[Mpls] African Americans on the Council

[wmmarks]

gemgram wrote:

> The very concept of "Race" is a terribly bad joke played upon the 
> human race by ignorant jerks.  There simply is no scientific evidence 
> that "Race" even exists. Why can't even well meaning people in 
> Minneapolis allow this odious joke to die?  Why do we need the joke to 
> be repeated and even "owned" by so many who were the very victims of 
> that joke?  As a "Race" we humans sure seem to enjoy keeping 
> falsehoods alive and well.

Historically, Europeans, at least, used the term race in a different 
way. It was the Irish race, the German race, the French race. (Remember, 
borders were very fluid and each "tribe" rapacious.) England, for at 
least 100 years, was trying to claim parts of France as its own, since 
someone English married Eleanor of Aquitaine, Aquitaine being a 
fair-sized chunk of what is now France and Mary Queen of Scots, 
Elizabeth I's sister, was married to the Dauphin of France, was it? 
There were many such claims. The British were married to the Hapsburgs, 
etc. I'm still not clear how it switched to be an indicator of color, 
but I'm reading along so may find out some day.

> Well enough of this foolishness, even discussing it perpetuates it.

I disagree. Race is there in every breath we breathe. It's 
institutionalized, so it perpetuates itself unless we take steps to 
remove the cancer from the law code and change the practices which 
perpetuate it. Ergo, we have to talk about the rat's nest we've created 
to figure out how to extricate ourselves from it.

> WizardMarks, Central
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