Re: Xenophobia as an inherent barrier to diversity | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Kay Argyle (kay.argyleutah.edu) | |
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2008 17:02:02 -0700 (PDT) |
> My scots-irish genetics are > just as different from that of a particular tribe of swedes as they > are from that of particular tribe of Kenyans. No study I've ever come across supports that - quite the opposite. Caucasian groups are more genetically similar to each other than they are to African groups, and more similar than African groups are to each other - which is exactly what you'd expect if humans originated in Africa and spread out from there. Which is irrelevant. Shared genetics often goes hand in hand with shared culture - and of the two, I suspect that, once outside the immediate kinship group, culture is by far more important to perceived similarity. If humans have a genetically based, hardwired propensity to prefer associating with people they perceive as similar to themselves (whether "similar" means genetically or culturally), that doesn't mean diversity is impossible, strife is inevitable, etc. Recognizing the propensity is the first step in overcoming it - wanting to overcome it being the second. Which is where deciding WHY you want diversity, and what you mean by it, comes in. There's a fair body of research showing that fear makes people more conservative. You have to believe that new experiences will usually be rewarding to want to seek them out. Diversity takes an effort to live with (of widely varying degrees, depending on the diversity in question). The difference between liberals and conservatives is that liberals believe bridging the gap will be worth the effort, and conservatives don't - fear that what's on the other side might be somehow dangerous can even make people actively opposed to bridging the gap. Kay
- Re: What is diversity really?, (continued)
- Re: What is diversity really? Elizabeth Magill, September 11 2008
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Re: What is diversity really? Susan Hedgpeth, September 12 2008
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Xenophobia as an inherent barrier to diversity OC611NGC, September 29 2008
- Re: Xenophobia as an inherent barrier to diversity Elizabeth Magill, September 30 2008
- Re: Xenophobia as an inherent barrier to diversity Kay Argyle, October 3 2008
-
Xenophobia as an inherent barrier to diversity OC611NGC, September 29 2008
- Re: Xenophobia as an inherent barrier to diversity Gerald Manata, October 5 2008
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