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Hard-Wired for Prejudice? Experts Examine Human Response to Outsiders
NY Times ^ | April 20, 2004 | NANCY WARTIK

Posted on 04/20/2004 4:39:28 AM PDT by Pharmboy

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For me, this concept has explained why--for non-Asians--it is harder to see individual differences in, for example, Chinese people. Why? It is critical for self-protection to know whether or not another individual is part of your "friendly" tribe; someone of another race is clearly "other," and we needn't differentiate any further. For those of the same race, we need to discern subtleties in individuals.
1 posted on 04/20/2004 4:39:29 AM PDT by Pharmboy
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To: Pharmboy
OK. Which one is Chinese? Japanese? Vietnamese?





2 posted on 04/20/2004 4:52:09 AM PDT by Jaysun (The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.)
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To: Pharmboy
In China, there is a group of people in a certain province, called Hak-Ka, translating somewhat to mean "Outsiders". There are Hak-Ka restaurants in San Francisco that serve Hak-Ka food - that to me, doesn't seem to be much different than standard fare, except for really tiny tea cups.

They had been in that province for 700 YEARS!...and are still called "Outsiders". Maybe they had an Affirmative Action program for them when they got there, and earned everybody's resentment for ever afterwards..who knows?

3 posted on 04/20/2004 5:16:28 AM PDT by guitfiddlist
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To: Pharmboy
For me, this concept has explained why--for non-Asians--it is harder to see individual differences in, for example, Chinese people. Why?

Gah! This question always drives me crazy! Because there are fewer individual differences in Chinese people!

4 posted on 04/20/2004 5:17:13 AM PDT by prion
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To: prion
Gah! This question always drives me crazy! Because there are fewer individual differences in Chinese people!

They used to say that about black people...

5 posted on 04/20/2004 5:18:55 AM PDT by guitfiddlist
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To: guitfiddlist
They used to say that about black people...

Oh, for chrissakes, it's true of black people! This isn't bigotry, it's genetics.

Many of the genes that make up "blackness" or "orientalness" tend to be dominant. Many of the genes that make up "Europeanness" are recessive. This means that white people come in a bewildering variety: redheads, blondes, brunettes, curly haired, wavy haired, straight-haired, very tall, tall, average, short, very short, giant noses, tiny noses, blue eyes, green eyes, brown eyes, giant noses, tiny noses, white skinned, olive skinned. Basically, our genes are wussy. Anybody can push them over. That, and we outbreed a lot.

There's a good deal more variation in American blacks than African ones, because we've been trading genes for so long. How many of the above characteristics do you expect to find in African blacks? Han Chinese? And what the hell is wrong with saying it?

Terror of being called a racist has run through this country like a plague of stupid.

6 posted on 04/20/2004 5:30:42 AM PDT by prion
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To: prion
To you, round eyes, but not to them.

No, I believe that once "other" has been identified, more precise differentiation need not be accomplished.

7 posted on 04/20/2004 5:31:45 AM PDT by Pharmboy (History's greatest agent for freedom: The US Armed Forces)
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To: thefactor; PatrickHenry; aculeus
PING
8 posted on 04/20/2004 5:33:51 AM PDT by Pharmboy (History's greatest agent for freedom: The US Armed Forces)
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To: Pharmboy
The "They all look the same to me" is found within each race. It's know as ethno-centric sympathy. GENERALLY whites look the same to blacks. I have a friend who is Chinese, he was able to tell the difference between Japanese, Korean, Thai, but not able to tell the difference between Irish, Italian, Hispanic.
It's very important to know who is who down at the watering hole.
9 posted on 04/20/2004 5:34:14 AM PDT by olde north church (The opposite of authoritarianism isn't Libertarianism, it's anarachy.)
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To: Pharmboy
To you, round eyes, but not to them.

No, I'm sorry. That's simply laughably untrue.

I'm sure the Chinese have no problems telling each other apart, and may have difficulty telling us apart. But there simply is not anywhere near the same amount of genetic variation in ethnic Chinese than there is in generic Northern Euopean mutt.

10 posted on 04/20/2004 5:35:32 AM PDT by prion
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To: prion
Yes, from a telescope you can't tell people apart. But as you get closer, distinguishing characteristics are readily apparent. But I'm glad you qualified your original statement, which DID sound appallingly racist.
11 posted on 04/20/2004 5:35:55 AM PDT by guitfiddlist
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To: olde north church; prion
Exactly. It is important to distinguish "other" among people that look similar to you down to the subtle differences in jaw or nose shape; but when they are CLEARLY not of your "tribe," futher differentiation is unnecessary.
12 posted on 04/20/2004 5:36:33 AM PDT by Pharmboy (History's greatest agent for freedom: The US Armed Forces)
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To: Pharmboy
I have a prejudice against dumbass liberals. However, we have enough of 'discerning differences' in the world IMHO.
13 posted on 04/20/2004 5:38:05 AM PDT by cyborg (The 9-11 commission members have penis envy.)
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To: prion
But there simply is not anywhere near the same amount of genetic variation in ethnic Chinese than there is in generic Northern Euopean mutt.

Puh-leeze. There was no doubt as much cross-shtupping in Asia as in Europe. Do you have one scintilla of evidence to support your contentions?

14 posted on 04/20/2004 5:39:01 AM PDT by Pharmboy (History's greatest agent for freedom: The US Armed Forces)
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To: Pharmboy
Exactly. It is important to distinguish "other" among people that look similar to you down to the subtle differences in jaw or nose shape; but when they are CLEARLY not of your "tribe," futher differentiation is unnecessary.

Brilliant point, and well stated.

15 posted on 04/20/2004 5:40:48 AM PDT by guitfiddlist
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To: Pharmboy
Do you have one scintilla of evidence to support your contentions?

What the hell are you talking about, evidence? When was the last time you saw a naturally blonde Korean? Or one with blue eyes, or curly hair?

It's a matter of having bred within a certain (very large - I'm not implying anything bad here) gene pool, until the dominant genes are so dominant that the recessive ones almost never show themselves.

16 posted on 04/20/2004 5:42:49 AM PDT by prion
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To: Pharmboy
http://www.ancestrybydna.com/

Lots of cross boffing has been found with this test. I think I'll try it and see what coconuts fall out of the genetic family tree. I'll bet some folks will be shocked with what they find in their little genetic wood piles.
17 posted on 04/20/2004 5:45:17 AM PDT by cyborg (The 9-11 commission members have penis envy.)
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To: prion
You are focusing on Caucasian traits. Globalize your thoughts.

Over the years I have tried to train myself to differentiate between various Asians and can now--in a reasonably reproducible manner--differentiate between Vietnamese, Koreans, Chinese and Japanese. While the differences among them may not be as clear as those between red and brown hair, they do exist.

18 posted on 04/20/2004 5:48:32 AM PDT by Pharmboy (History's greatest agent for freedom: The US Armed Forces)
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To: Pharmboy
...the findings suggest that prejudice may have evolutionary roots

The next time a guy decides to drag someone down the road behind his pickup, his attorney will be using this study as a defense. The Evolution Card.

19 posted on 04/20/2004 5:49:33 AM PDT by mtbopfuyn
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To: Pharmboy
The languages are different. All one has to do is listen.
20 posted on 04/20/2004 5:49:36 AM PDT by cyborg (The 9-11 commission members have penis envy.)
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