tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23499413.post9177243911451508385..comments2023-10-24T00:40:27.831-07:00Comments on Friar Yid: Burt Prelutsky is a lunkheadFriar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23499413.post-15728823431940475562008-04-16T22:21:00.000-07:002008-04-16T22:21:00.000-07:00"At least Africa is Middle-East adjacent."Geograph..."At least Africa is Middle-East adjacent."<BR/><BR/>Geographically true, but there is still significant genetic distance between sub-Saharan Africans and Middle Easterners. This is even more true of "northern Middle East populations" such as Kurds, Anatolians, and Armenians with whom Jews, including Sephardic Jews, seem to cluster in some Y chromosomal studies and more recent whole-genome studies testing tens or even hundreds of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP's).*<BR/><BR/>Please excuse my slightly off-topic digression, but I though this research might be really interesting to someone interested in Jewish history.<BR/><BR/>* See this SNP paper by Bauchet et al. from 2007 (text and diagrams available online) http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=17436249<BR/><BR/>Also see the abstract for this older Y-chromsome study by Nebel et al. "The Y chromosome pool of Jews as part of the genetic landscape of the Middle East". http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11573163?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=3Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23499413.post-86402188775469133272008-04-13T21:42:00.000-07:002008-04-13T21:42:00.000-07:00I take a middle ground- I don't think skin color i...I take a middle ground- I don't think skin color is the predominant determining factor; it's more about the economic and social baggage often associated with the black or Hispanic communities which CAN play a role in hampering people's success. That said, I'm not sure that pointing out the disadvantages associated with racial background precludes us from describing them as part of a larger "racism" problem.<BR/><BR/>On a big-picture level, it's got more to do with where your starting point is- no education, economic disadvantage, etc.- rather than specific incidents specific to race. But I'm also aware of some scenarios, such as racial profiling, where that can happen too. And I'm not so sure that this stuff doesn't have an impact as well in terms of shaping the self-perceptions of the black population.<BR/><BR/>I'm happy to debate where we draw the line at what racism is. My gut feeling is that it isn't "gone," but that's an open discussion. What drove me up the wall was Burt saying, "We CAN'T be racist, where are the plantations?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23499413.post-63590676735767417662008-04-13T17:36:00.000-07:002008-04-13T17:36:00.000-07:00Prelutsky is PITA, but that is an aside. I do not ...Prelutsky is PITA, but that is an aside. I do not believe or accept that institutionalized racism is preventing people from succeeding. Not anymore.<BR/><BR/>The only argument that holds any weight with me is one that discusses the impact of being economically disadvantaged. That can be quite significant, but skin color is no longer a factor.Jack Steinerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16625864271071630940noreply@blogger.com