[PEN-L:3828] Re: Re: Papa Doc and the Social Construction of Race

["Charles Brown" <CharlesB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

That race  is a socially constructed category means two things especially.Firstly, skin color, hair texture and facial features ( the main elements of the modern concept of race), though determined in part by heredity are not correlated with a hereditary determination of "humanness", virtue, soulfulness, intelligence, and other behaviors. Secondly, racists are not racists by their own heredity; or thinking in racist categories is not the result of the action of the genes of the racist on the racist's mind. In other words, a racist learns to be a racist and is not a racist by instinct. Thus, the category of race was constructed by a socio-historical process   acting on the minds of racists; and the physical characteristics of "races" are not biologically connected but rather socio-historically connected and constructed to behavioral patterns.

Papa Doc was a vicious tyrant, but that was a good and educational joke he made on the U.S. reporter.

Charles Brown

>>> Michael Perelman <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 02/24/99 06:38PM >>>
Papa Doc was not a particularly admirable figure.  The point of the story --
what I found interesting -- was that you can construct racial categories as it
pleases you.  His black whip hand attitude confirms my point.



Ken Hanly wrote:

> I seem to recall that when his subjects complained
> about Papa's oppressive rule he responded:
>         " Yes, but it's a black hand that holds the whip."
>
> This is, of course, a totally outrageous comment. It hurts just as much-if
> not more.
> I guess Papa must have had no "white blood" and enjoyed whupping all his
> white subjects !!
> But then his "argument" wouldn't work :)
>
> Cheers, Ken Hanly
>
> Michael Perelman wrote:
>
> > A reporter supposedly asked Papa Doc, what percentage of the population
> > of Haiti is white? Papa Doc responded 90 percent.  The reporter could
> > not believe what he heard.  He asked several times to make sure that got
> > the right answer.  Each time Papa Doc responded in an identical
> > fashion.  Finally, Papa Doc turned to the reporter and asked to, how he
> > defined black people in United States of America?  The reporter said
> > that they were people with some black blood. Exactly, Papa Doc
> > responded.  That is the way we define white people will in this country.
> >
> > --
> > Michael Perelman
> > Economics Department
> > California State University
> > Chico, CA 95929
> >
> > Tel. 530-898-5321
> > E-Mail michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



--

Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chico, CA 95929
530-898-5321
fax 530-898-5901