Does race matter?
 

If it's only skin deep and we're all genetically the same. Why are there advantages to given to certain colors?

What advantages do you mean?

Doesn't matter to me in the least. My staff is 1 Asian, 1 Jew, 1 Cracker, and 1 guy who is about 1/2 Dutch and 1/2 something else, like Chinese or something, never bothered to ask.

Put a pot of coffee on, this is gonna take a while.....

UV radiation breaks down folate, so dark skin in equatorial regions protects against low serum folate levels, as well as the larger melanocytes (melanin containing cells) acting as a UV block and minimising skin damage ("sun burn").
Pale skin is an adaptation to allow more UV radiation into the skin to facilitate Vitamin D production as distance from the equator increases and UV exposure drops. There is probably biological no advantage to blond hair, it's just a genetic variation that poses no disadvantage in higher latitudes, thus the variation can persist. However, blond hair is finer and (on paler skin) less obvious that darker hair, so blondes appear "less hairy". There are some sex selection arguments regarding consequent attractiveness, but I find most of those dubious.
Red hair may be a remnant feature from hybridisation with Neanderthals that again offered no survival disadvantage at higher latitudes and (like blondness) could persist.

Different genetic groupings ("races") also have physiological variations regarding renal and carbohydrate metabolism thought to be related to starvation and low hydration environments, so it's not just "skin deep".

As for muscle metabolism: there is very little in the literature but just ponder this. How many white guys do you see in the Olympic 100m sprint finals, and how many black guys in the 50m Freestyle finals? That contrast is more than just societal.

Physiology lesson over. I assume you were asking about evolutionary advantages.

PARF in 3.........., 2..........., 1...........

You mean you haven't noticed that white men are taken more seriously in business, romance, etc. etc?

Every aspect of life is easier for a white male.

I have no problem with race. I'm a white guy of German ancestry. My ex wife is Mexican but she was born and raised in Chicago. My current girlfriend is Filipino. I have always been attracted to dark skin and black hair. I'm really not attracted to white women. I don't give them a second look. When I was married, my ex wife stopped at a hardware store to pick up a knob for a drawer. The guy at the store was very rude to her and said they didn't have what she was looking for. She came back home very upset so I took her back to the store and she pointed the guy out to me. She stayed at the front of the store while I went to the guy. I asked him for the exact same thing. He was very polite and said right here sir. I then called my wife over and asked him why he treated her to he way he did. He was stammering and said he misunderstood her and didn't think they had what she wanted. I said oh, I thought it's because she is Mexican. He apologized to her and said it would never happen again. There have been other incidents but that was the one that really pissed me off.

I'm a "white" guy, and it seems to me people are conditioned to have attitudes race is something to think is important. Like AZ911, I realized I was attracted to dark hair and darker skin tone when I was in my late teens. However everybody at that time thought fair skinned blonds were the best thing there was. In high school, I was attracted to a Chinese girl but dismissed it as nothing permanent. When I was older and developed more awareness about who I was attracted to, I realized blond, fair skinned girls seemed boring. I mean I wouldn't kick a nice one out of bed but as far as a physical attraction, for me it was Asians, Orientals, Latins, etc. The first time I introduced my mother to my wife to be, the first thing she said after she left was, "You didn't tell me she was Filipino." My response was, "Yeah, isn't she an exotic beauty?" I realized then how I had totally forgotten how much race meant to some people.

I wish my life was as easy as guilty white people said it was.

"White people have money" - I grew up in a trailer.
"Minority kids get picked on" - try growing up a fat kid that doesn't play sports.
"White kids get preferential treatment for college selection" - I didn't qualify for any scholarships, and had to work my way through school. BTW, hundreds of minority college scholarships go unawarded.
"White people have it easy" - eat me, I've worked my ass off to get where I am.

The 1960s called, they want their stereotypes back. It's 2015, any person of any race that is WILLING TO WORK FOR IT can get anywhere in our society. In case you haven't noticed, we have a black president. Putting aside political affiliations, that torpedoes any argument you have about how black people can't make it in our society.

In another generation this won't even be a topic of conversation, except for people trying to make a buck off of racist notions of the past (Jesse Jackson) and old people that refuse to adapt. My kids are blind to race, it doesn't even register with them. My daughter's best friend since kindergarten is black, her race never even enters into conversation. I'm white, my wife is white, but we have two black brother-in-laws and a black sister-in-law. This is real life integration, and it's slowly eliminating race from our society.

What a crock of ****. What race are you? Everybody makes choices in their lives. Choose to be a loser and that's what you'll be. ***** and moan about being a particular race instead of getting on with the job at hand and you'll still amount to nothing. Yes I am white and my life has been a struggle. My youngest son has had an African girlfriend and now has an Asian girlfriend. The African girls parents did not approve of my son because he was white but we welcomed her into our home with open arms. His new girlfriend is Asian and is a bright, bubbly and beautiful young woman I would be proud to call my own. But again having problems with her parents because my son is not Asian.

10 pages, easy.

Quite a few bigots on this board...

Good thing, because I'm generally too lazy to go out and compete on a level playing field.;)

TC

I'm going to go way out on a limb here... I am shockingly white... growing up in L.A. I have friend of all pigments.

Anecdotally my Latino male friends always did WAY better with the ladies.

It only matters to those who want it to. As an example, I worked with a great sysadmin from Johannesburg who caused a huge blow up when he applied for a loan for something (forget what) and as part of the paper work package there was an sheet on personal information. When he went into the bank the loan officer went over everything but then said "we'll have to disqualify you since your personal information is wrong and it appears you have made things up"! Michael said "what do you mean?" and the bank fellow said you listed yourself as African American and you are white. Michael, who has red hair and freckles pulled out his native countries driver license and there it was. The loan officer would not back down so Michael called a San Diego new station right from the chair in the bank and as you can guess, the crap hit the fan! The local bank manger approved everything but only after a reporter showed up.

of course it MATTERS... ...but the real question is what about it matters.

It identifies physical characteristics, individuals identification to a group( if they choose) etc... It matters enough that someone being Trans-racial is a pretty big deal apparently.

Now the real question I think is whether it's more than skin deep where it REALLY matters. That's a question that matters because it's used to justify a lot of atrocity.

What advantages are given and, who are you saying is giving these advantages?
Without clarification, the above question is troll bait.

SCCA, LeMans and other race organizations have penalized Porsche for being too good for decades.

I think NASCAR and F1 would be more interesting if they allowed more diversity ;)