Our project's main category is biology due to its focus on genetics and heredity; however, it is related to many other fields as well. The historical events associated with the discovery of genes adds up to an interesting story, and controversy over genetic testing has escalated in recent years because it is getting increasingly easier for common civilians to have their genetic material analyzed. On this page, we will report the impact of DNA on society as a whole and how different physical traits have led to conflict.
All humans, being the same species, share 99.9% of our DNA. Because there are approximately three billion nucleotide base pairs in the human genome, any two randomly chosen people have an average of two to three million base pairs that do not match the each other’s (“Race in a Genetic World”). The variations between genes for different skin colors are incredibly minor, and two people of the same height and different races are typically more genetically alike than two people of the same race and different heights. However, these tiny differences in mitochondrial DNA determine when a person’s ancient ancestors left Africa, the place of origin for all humans, and people all over the world are eager to latch onto them in order to distinguish themselves from others and cause their counterparts to feel inferior (“Race”).
Many people consider race to be an unscientific concept that humans invented based on the relative color of their skin and their eagerness to seem superior to others. These people argue that there is no standard or basis for determining what race a person is. For example, Duana Fullwiley claims that she can switch through three different races in the course of a day. She considers herself African-American, though her mother is black and her father is white. When this anthropologist travels to France, the French called her métisse -- “mixed”. After flying another six or seven hours to Senegal, however, two-year-olds who can barely speak at all greet her with the word tubaab -- “white” (“Race in a Genetic World”).
Geography and history have shown, however, that very few people beyond the community of scientists give a second thought to the fact that the social differences between people of different skin colors and ethnic groups are negligible. Japan, for instance, is one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries on Earth. Any resident who has a known ancestor of any other ethnicity is considered foreign. There are currently very few restrictions in place that prevent acts of racism, and the laws that do exist are ineffective in general. For example, it has become a very common and normal thing for Japanese Americans, Brazilian Japanese, and those who trace their ancestry back to third world countries to experience discrimination in many aspects of their daily lives. In addition to this, the country refuses to accept most immigrants, including refugees (Srivastava), and travelers are sometimes unwelcome as well. The lack of diversity leads to more racism, such as offensive name-calling of biracial children by their classmates and even their classmates’ parents. By no means does the discrimination end with similar skin color; violence is extended to Asians of different ethnicities as well. In 2013, a group of extreme nationalists gathered in Tokyo’s Koreatown and shouted threats to replace the community with gas chambers. Although government officials and authorities were promptly informed, they did nothing to stop the threats, claiming that the protesters had the right to free speech (Wesby). This problem has drawn the attention of leaders in the United Nations, who worked to publish a report declaring that the Japanese government refused to recognize how troubling this issue was (Srivastava).
Racist Sign in Japan (Kozuka)
Another country with numerous racists can be found at the tip of a Southern Hemisphere continent. Although the cruel South African Apartheid laws were officially repealed in 1991, the elimination of segregation and discrimination looks good only on paper (“The Top 12 Most Racist Countries in the World”). Racism is now illegal, but to most citizens, it has become an inevitable and obvious fact of life. Whites, making ten times as much money as blacks (Rubenstein), continue to live separately in well-to-do neighborhoods while hiring underpaid dark-skinned servants. A survey conducted in 2012 discovered that 43.5% of South Africans rarely or never interact with people of a different race (“The Top 12 Most Racist Countries in the World”). In some areas, business owners alter the cost of their products and services according to the customer’s skin color and offer different prices to different buyers (Samant).
South Africans Protest Against Racism 24 Years
After the End of Apartheid (Daigle)
In conclusion, no country can yet boast that it has achieved racial equality, and realistically speaking, it might be impossible to completely destroy the barriers between people of different skin colors and ethnic groups. It is incredible that a few slight genetic variations can cause wars, suffering, and deaths all around the world. Hopefully, little by little, we humans can learn to come together as a single species and realize that our differences in skin tone are nothing more than the same letters and base pairs scrambled up in different orders.
Racism Measurement Map (Gye)
Works Cited
Daigle, Kathryn. “A Look at Racism Around the World.” Oceagleeye.com. OC Eagle Eye, 2015. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.
Gye, Hugo. “Map Shows World's 'Most Racist' Countries .” Dailymail.com. Associated Newspapers Ltd., 16 May 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.
Kozuka, Jessica. “Is Japan Really Racist? A Look at Where Things Stand.” Rocket News 24. Socio Corporation, 9 Nov. 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.
“Race.” Stanford at The Tech Museum. The Tech Museum of Innovation, 2013. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.
“Race in a Genetic World.” John Harvard's Journal. Harvard Magazine Inc., May-June 2008. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.
Rubenstein, James M. The Cultural Landscape. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc., 2011. Print.
Samant, Shreya. “Top 12 Most Racist Countries in the World.” Listovative.com. Listovative.com, 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.
Schoofs, Mark. “What DNA Says About Human Ancestry—and Bigotry.” The Myth of Race. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.
Srivastava, Anisha. “Top 10 Most Racist Countries in the World.” ListCrux.com. List Crux, 2015. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.
“The Top 12 Most Racist Countries in the World.” Telesurtv.net. La Nueva Televisión del Sur C.A., 20 Mar. 2015. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.
Wesby, Maya. “Japan's Problem With Race.” Newsweek.com. Newsweek LLC, 2015. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.