Kidd

American, not African American?

Magic Magnum said
Now thats what you should of started with (rather than one other thing which I'll get into later) rather than stating the obvious. :P

Can you not, lol

Magic Magnum said
I should clarify, when I say race I am referring to things such as Asian, African-American (This one we already admitted is in need of mass adjustment), Hispanic and Caucasian.

But that's just it. There are people who do not fit those "races." Race doesn't work. What you're referring to is geographic origin. And, often, Hispanics--for example--are more genetically similar to white or Caucasian people than they are to other Hispanics. This is just another reason why race doesn't work.

Magic Magnum said
Genetically and Scientifically, there is still some gene variance causing their skin to be different colours.

Exactly. But that doesn't make them difference races. Just like an African-American isn't a different race than you.

Magic Magnum said So fine, for this case you probably know better than I do, but recognize that you received specialized training for this, and others who have not done so are not suddenly idiots.

No, that's fair. I understand. I was a little harsh, haha.

Magic Magnum said
Hell I outright admitted it was back when I agreed that the term "African-American" was outdated and misused.

Yes, you did. However, if something is this flawed, then it doesn't work on a scientific level. People, on average, cannot guess a person's race correctly over 80% of the time. That's a 20% if this was a test--a test that would quickly fail. To further this point, I recommend checking this quiz out. It asks you to sort people into races and I can almost guarantee that you'll fail.

Magic Magnum said
For a non-race example. I am a hetereosexual, one my best friends is bi, and another is asexual.
But by saying this I am not suddenly labeling them as such, or saying that's all they are. I am not at all suggesting that is the extent of who we are, nor do I need to abandon such terms to be able to see them as independent and unique individuals.

No, but heterosexuals like the opposite gender. Bisexuals like both men and women. And asexuals are just not interested in anyone sexually. This is a given. You cannot do that with race. There is not a single universal trait or gene that applies to a single race. Not all African-Americans have dark skin (refer to the twins for example--the white one is still descended from a black parent). Not all Caucasians have narrow noses.

You're absolutely right that your sexuality doesn't define who you are but it isn't comparable to race. Labels with human sexuality work very, very well. Labels with human diversity do not.

Magic Magnum said
But for future reference, if you ever intended to discuss a point such as this to someone try starting off with your educational background rather than ending with it.

I suppose I should. That's fair. Though I'm cautious about doing so via the internet because people are quick to dismiss it as bull shit or trying to "win points."

Magic Magnum said
If an expert comes up, set's things right and then people keep arguing and saying otherwise, then you have a legitimate reason to be angry with them. The Expert has to be able to inform the person first, you can't expect everyone else to know it just because you already heard it in class, you need to take the time to explain it to them first.

Very true. I suppose I was being a little ridiculous, haha.

American, not African American?

Magic Magnum said
By that same logic the idea of dog breeds is a flawed scientific practice because they are capable of interbreeding.
Different races being able to produce offspring and therefore mixing the gene poll doesn't mean race no longer exists all of the sudden.

I mean sure, one day we'll reach a point where the gene's are mixed so much that there aren't really any defined races anymore. But we have not reached that point yet, and hell it's entirely possible for someone to be a race such as say Asian, but still say have some German ancestry.

Also, I never claimed Irish was a race.

First off, humans are not dogs. There is more genetic variation between dog breeds than there ever was or will be between humans. Humans on different continents are more genetically similar than than even monkeys within the same species. (I use monkeys as an example because we're closely related to them anyway.)

Let me make a point here:



Even though these twin girls girls are more genetically similar to one another than you and I (and we're both "white") are, they're considered different races. They're literally twins and one will grow up being called "black" and the other "white" because they're apparently so biologically different. And I'm sorry, but if you think that makes sense on a genetic, scientific, and objective level, you're an idiot.

And again, you seem to have this idea in your head that race creates diversity. And this is wrong. Diversity exists without race and race culturally exists as a consequence of diversity. Race creates groups--limited groups. Diversity is a spectrum, though, with no clear distinct lines between humanity as a whole. Denying race does not mean we're ignoring diversity. it actually means the opposite: it means we see that there is more diversity than our made up labels can contain.

Race does not exist. I am an anthropology major (that means I study humans since I get asked a lot--everything about humans) and in literally every anthro class I've had, the first and most fundamental thing discussed is that race does not exist outside of a cultural context. These are subjects taught by professors with Ph. D's who have been studying this subject longer than I've been alive (this is almost 20 years, btw). So I'm real tired of getting into "discussions" about this with people who keep insisting they know more about human diversity than these professors do. I mean, if a physicist explains quantum theory to a person, said person does not go "oh no, that's wrong." But for some reason, anthropology merits a debate. But I digress.

So again, race is not objective, scientific, or biological. There is no gene for race. It's purely social. And I understand it's a little hard to wrap your head around (it was for me), but it is what it is.

Edit: With all this said, though, I don't want to come off as demonizing the concept of race. It's acceptable on a cultural level and it helps people identify others and--more importantly--themselves. However, people give it more credit than it actually has.

RWBY

FNDM stuff I wanna share

Team RWBY with undercuts

Some silliness for the last couple episodes

Sick as fuck Pyrrha fanart

A closer look at Blake's boss ass semblance

Perfect Weissfu

Team RWBY fanart

I don't even know

Stunning future Ruby fanart

My favorite comic of Ruby/Weiss

More silliness from earlier episodes

Academy Of The Arcane Artes

Nebula5 said
Well i don't know how to extrapolate onto a "Quiet" personality. Quiet, doesn't make noise, doesn't communicate often. i don't see the point of complicating an aspect as self explanatory as that. And just because my CS bio isn't completely fleshed out doesn't mean that its an act of no effort. It was done that way because the OP specifically asked for. Of course i had plans to flesh it out once the RP got going and the need arose. I don't get this. Why ask for things you don't actually want.

No one's only trait is "quiet." I'm quiet but there's still more to me than quiet. Is she quiet in a rude way? A shy way? Is she stubborn or meek? Why is she quiet?

RWBY

Well Ruby is entirely useless without Crescent Rose. Like ridiculously. I'm not surprised, but it sucks for her.

I didn't really catch everything Oobleck was talking about with the underground city, lol. He's hard to keep up with. I'll have to give it a rewatch. I'm also surprised didn't jump in after Ruby the instant she realized she probably fell. She seems like the type to do that imo.

I'm liking the internal conflicts WBY are having. I'm also very proud of my Weissfu to know better about business ethics despite her without-out-a-doubt-dick-dad. I'm still like 99% the big knight she fought in her trailer is symbolic of her father. And her every word about him just makes me more sure.

And I typically find Blake to be an uninteresting character, but I did like her character development tonight. Especially her comparing her personality to her semblance.

Academy Of The Arcane Artes

Full Name
Loreal

Gender
Female

Age
16

Year
2nd

Birthday
August 11

Astrological Sign
Leo

Species
Elf: elves of Lucis live in remote place full of plant animal life. Like humans, the sort of environment they live means elves from different regions look different. For example, Loreal's society is from a rain forest and its climate. As a result, she has dark olive skin. All elves have an affinity for Natural magic and animals. Elves age slower than humans, as well, and can live to be as old as two hundred fifty to three hundred years old.

Class
Archer

Weapon
Long bow and two short swords. The bow belonged to her mother and, while she typically has ammunition, it doesn't need arrows to fire. The arrows can be created by magic.

World
Lucis

Short Biography
Loreal is one of the younger sisters of her family. Her particular elven society make themselves at home in the canopy of the trees of the rainforest she lived in. She loves her family and friends, though the "small-town" life was far too dull for her. So, upon recieving the letter, she jumped at the opportunity to attend the academy.

Personality
Generally very kind, but doesn't entirely understand the concept of personal space. Despite her kindness, she enjoys drama and being the center of attention--for better or worse. Has trouble understanding others and tends to be egocentric and flirty. On a good day, she's very confident and lively; on a bad, very moody and withdrawn.

Partner
To be decided

Fear(s)/Weakness(es)/Limit(s)
She carries two short swords in case she's forced into melee, but she doesn't excel at close combat. Physically, she's not as strong as humans, which is typical for elves.

Strange Attributes/Abilities/Traits
She can manipulate most plant life as needed and is almost always immediately loved by animals. With her bow, she's an extremely good shot. She's paritcularly agile and flexible and is great at climbing over and about obstacles.

Theme Song


Other
Prefers a vegetarian diet. She's also an awesome dancer.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Here's a second potential character. But everyone seems to want to do something different with dragons and if we prefer a universal, I can drop her



Full Name
Dagny Ek

Gender
Female

Age
About 100, and appears to be in her late teens

Year
4th

Birthday
April 11

Astrological Sign
Aries

Species
Dragon: dragons of Earth are as rare as other magical species, but far stronger. They take it upon themselves to defend other beings from hunters and humans who would exploit them. Overtime, they have "evolved" to take human shape, allowing them to blend in with society as necessary. They're strong and durable creatures, and (on earth) only another dragon's fangs or claws can penetrate their scales. However, the magic on Lucis is far more advanced, so there might be some weaknesses found there. They tend to live to be ten times as old as humans, so the early hundreds tend to be considered young.

Class
Fighter / Tank

Weapon
Claws, typically. Fire.

World
Earth

Short Biography
Born and raised in Swedan, Dagny was always taught to help others. So, when the letter from the Academy arrived, she was quick to leave home.

Personality
Dagny holds herself to high standards and typically does a good job of meeting those standards. This can lead to her being extremely hard on herself when she messes up, and she tends to hold herself (and other dragons) responsible for the safety of other magical beings whether or not she is able to intervene. She's motivated and ambitious, and doesn't really do anything half-assed. Like, if you're walking, she's POWER WALKING. If you're eating dinner, she's DEVOURING DINNER. While this can make her come of as intimidating or intense, she's generally in a good, loud mood. She used to get embarrassed and quiet down, but now she's rather confrontational when she gets odd looks or whispers--though she doesn't usually mean harm.

Partner
To be decided

Fear(s)/Weakness(es)/Limit(s)
Dragons are far sighted so up close, they can't see as well. Becase of her natural size and weight, Dagny is physically slowly than most fighters. While it's nearly impossible to penetrate or bruise her skin, any damage to her mouth or eyes will hurt like a bitch. Magic can do harm to her, too. She's not as strong as a full fledged dragon either.

Strange Attributes/Abilities/Traits
Fire breathing, super strength, and super tanky.

Theme Song
This is actually a pretty good theme for the RP in general, tbh.



Other
She tends to speak English, but her Swedish accent gets thicker the more emotional or passionate she is. She's also gay, preferring women to men ten times out of ten.

RWBY: Tale of Fate

-vibrates impatiently-

Who's all still in on this?

American, not African American?

Revans Exile said
If you hold dual citizenship in the country of Africa and the country of America then you can call yourself African-American.Since there is no country called Africa you can't call yourself African-American.The closest thing to African-American is if you hold dual citizenship in the country of South Africa and the country of America then you can call yourself South African-American.If you only hold citizenship in the country of America, then you are American, not Asian-American, not African-American, nor any other stupid thing you want to call yourself.

I was gonna flip if you just left it at "the country of Africa," lol. So thank you for this refreshing POV.

American, not African American?

Magic Magnum said
Not 100% true, there are small genetic differences between the races. It's why we have different skin colours to begin with.Nothing that should suggest separation, inferiority or anything like that. But it's not a strictly cultural difference.

There are small genetic differences between groups, but not any differences significant enough to divide 7 billion people into three or four races (which we do here in America). So, yes, 100% true.

Saying that there is no such thing as race does not mean there is no genetic variation. It just means there is no such thing as race.

Edit: Also I wanna add that we don't have different skin colors because we're different "races" (another flaw in the racial system). We're different "races" because we have different skin colors.

American, not African American?

There are a lot of factors at play here.

I mean, objectively speaking, she is correct. "Race" doesn't exist outside of social / cultural context.

However, socially and culturally, some might argue she's erasing much of her heritage. Though Western/White culture does that already by referring to anyone from Africa as African instead of by their country. Hell, Western culture does that to anyone with dark skin and broad noses regardless of where they're from. I mean, we don't do it with Europe. As already stated, we're Irish-Americans or German-American. Never European-American. American culture is full of faults in its racial system. But, it's already so ingrained into our every day life that we seem to think it's almost a necessity. Not to even mention "mixed" people who probably have some of the worst of it when it comes to identity.

I don't really have a solid opinion here. All that I know is that our racial system has so many flaws and discussing what a celebrity chooses or chooses not to identify as is just pulling a small twig off a very large and very old tree.