Race isn't race

I have been working my way through a class in cultural anthropology this summer. As part of the class, we considered the meaning of "race". Now, like many, I was opposed to "racism" in all of its forms. But I have come to realize that this is not only a misnomer but is also damaging to improving the relationships between the so-called "races". How do I figure this? Let me explain.

Race, when considered in an anthropological sense, refers to different species. Thus, when we consider humans, we consider the human "race" as a whole. Now, that is the correct way to use the word. All people on earth are a part of this race. White, black...all are a part of the human race. When we classify a person's color as race, we are stating that they are of a different species, and thus make it easier to consider another person as less than human. That's where the danger and the difficulty comes in. In reality, most of us can trace ourselves to a different culture. Here is where we can differentiate, but we do so on an even keel. If an American considers someone from England, he generally doesn't view the English person as lower class or beneath him. (That is, if he looks at things fairly and reasonably.) Instead, he simply views the British person as from a different culture. In a similar vein, someone from Mali would be from a Malian culture. The race is still human, but the culture is different. Even within a city, a white man might come from, say, the Italian part of town and be of the Italian-American culture while an inner-city black man might consider himself of the African American or even the hip-hop culture. In this, there is no lowering of a person to a lesser race...just a different culture.

Is this making sense? If we were to regard people in this way, we wouldn't use the terms "racism" or "racist". Instead, someone could be a "culture snob" or a "cultural elitist" or a "culturalist" to coin a new phrase. Now we are saying things as they are. A black man is not lower than a white man or higher than a white man. Instead, anyone who tries to treat such a man as different is saying that they just don't like him because of his color and culture, and must therefore admit that he has no grounds for his prejudice. With the idea of race, a white supremicist would think himself justified in hating a black man because he sees the black man as a lower species, or race. With calling things as they are, the white supremicist hasn't a leg to stand on. He merely shows himself to be the cultural bigot that he is and should be mocked for such behavior.

Let's get rid of the race card. Instead, let's recognize that all people are equal and of the same race, and enjoy cultural differences the same way that world travellers do when they voyage with an open mind and an adventurous spirit.