Quote:
Originally Posted by raveneye
That definition doesn't really work; you'd have all sorts of ridiculous "races", like red-haired people with freckles who sunburn easily.
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Like the Celts?
Race is relative. While there is a greater difference in phenotypic expressions between a black man from south Africa and an Eskimo due to longer periods of genetic isolation from each other and different environmental factors driving some of those factors, but there are obvious differences. When people say someone looks Swedish or Irish, or Italian, they are not talking about their system of government, but characteristics. The fact that they all have white skin makes them Caucasian, and genetically there is less difference between other 'races' but they are still distinct in their genetics. We officially draw the line on race around skin color, but that is just as arbitrary as any other method.
Some environmentalists are trying to use such differences in animals to prevent any sort of expansion. If they find a type of fish in a river with a single non-phenotypic genetic variant they are trying to argue its a sub-species and needs to be protected and that is a bit absurd.