HCR 362, Section 2
Section 1
I believe that we talk too much about race in the United States. There is so much history when it comes to race. This history is constantly being talked about and trying to make people today accountable for what happened in the past. I do believe this is wrong. There is a common debate as to whether or not teaching history teaches or encourages racial discrimination. I think this is a very good debate. I do believe it is important for individuals today need to know what happened back then so history does not repeat itself. On the other hand, it is teaching people hate and teaching individuals that people of different races are different from one another.
According to Race the Power of an Illusion, interracial relationships were outlawed in order to preserve the white race. People wanted to breed the best children, which in their opinion, were white children. Teaching young children this today helps to teach them about the injustice that once existed in this country. However, it also teaches them that individuals of different races are seen differently when compared to each other. It makes young minds associate a hierarchy when it comes to skin color. Would racial discrimination still be as big as an issue today if children today were taught that there are no differences between races?
Racism today is something that makes everyone feel uncomfortable. I personally have seen good friends turn enemies because they talked about racism too long. Arguments about race are not arguments that are going to be won. They are just arguments that will never reach a conclusion or resolution.
Section 2
I do not think that people should be held accountable for past discrimination. Past discrimination has nothing to do with current or future times. Racism is a learned behavior. People in the past were taught that certain races were superior or inferior of one another. Today, we are taught the value of human life regardless of race. All children are educated regardless of their color. Adults can get jobs regardless of their color. This country has grown so far from those times. Holding certain races accountable for something that happened in the past is only going backwards when it comes to racism.
The idea of not talking about race is not reality. There are still people alive today who lived in the 50s and 60s when racial discrimination was an everyday thing. It is obvious that anyone who experienced severe racial discrimination is going to have hard feelings when it comes to certain races, especially the race that discriminated against them. It is similar how soldiers who serve in wars do not generally like the individuals who they are fighting. For example, some World War II veterans who were stationed in Pearl Harbor have strong feelings about Japanese individuals. These are generally the individuals who watched their friends die when being bombed by the Japanese. It is not race itself that is creating hate; it is the hate that is creating the racism. This is similar when it comes to people who are victims of racial discrimination in the 50s and 60s. These individuals are going to talk and tell stories about the injustice they received. This in itself can lead to racism. It can teach young children to hate certain races based on what happened in the past. When it comes to past discrimination, it should be remembered that it was in the past. White people today are not responsible for what white people did years ago.
Section 3
I do not believe there is a connection between race and health status. According to Race the Power of an Illusion, race is biologically real. Scientists have found that external differences do lead to internal differences between people. It was once believed that there are no genetic differences between races. However, as the years have progressed, research has shown that there are genetic differences in people of different races. However, there are genetic differences between people of the same race. Race does not account for genetic differences between people.
One of the main arguments when it comes to race and health is the argument that certain races are better are certain athletics then other races. This led to people wondering if there are genetic differences that allow different races to run faster than other races. For example, track has always been a sport that black individuals have always dominated at. This lead to people wondering whether or not the differences in race places a genetic role in how fast an individual can run.
The main breakout moment in race came when studying infant mortality in black and white individuals. However, like every other genetic argument, it was argued that social stressors are effecting health and not race itself. I can see how this can be a challenging debate. Personally, I believe that both do effect an individual. A genetically strong baby can conceived in the womb but not be given the proper prenatal care and is unable to make it outside of the womb. This could happen to any race. So social stressors may in fact have a huge impact on whether or not an infant can survive (How Racism is Bad for Our Bodies).
This leads to another point: whether genetics or environment has a bigger impact on an individual. According to Race the Power of an Illusion, race does not impact a person’s height or weight. Therefore, race has no impact on any health issue that has to do with weight. These health concerns would have nothing to do with race but the environment instead. One of the most common beliefs is that only black individuals are susceptible to sickle cell anemia. However, white people all of the world have suffered from sickle cell anemia. It is just more common in people of African descent. I do not believe this has anything to do with genetics or race. I believe it has to do with the environment and certain environmental factors lead to individuals having sickle cell anemia. It is the only logical explanation for why people from different races have sickle cell anemia.
Access to healthcare is also important when looking at an individual’s health and comparing it to their race. It is no secret that different individuals throughout this country have different access when it comes to healthcare. A huge factor that contributes to an individual’s access to healthcare is socio-economic status. Others believe there is racial and ethnic discrimination when it comes to giving an individual proper health care. Discrimination when it comes to health care obviously has an impact on an individual’s health. However, this again is due to the environment and not the genetics itself (Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care, p. 298).
Another race related health issue has to deal with racism. Studies have recently found that racism does in fact have an effect on an individual’s health. In this study, it was found that racial discrimination leads to racial minorities having greater stress. However, it was found that only 18.2 percent of black individuals had experienced emotional stress when it came to race. Furthermore, only 9.8 percent of black participants had experienced physical stress when it came to race. Even though it was a small percentage of participants, stress does lead to poorer physical and mental health. However, this is another environmental example of how race impacts health and not due to a genetic predisposition.
Overall, I do not believe race has anything to do with an individual’s health. Genetics, on the other hand, does have some effect on an individual’s health. However, as mentioned above, race does not account for genetic differences between people. I do believe that the environment has more effect on an individual’s health than genetics. The only aspect that is questionable to me is the fact that certain races are better at athletics than other races.
