Black American's don't swim?
Apr 11th 2012, 6:48 am
#31
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,107
Re: Black American's don't swim?
A. Of course there are biological differences. Maybe not major / significant (other than the skin colour), but there are certainly differences.
B. Last week I was told I am German. Now I'm African. Make your mind up time folks.
That is bollocks. Height does not distinguish other characteristics, race does/can.
Take the minor 'channelling' out of it and you'll still end up at the same results. At the top level it is those minor advantages that make a massive difference.
B. Last week I was told I am German. Now I'm African. Make your mind up time folks.
That is bollocks. Height does not distinguish other characteristics, race does/can.
Take the minor 'channelling' out of it and you'll still end up at the same results. At the top level it is those minor advantages that make a massive difference.
There is a full spectrum of physical types with all sorts of different characteristics associated with specific ethnic groups. Skin pigmentation is the one that appears to have gained more significance than any other. Hence this notion that "blacks" are better at running when the physical adaptations that enable sprinting and distance running are completely unrelated to each other - and nothing to do with skin colour. And as I said, once the social dynamic enables it, expect to see many black sprint swimmers in the future. The chanelling is not minor but probably the major factor in establishing group domination of certain activities. Otherwise we would have to conclude that the Chinese are by far the best athletes in the world.
On your rebuttal of my other post (about naming of black kids): I'm sorry if it appeared patronising. It probably was, though not intended to be and, frankly, not untrue in my experience (I did some community work among disadvantaged, primarily black families in a couple of US cities). In my phrasing I am perhaps reflecting my own middle-class prejudices and very much those of my black American friends.
Apr 11th 2012, 7:31 am
#32
Account Closed
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 0
Re: Black American's don't swim?
Point completely missed. Of course there are biological differences among ethnic groups and populations but to draw classifications as ridiculously broad and arbitrary as "black" and "white" has no justification in zoological taxonomy or science of any type. There is simply no biological basis for race - none at all. It is a hangover of Victorian imperialist efforts to classify people as rulers or ruled. Caucasian, Negroid, Mongoloid etc are pseudo-anthropological terms that don't have any genetic meaning. Certainly there are ways to biologically classify people but they do not line up along these old paradigms, particularly when genes are examined and all sorts of arbitrary groupings can be formed e.g. based on the prevalence of certain blood proteins, which would be an appropriate zoological classification basis, you would get a sub-species that contains various populations of West Africa along with Finns and others. That is not to say that "race" has no meaning or validity. Socio-cultural factors are extremely powerful - we are not only creatures of our genes.
There is a full spectrum of physical types with all sorts of different characteristics associated with specific ethnic groups. Skin pigmentation is the one that appears to have gained more significance than any other. Hence this notion that "blacks" are better at running when the physical adaptations that enable sprinting and distance running are completely unrelated to each other - and nothing to do with skin colour. And as I said, once the social dynamic enables it, expect to see many black sprint swimmers in the future. The chanelling is not minor but probably the major factor in establishing group domination of certain activities. Otherwise we would have to conclude that the Chinese are by far the best athletes in the world.
There is a full spectrum of physical types with all sorts of different characteristics associated with specific ethnic groups. Skin pigmentation is the one that appears to have gained more significance than any other. Hence this notion that "blacks" are better at running when the physical adaptations that enable sprinting and distance running are completely unrelated to each other - and nothing to do with skin colour. And as I said, once the social dynamic enables it, expect to see many black sprint swimmers in the future. The chanelling is not minor but probably the major factor in establishing group domination of certain activities. Otherwise we would have to conclude that the Chinese are by far the best athletes in the world.
Apologies, I did misunderstand / jump at your point - I agree with what you are saying on the whole. I think however that the era in which race was first used to differentiate is not perhaps completely relevant, because it is always going to be the easiest way to align differences / generalisations...if that makes sense.
I think that's just a fact of life and the world will never be completely equal on basis of race alone...
On your rebuttal of my other post (about naming of black kids): I'm sorry if it appeared patronising. It probably was, though not intended to be and, frankly, not untrue in my experience (I did some community work among disadvantaged, primarily black families in a couple of US cities). In my phrasing I am perhaps reflecting my own middle-class prejudices and very much those of my black American friends.
Apr 11th 2012, 9:06 am
#33
N/A
Joined: Oct 2011
Location: 53 miles West of Venus
Posts: 703
Re: Black American's don't swim?
Apr 11th 2012, 9:08 am
#34
Shark Fisherman
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Doha
Posts: 4,568
Re: Black American's don't swim?
Maybe they can't swim because of too much 'Rudder' ??
Apr 11th 2012, 4:08 pm
#35
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 13,553
Re: Black American's don't swim?
Millhouse: The whole point of the Dougie is that just about anyone can do it............. you may be right about white guys, but I'll forgive Kate Upton anything....... this looks fine to me............... 
Apr 11th 2012, 4:15 pm
#37
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Aug 2009
Location: Disneyland, Dubai
Posts: 15,887
Re: Black American's don't swim?
Millhouse: The whole point of the Dougie is that just about anyone can do it............. you may be right about white guys, but I'll forgive Kate Upton anything....... this looks fine to me...............
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FcJScBLIEX4
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FcJScBLIEX4
Apr 12th 2012, 12:00 pm
#40
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,641
Re: Black American's don't swim?
The trouble is........ there may actually be a physiological or genetic reason why blacks can run short or long distances very well (100m, marathon), but are poor swimmers............. but nobody will ever know, because the very thought of researching that will immediately attract accusations of racism.............
How many here can float effortlessly in a fresh water swimming pool or fresh water lakes/pools? I float easily in a salt water pool or sea water but used to float just below the surface in the fresh water pools back when I was living in AD.
Apr 12th 2012, 2:19 pm
#41
Excess Baggage
Joined: Jul 2006
Location: UK
Posts: 5,479
Re: Black American's don't swim?
Found this on facebook today.
Apr 15th 2012, 5:05 am
#42
Banned
Joined: Apr 2012
Location: N/A
Posts: 27
Re: Black American's don't swim?
Living in San Jose California I think I know the answer to this question. First off, many people go swimming at the beach, many people go to the beach to get tans, black people don't need tans so they don't go to the beach. Secondly, black women can't get their hair wet because if they do it gets poofy and nappy, unless they get it relaxed. Thirdly, many African America women wear wigs and extensions so if they go swimming they might fall off causing embarrassment.
Last edited by Imnothavinit; Apr 15th 2012 at 5:08 am.
Apr 15th 2012, 10:53 am
#43
Joined on April fools day
Joined: Apr 2012
Location: 30 miles from a decent grocery store.
Posts: 10,642
Apr 15th 2012, 11:21 am
#44
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Apr 2007
Location: Doha, Qatar
Posts: 2,675
Re: Black American's don't swim?
Living in San Jose California I think I know the answer to this question. First off, many people go swimming at the beach, many people go to the beach to get tans, black people don't need tans so they don't go to the beach. Secondly, black women can't get their hair wet because if they do it gets poofy and nappy, unless they get it relaxed. Thirdly, many African America women wear wigs and extensions so if they go swimming they might fall off causing embarrassment.