LL-L 'Language and genetics' 2006.09.30 (01 [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 30 September 2006 * Volume 01
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From: Sandy Fleming [sandy at scotstext.org]
Subject: LL-L 'Language and genetics 2006.09.28 (01) [E]

>From: 'jonny' [jonny.meibohm at arcor.de]
>Subject: LL-L 'Language & genetics' 2006.09.26 (03) [E]
>
>Thanks, David and Paul,
>
>for your explanations regarding the dangers in writing anything connected with
>'blood and genetics'.
>
>Damned Nazi-times!
>
It's not that there's anything wrong with writing about blood or
genetics, it's when you try categorising people by them that the
problems arise.

Take blood, for example. Me and my (full) brother are different blood
types. If I had an accident, most people all over the world could give
me blood, but my brother couldn't. Talking about "blood" to separate
people into groups is irrelevant. It immediately shows your argument to
be based on obsolete notions of brotherhood. Obviously when you need
blood in a hospital the classification of blood is very important, but
it's not the same thing as the classification of people.

Genetics is scientific, but this doesn't mean it's a good way of
classifying people. Chromosomes contain vast amounts of information, and
historical migrations, even of quite small groups or even just
individuals, result this information becoming inextricably tangled. You
can do lots of great things with genetics, just don't try to divide
people into groups.

And then there's nationalism, bits of land warred over using whatever
political determinants were to hand: language, feudality, topography,
diplomacy, religion, personal appearance, until finally fixed in place
by cartographers and believed by the stupid (ok, the "stupid in some
ways"). Of all the ways to classify people, this is the most fictional :)

'Would you believe that I never knew when we crossed the Border, and me
no' been further south than Galashiels before!

'Miss Jean says to me, "You're over the Border now, Margaret," says she.
I never let on that I hadn't notticed the difference, but I jaloused
that something had happened, for the train gave an awfu' bounce, and
very near upset the man that was nippin' our tickets all to nonsense. I
saw a field of turnips in England the very same as the one next
Oldhamstocks Church; but, when you think on it, one neep is very like
another at the green end.'

- "Marget Pow", by Catherine P. Slater.

Sandy Fleming
http://scotstext.org/




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