Abdullah Alyami
Tammy Henderson
AFST 100
5 Feb 2014
Critical Response The two clips seek to explain the concept of racism through experiments done to identify any differences in the genetic makeup of persons of different races and those of similar races. The scientist on the clip carried out the experiment by taking samples of blood from people from diverse races to assess their genetic makeup. The result of the experiment was that the differences in the genetic makeup of any two or more people were not as a result of racial differences. The experiments found out that people of different races were genetically different from one another just as they were from the people of their race. The differences in the genetic makeup of people, therefore, were as a result of geographical differences in the locations where people stayed as well as other aspects such as socio-cultural closeness. Skin color is only as deep as the skin itself and does not play a role in influencing the genetic makeup of an individual. In fact, the experiment discovered that 85% of differences among human beings exist in an intra-racial scope rather than outside of the race. The experiments have a major significance on the understanding of the concept of race. Having no bearing on the genetic makeup of human beings, race exists as a social concept that was constructed in the modern times. Racists use this concept to get a reason for treating those of other races unfairly and as inferior. Race, therefore, exists as a powerful social concept that many people continue to use so that they can edge those of different races out of opportunities. While the world cannot pretend that racism does not exist, the solution to dealing with the problem of racism would be for governments of countries around the world to enact policies that will curb the social policies that favor persons of certain races at the expense of others.