How to Argue With a Racist

1. Race is not a scientifically valid concept

Genetics refuses to comply with these artificial and superficial categories.

Race is a social construct. While there are genetic differences between populations, these do not align with traditional racial categories. Human genetic variation exists on a continuum, with more diversity within groups than between them. Attempts to classify humans into distinct races have been inconsistent and arbitrary throughout history, with the number of proposed races ranging from 1 to 63.

Scientific racism has a dark history. Early attempts to categorize humans by race were often motivated by colonialism and prejudice. Influential thinkers like Linnaeus, Kant, and Voltaire proposed racial hierarchies that justified exploitation and oppression. These pseudoscientific ideas have been thoroughly debunked by modern genetics.

Key problems with racial classification:

• No clear boundaries between groups
• More genetic diversity within Africa than between continents
• Continuous gradients of variation rather than discrete categories
• Inconsistent criteria (skin color, geography, culture, etc.)

2. Skin color is a poor indicator of genetic diversity

Racial differences are skin deep.

Skin color is genetically complex. While highly visible, skin pigmentation is controlled by multiple genes and does not reflect overall genetic diversity. People with similar skin tones can be more genetically different than those with different skin colors. The genes influencing skin color have been present in humans for hundreds of thousands of years, predating our species.

Pigmentation adapted to environment. Variations in human skin color evolved as adaptations to different levels of UV radiation. Darker skin protects against folate depletion in high-UV areas, while lighter skin allows for vitamin D synthesis in low-UV regions. However, skin color does not neatly correspond to geographic origins or ancestry.

Recent findings on skin color genetics:

• More diversity in African skin tones than previously recognized
• Light skin evolved independently in different populations
• Genes for both light and dark skin found in ancient African genomes
• Current skin color resulted from complex mixing over millennia

3. All humans share common ancestors

Every Nazi has Jewish ancestors. Every white supremacist has Middle Eastern ancestors. Every racist has African, Indian, Chinese, Native American, aboriginal Australian ancestors, as well as everyone else.

We are all mongrels. Due to the mathematics of ancestry, all humans alive today share common ancestors from just a few thousand years ago. The most recent common ancestor of all Europeans lived around 1400 CE. Globally, the isopoint (when everyone alive was the ancestor of either everyone or no one today) occurred around 3400 years ago.

Family trees are complex. Our genealogies are not simple branching trees, but complex networks with many interconnections. As we go back in time, our number of ancestors increases exponentially, eventually exceeding the total population. This apparent paradox is resolved by the fact that the same individuals appear in multiple places on our family trees.

Key concepts in shared ancestry:

• Genetic isopoint: All living humans share ancestors from ~3400 years ago
• Pedigree collapse: Same ancestors appear multiple times in family trees
• Recent common ancestors: All Europeans descend from someone ~600 years ago
• No "pure" populations: All groups have mixed ancestry

4. Genetic ancestry testing has limitations

You are not your genes, and you are not your ancestors.

Consumer genetic tests oversimplify. While DNA testing companies offer enticing promises of uncovering hidden ancestry, their results are often overly simplistic and potentially misleading. These tests compare your DNA to modern reference populations, which may not accurately reflect historical ancestries.

Genetics ≠ identity. Genetic ancestry does not determine cultural identity or belonging. Over generations, we inherit DNA from only a fraction of our ancestors. It's possible to be genetically unrelated to ancestors from just a few hundred years ago. Nationality, ethnicity, and culture are complex social constructs not reducible to genetics.

Limitations of genetic ancestry tests:

• Results based on comparison to current populations, not historical ones
• Reference databases skewed towards certain groups (e.g., Europeans)
• Percentages given are estimates with wide margins of error
• Cannot determine specific tribes or precise geographic origins
• Do not account for cultural factors in identity

5. Athletic ability is not determined by race

Elite sprinters in the Olympics are not a dataset on which a statistician could draw any satisfactory conclusion.

Sports success is multifaceted. While genetic factors contribute to athletic performance, they do not align with racial categories. The apparent dominance of certain groups in specific sports is better explained by cultural, economic, and historical factors than by innate biological differences between races.

Genetic studies are inconclusive. Research on genes associated with athletic performance, such as ACTN3 and ACE, has not shown consistent racial patterns that explain success in sports. The distribution of these genes does not match observed patterns of athletic achievement across populations.

Factors influencing athletic success:

• Access to training facilities and resources
• Cultural emphasis on particular sports
• Economic incentives and opportunities
• Historical factors (e.g., segregation in swimming pools)
• Individual dedication and practice
• Coaching and training methods
• Nutrition and healthcare

6. Intelligence is complex and not racially determined

IQ, regardless of precisely what it is measuring, makes a much better predictor of many more things than a sprinting time does, and that is primarily because IQ has been tested and scrutinised for a century in thousands of studies.

Intelligence is heritable but complex. While cognitive abilities are influenced by genes, the relationship between genetics and intelligence is intricate. Hundreds or thousands of genes likely contribute small effects. Current research does not support the idea that intelligence differs between racial groups due to genetic factors.

IQ tests have limitations. Intelligence Quotient (IQ) tests measure certain cognitive abilities but are influenced by cultural factors and do not capture all aspects of intelligence. Observed differences in IQ scores between populations are better explained by environmental factors such as education, nutrition, and socioeconomic status.

Key points on intelligence and genetics:

• Heritability of intelligence estimated at 40-60%
• No single "intelligence gene" identified
• Environmental factors play a crucial role
• Flynn Effect: IQ scores have increased over time in many countries
• Genetic studies have not found consistent racial differences in intelligence-related genes

7. Cultural factors often explain group differences better than genetics

It is effectively casual racism to suggest that biological ethnicity is more important than other factors, not least because it is virtually impossible to pick apart all the elements of a lived life to assess the ingredients of a successful recipe.

Culture shapes success. Observed differences in achievement between groups are often better explained by cultural, historical, and socioeconomic factors than by genetic differences. For example, the disproportionate success of Ashkenazi Jews in intellectual pursuits likely stems from cultural emphasis on education rather than genetic superiority.

Beware of adaptationist thinking. It's tempting but often misguided to assume that every human trait or behavior has been directly shaped by natural selection. Many differences between groups are the result of historical contingencies, cultural practices, or neutral genetic drift rather than adaptive evolution.

Examples of cultural explanations for group differences:

• Educational practices and values
• Historical opportunities or barriers
• Economic systems and incentives
• Social networks and role models
• Religious or philosophical traditions
• Family structures and child-rearing practices
• Language and communication styles

Human diversity is real and fascinating, but it doesn't conform to simplistic racial categories. Our differences and similarities are the product of complex interactions between genes, environment, culture, and history. Understanding this complexity is crucial for combating racism and appreciating the rich tapestry of human variation.

Last updated: September 18, 2024