I've just read the NYT Race and Medicine article and thought it was interesting how some experts are concerned that any perceived biological differences between people of different races will dangerously alienate the black minority further from the economically and socially privileged white majority. The fact that there are genetic differences marked in people of difference races is not surprising to me because, I mean, isn't it already apparent? Aren't phenotypes such as skin color and hair color determined by genes? So if there are such physical differences, why should other differences such as ones that would make certain kinds of medicine more affective toward people of one race than of another be surprising?
I also think that most, if not all, of these differences are spurred by biological adaptation. For example, in the case of lactose intolerance, I was told that only people whose ancestor lived a pastoral lifestyle inherit the necessary traits to digest milk and these people are prominently white. Therefore, lactose intolerance is more prevalent in people of Asian and south African descents.
I understand that some people are worried that linking medicine to race may invite the public to relate race to behavior traits that may stigmatize blacks by linking the black minority, for example, to the biological tendency toward "violence." However, I don't think this is the case. If it is then it would have happened a long time ago when people first discovered genes and realized that there are genetically based differences between people of different races.
Thus, I think Dr. Gregg Bloche’s concern that ‘‘anything that invites the perception of African Americans as biologically different is a huge worry” is a bit paranoiac. Instead, I am actually slightly troubled by his concern because it may lead to the fear that any further medical research marked by race may increase or create racial misconceptions and the avoidance of this type of research, which would be injurious to our medical knowledge and our belief about race. I think instead of fearing the creation of such notions, we should understand why there are genetic differences among people of different races. We should dig deeper into the origins of these differences, which I assume can often be traced back to adaptation, and bypass the idea of race alone being an indicator of these differences. Maybe I’m being too simple-minded, but I think that with well conceived scientific theories on these differences, we can dispel any racist notions that link blacks to stigmatizing biological traits.
I think this is ridiculous considering none of us chose our genes!! People can change things to some extent, but I still cannot see how genetic differences could be a bad thing. This could be because I am a science major and understand a decent amount about biology and genetics, but I completely agree that he is being paranoid. If anything, I support research on the differences between races. There are biological differences that depend on genetic research- such as the fact that African Americans have significantly higher rates of sickle cell anemia, a certain ethnic group of Jewish people have significantly higher rates of Tay Sachs- and if we let race get in the way we could prevent ourselves from finding cures for these genetic disease as well as others! There are also racial differences when it comes to prevelance of genetic disorders such as Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, and hemophilia. Racial differences about skin color should be our last concern. Also, couldnt any information regarding biology also prove how similar we all are instead of the other way around! If anything, I would hope that education about biology and genetics could only lessen racial tension and help people understand how arrogant they are being for even believing they are better than someone else based on genes that they did not get to chose.
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