thanks for reading and commenting as always.
Many people do not understand that «race» is a social construct, not a biological fact. Yes, the visible traits that are used to define race within a society are largely inherited; but so are many other traits, such as blood type, that show a different geographic distribution. We just happen to choose the one set as racial markers because they are easy to see, and we reify the resulting «races» and ascribe profound significance to them. If we used blood type instead, or any of a number of other genetic traits that also tend to be geographically distributed, people would be sorted into very different «races».
There is a pair of twin girls in Britain, one of whom would be regarded as Black throughout the West and the other as white. They shared the womb, yet they will have very different experiences in life because of the racism of British society. They have the same parents, many of the same genes; yet racists would attribute different characteristics to them just because of their appearance.
I discuss these things frequently—and the fact that each of us is cousin to every dandelion and yeast cell and protozoön—in an effort to expose and eliminate the crime that is racism. I hope that others will join the fight.
I too am privileged to be part of the book club. As ever your words inspire me to continue to strive to be a better human. “Isaac laments the silence”, this statement brings me to tears as I lament ❤️🕊️
Thank you Claire for being a loving human being who also acts on her love. 🙏🏼
Brilliant talk by a wonderful man. Thanks for facilitating this Avigail👍💚
One reason that the churches are mostly so cowed is that they fear being accused of wanting to return to The Bad Old Days.
Sort like how antisemitism was a pretty socially acceptable position in the US and UK until around 1939, when it became extremely low status by its association with Hitler.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Portage_to_San_Cristobal_of_A.H.
Dr Isaac is exactly right to say that those who objected to violence only on or after 7 October 2023 are nothing but racists. They care when one group is targeted but not when another is.
The violence waged by Palestinians is a matter of resistance and national liberation. Palestinians have every right to resist settler-colonialism in their country, especially while most of the world backs the criminal invaders and occupiers to the eyeteeth.
Now that race has been raised, readers might wish to notice the images of Avigail and Munther on the screen. Two intelligent people, both of whom grew up in Palestine, each speaking natively a Semitic language, each devoted to the welfare of the world's people; yet one belongs to the Zionist master race and would enjoy superior rights in the country on racial grounds alone, while the other is _ipso facto_ a «terrorist» targeted for racially motivated expulsion if not murder.