Dear Ted,

The salience of racial varieties of other organisms is suggestive, but doesn't actually evidence an analogous phenomenon in human populations.

In my view, the most useful approach to race is to recognise it as a social construct.  As I understand it, construction of a race entails 'biologising' the purported racial traits - the racist believes them to be heritable, whether skin, eye, or hair colour, texture, or shape; religion, language, accent, surname, religion of forebears, or what have you - racists are not real particular about what they essentialise about the population to be discriminated against.  In this sense, then, 'cultural racism' just places a veneer over the fundamental biologisation.  If you're looking for a Paki to bash up, you don't enquire closely into their place of birth, mother tongue, or any other cultural trapping - if they 'look like a Paki', that's good enough.

As long as discrimination goes on, it is worth collecting data about race, or as close as we can come to such an ill-defined and poorly understood category.

In solidarity,


Harry Feldman
Safe Work Australia
Data & Analysis Section
Strategic Policy Branch
GPO Box 641
Canberra ACT 2601
Location code: C220NB2
Phone (02) 6240 6812







-----Original Message-----
From: email list for Radical Statistics [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ted Harding
Sent: Tuesday, 21 December 2010 10:54
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Religion and the census

This is a very interesting discussion! However, one comment on
Ursula's constribution: "Assuming that we think 'race' matters
(and in my view it only matters insofar as people are discriminated
against because of it)" -- don't forget that "race" is a category
which is by definition associated with heritable characteristics,
which it may be needful to be aware of.

I am certainly opposed to exploiting racial category for the
purpose of negative discrimination, vilification, etc. But there
are, for instance, such things as heritable propensities to
diseases. Take, for instance, Thalassemia (a heritable genetic
"defect" which leads to formation of "abnormal" haemoglobin
molecules, resulting in a form of anaemia). It is particularly
associated with the Eastern Mediterranean (hence the name), North
Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, and parts of India. Also, in a
variant form, with West Africa. As to its being a "defect", it
probably arose as a mutation conferring resistance to the effects
of Malaria, hence in its time was advantageous, similarly to the
heritable Sickle Cell Anaemia (especially prevalent in sub-Saharan
Africa). Such diseases remain prevalent in the descendants of the
original beneficiaries, and race is therefore a marker for propensity
to such diseases.

I recall, from my time in Manchester, noticing a Thalassemia Clinic
on Oxford Road, close to the University Precinct. I suppose this
would have been associated with the relatively large Pakistani
population (though there are many people of other relevant races
also in Manchester), and would have been there for their benefit.

I should imagine that a Manchester GP, being consulted by a patient
of relevant race with symptoms of Anaemia, would normally think of
referring the patient to the Thalassemia Clinic in order to have
the appropriate examinations carried out.

Nor should we forget the greater susceptibility of fair-skinned
Northern races to skin cancers induced by exposure to levels of
solar radiation greater than they are genetically adapted to.
Of course, the descendants of such people who emigrate from those
parts to warmer and sunnier climes will be selected against, and
will tend to die out, relative to descendants who adapt genetically
towards darker skins (and thereby give rise to a new "race").

So the best medical advice to Costa-immigrant Geordies, Scots,
etc. might be "Go back to your own country!"

Joking apart, I did want to make the serious point that race is
a form of categorisation that can carry useful information
(e.g. about disease, as I have exemplified) which can be exploited
*to the benefit of a person of that race*, and therefore matters
in a *positive* sense. Whether that will be put to beneficial
effect, however, depends on a sound knowledge of the propensities
etc. which are associated with race. This should of course be done
quite objectively, and people should not be put off doing by fear
of being accused of "racism" by virtue of the abuse of "race" by
ignorant, prejudiced and malevolent people!

The wholly worthy reaction against abusive racism has resulted in
an unrealistic condemnation of attention to racial characteristics,
leading to statements like "'race' has no biological significance"
in a QCA document "Respect for All" for Science Key Stage 1 (2003).
This prompted me into a long schmeer on RadStats developing the
above theme, which can be found at:

https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A2=ind03&
L=RADSTATS&F=&S=&X=0216471843DE20FB13&
Y=ted.harding%40manchester.ac.uk&P=85923

[equivalently: http://tinyurl.com/34hftt6 ]

Of course race has biological significance. But let "race" be used
positively, for beneficial discrimination, and let not those who
wish to use it positively feel obliged to hide under the table when
those who rightly condemn using it negatively fail to discriminate
betwen positive and negative -- as if the mere mention of "race"
is negative racism. It isn't!

Best wishes to all,
Ted.
[PS: Earlier contributions included by Ursula are here snipped,
 to save bulk].

******************************************************
Please note that if you press the 'Reply' button your
message will go only to the sender of this message.
If you want to reply to the whole list, use your mailer's
'Reply-to-All' button to send your message automatically
to [log in to unmask]
Disclaimer: The messages sent to this list are the views of the sender and cannot be assumed to be representative of the range of views held by subscribers to the Radical Statistics Group. To find out more about Radical Statistics and its aims and activities and read current and past issues of our newsletter you are invited to visit our web site www.radstats.org.uk.
*******************************************************