When folks are unaccustomed to the finer details of culture and race, they tend to lump people into broad categories and often stop there.
Anyone who has spent time in Europe will know there is no "white race." Anyone who has spent time in Africa knows there is no "black race." Over the years, I've come to see that there is no "Asian race," as well. Instead, there are myriad shades of distinct peoples lumped into these massive categories we call "race."
Ethiopians are as different from Nigerians as Chinese are from Indonesians. There are, to me at least, obvious differences between French and German. The word Russian encompasses so many different types of people as to make your head spin. In China, the Han are quite different from the Hokien. Even the Bavarians are distringuishable from the Westfalians.
Every "race" is composed of dozens, if not hundreds, of peoples, cultures and histories. It is hard to lump people even into nations, since most of the countries I've been to are a mish-mash of different groups.
Here on the island of Java alone, there are the Javanese, the Sundanese, the Betawi, and the Balinese. Each are distinguishable from the other both in looks and culture. The Javanese are broadly divided into north and south (halus and kasar), and among those groups are dozens of sub-cultures and languages, such as the Tegalese.
Knowing all of this, I have to laugh at both racists and anti-racists. Both sides have no idea what they are talking about. Both are lumping entire groups of people together who are as similar to each other as wood is to rock. That criticism is doubly true for "diversity" hounds who think that shoving a bunch of colors in a box doth diversity make. All sides of the argument show their ignorance.
The fact is that the world is an amazingly complex place, even considering only the people, without an eye towards any of the millions of lifeforms here. People differ by climate, terrain, religion, tradition, history, genetics, language, temperament, and goals.
Terms such as race are virtually meaningless. Some people would classify me as "white," but I look as different from a Sicilian as a Mongol looks from a Mayan. I have red hair, blue eyes and my skin burns in a matter of minutes in the sunlight. By all definitions, I belong to a race apart from "white." Or, conversely, I am the very definition of "white," since most other "whites" are actually golden brown or greenish brown and (curse them) actually tan in the sunlight.
Skin color is about as meaningless a way to divide people as tooth length, yet we have all been brainwashed into separating ourselves by it. Race is nothing more than a tool used by some self-appointed "elite" to keep us all squabbling among ourselves so that we never discuss our similarities and join together to rid ourselves of those cynical and useless scum.
Nowhere is this "divide" process more apparent than the US presidential campaign. The mouthpieces tell us that "white" men support Trump and "women" and "minorities" support Clinton. That's like saying, "All sausage eaters are German." Completely meaningless and useless, yet people cite these divisions as if repeating Gospel verses.
People have accused me of being "misogynist" because I won't support Clinton, and "anti-American" because I won't support Trump. In fact, I have only voted one time for US President in the 30-odd years since I turned 18 (Ross Perot). Furthermore, I don't think of myself as "American," since that term can include anyone from Baffin Island to Tierra del Fuego, and that's a pretty broad expanse with a lot of different kinds of people. Finally, I reject Clinton because, regardless of her gender, she is amoral and devoid of ethics, and probably hasn't spoken a lick of truth since she was a junior attorney hanging around the Watergate investigation (look it up).
In the end, Will Rogers probably had the most profound statement on humanity I've ever come across, "I never met a man I didn't like."
Think about that for a minute and you'll eventually see why it is so profound. It implies that one takes ever person one meets at face value and doesn't classify or judge without knowing them first. It means that everyone stands on their own and proves themselves, not by their racial and cultural backgrounds, but by the way they treat others.
About the most absurd thing I've ever heard is posted at the beginning of this column, "I hate racists because of the way they think." Probably the most inane and shallow piece of rubbish I've ever seen. Apparently, whoever created this crap didn't see the inherent contradiction of their own words.
