ThinkProgress has the story here. Apparently, the oldest skeleton ever found in Britain belonged to someone who had “dark skin and blue eyes.” As mentioned in the article, and to no thinking person’s surprise, the internet is freaking out.
But why should this be a surprise? We have known for a very long time that Homo Sapiens sapiens (i.e., modern humans) came from western Africa and moved into Europe later. White skin, blonde hair, blue eyes, etc. are all mutations—as are the distinctive features of Asians, Native Americans, etc. We all originally looked much like modern sub-Saharan Africans. So, this oldest Briton, about 10,000 years old, has already developed the blue eye mutation, but retained the dark skin.
Okay. We’ve known for over a century that “race” is not a biological phenomenon, scientifically. White supremacy (or any other form of racism) is based on myth, nothing approaching to scientific fact. All features (hair, nose, eyes, skin) are found in people who belong to every “racial” group. “Race” is more of a sociological and cultural phenomenon (which doesn’t make it any less real).
So, UKIP folks and other hate groups are wrong: Black Britons, Asian Britons (which, in Britain, more often refers to South Asians—Indians, Pakistanis, Nepalese, Sri Lankans, etc.--than to East Asians) should feel just as much at home as white Britons. And those of us in the USA who trace all or some of our ancestry from the British Isles should remember:--We all came from Mother Africa. Some of us simply left the Mother Continent earlier (and voluntarily!) than others.
Race is a stupid reason for anyone to feel “superior” to anyone else. If you are a racist, you are a moron. Period. But I welcome everything that undermines any possible foundation for this stupidity.
One more thing: The universe has a sense of irony for this discovery to come during Black History Month! White folks: Study Black History—because it’s all our history, too!
