American Nazis at Madison Square Garden, 1939

Re:American Nazis at Madison Square Garden, 1939 by otterley on Thursday October 12, 2017 @01:09PM (#15459489)

The problem is that there's not always a clear consensus on what is considered an "improvement." Back then (as well as today in many non Western societies), for example, homosexuality was considered a genetic flaw that was targeted for elimination in the gene pool.

So one person's improvement might be another's worsening. And we've seen our opinions evolve over time.

As a consequence there's a serious ethical concern. As flawed human beings I don't think any of us can say with certainty how we should manipulate the gene pool. Allowing Nature to do it herself has worked reasonably well thus far, if you consider the evolution of Homo Sapiens to be a positive outcome.

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Re:American Nazis at Madison Square Garden, 1939 by gspetr on Thursday October 12, 2017 @10:44PM (#15462944)

> homosexuality was considered a genetic flaw that was targeted for elimination in the gene pool.

I don't wish to come across as callous, but wouldn't homosexuality self-eliminate itself from the gene pool nowadays because there is no societal pressure anymore on homosexuals to maintain appearance of heterosexual couples?

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Re:American Nazis at Madison Square Garden, 1939 by mercer on Friday October 13, 2017 @11:13AM (#15466392)

If I understand correctly homosexuality is (relatively?) common in other species as well, and I would be surprised if there's societal pressure there.

Of course, if I'm correct in my assumptions, it's fascinating why homosexuality exists.

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Re:American Nazis at Madison Square Garden, 1939 by msla on Thursday October 12, 2017 @01:45PM (#15459744)

By that logic, Lasik is ethically dangerous because some people have regarded brown eyes as inferior in the past.

That slope isn't anywhere near as slippery as you're trying to make it out to be.

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