5.12.06

Exogamy -- The Plasticine Theory

Exogamy (biology) is the act of engaging in out-breeding, rather then in-breeding. Out-breeding is a simple concept to define; reproduction with an exotic partner who's genes are of a distant origin.
Now apparantly, reproducing with a partner who holds exotic genetics, reaps many benefits for the offspring, since there are significantly less chances for the byproduct of those two individuals to have faulty genetics, or suffer from a genetic caused illness, deformity, or a mutation.
In-breeding on the other hand, is the act of reproduction with someone of a relatively close genetic pool (ie. a couple who's family roots are in the same region). This reproduction strategy has flaws. The product of in-bound breeding subjects has risks of being born with genetic problems. A good example of this would be the fact that children of many European couples end up suffering from cystic fibrosis, whereas some children of African parents end up with sickle-cell anemia. Basically put; products of indirect incest.
However, all that aside, as an individual, I see a an ethical problem with out-breeding.

I remember one day, when I was about 8 years of age. It was a sunny morning in my former Soviet-bloc country. I lived with my mom because my dad migrated to Canada by that point in time (story for another blog). My mother was out at work, and I was playing with plasticine in our one-bedroom living room. I was a curious child, and curious ideas came to mind all the time. This time around, I got an idea to get together all my plasticine pieces, put them in a pot, and boil them down. I almost ended up setting fire to the apartment because the plasticine went up in flame and I poured some water into the pot (not a smart move, TALL FLAME). When I eventually put out the fire, I discovered that all my plasticine pieces of different colors melted into a single dull gray.

I am not a religious person, but I do believe in God. Thinking back the plasticine incident, I have always wondered; If God put all these people on the Earth (Black, White, Chinese, Hispanic, Jew, Arab), did he mean for all of them to get mixed up? I can almost picture it - gray people. We will eventually all be the same, there will be nothing to distinguish racial and cultural groups from another. "YAY..!!!...World Peace!", a hippie may say. Perhaps. But the world will be so dull. I hope we don't all get melted into one single, nasty color.

By the looks of it, that is exactly what is going on. I remember reading an article a few months back saying that blonde hair/blue eyes genes are on their way out and will be wiped out within the next two decades or so. That just depresses me, it makes me feel like the world is spinning out of control.

So, I just want you to keep the plasticine effect in mind.

1 comment:

Heather Brooks said...

The first part of this post is something I was talking about with my husband just two nights ago. I was telling him that I recalled a sex program, this British guy hosts these specials from time to time, don't recall his name. Anyway, the experiment they did on him was about pheremones - he was to sniff the undershirts some women had slept in. As the theory went, the women who's body scent he would be most attracted to would be the woman with whome he had the least amount of genetic markers in common with. You know what, IT WORKED!

As for grey people - don't put so much stock in those sweeping predictions people make. I just saw a car full of blonde children a few days ago and their blonde parents and today at Target I saw two different families with red-headed babies - somethng you don't see real often.

The point isn't to worry about us mixing into a grey but to be open to the universe and to listen to our hearts and souls about who we should be with - and apparently OUR NOSES! Heh.

No matter how much we all may look alike some day (I can't help but think of Star Trek - you know how whole races like the Vulcans look a lot alike) but as long as we are varied in talents - which will always be the case and as long as we all work to be better and higher evolved, that's what really matters! Maybe one day when there is very little exterior to distinguish us then what is inside will matter so much more. Besides, there will always be ways to alter our appearances.

Peace!