# what is your opinion on "Melanin Theory" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297 "2015-07-16T04:26:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/21 "2015-07-17T13:57:20Z")
Well, we do tend to age better šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/22 "2015-07-18T13:40:47Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > [Magical Negro](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagicalNegro): See every film with Morgan Freeman ever made for examples thereof. > > Stranger Stephen Kingā€™s The Stand and The Green Mile also. (SK variations include The Magical Child, The Magical Elderly Person, The Magical Simpleton.) ---
**Author:** ![SeniorCitizen007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@SeniorCitizen007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeniorCitizen007)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/23 "2015-07-18T17:09:01Z")
The reason why white people are not black is because there is a process going on in the pineal gland of white people that suppresses the production of melanin. For the sake of racial harmony I suggest that scientists get busy trying to develop a drug that stops this activity within white peopleā€™s brains. I myself am very white and burn very easily in the sun. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/24 "2015-07-22T23:23:29Z")
> [@SeniorCitizen007](#): > > The reason why white people are not black is because there is a process going on in the pineal gland of white people that suppresses the production of melanin. For the sake of racial harmony I suggest that scientists get busy trying to develop a drug that stops this activity within white peopleā€™s brains. I myself am very white and burn very easily in the sun. Are you, perhaps, confusing melanin with melatonin? > **[Pineal gland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineal_gland#Function)** > > The pineal gland (also known as the pineal body or epiphysis cerebri) is a small endocrine gland in the brain of most vertebrates. It produces melatonin, a serotonin-derived hormone, which modulates sleep patterns following the diurnal cycles. The shape of the gland resembles a pine cone, which gives it its name. The pineal gland is located in the epithalamus, near the center of the brain, between the two hemispheres, tucked in a groove where the two halves of the thalamus join. It The pineal g... ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/25 "2015-07-23T10:57:41Z")
Racist drivel. But it is nice, in a way, to see somebody other than us white people indulging in it. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/26 "2015-07-23T13:12:56Z")
Iā€™m quite brown, but not quite black! Does that make me halfway there? ---
**Author:** ![Doyle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doyle/32/439_2.png) [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/27 "2015-07-23T14:46:48Z")
And yet, Leonard Jeffries is still teaching this idiocy at the City College of New York. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/28 "2015-07-23T16:27:39Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Racist drivel. But it is nice, in a way, to see somebody other than us white people indulging in it. Are you kidding? Look into what the Nation of Islam teaches. Itā€™s literally a religion built around racism. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/29 "2015-07-24T08:20:03Z")
> [@thanatic](#): > > is this trueā€¦does that mean black people are more human than white people? I donā€™t know if the statistics are true, but no, it does not mean that. Neanderthals were just as human as we are. Heck, if the statistics are true, we would be the same species by the interbreeding standards. So either we are both _Homo sapiens_, or they are _Homo neanderthalensis_. And the ā€œHomoā€ part means ā€œhuman.ā€ He was also likely joking about the superiority thing. Thereā€™s no real reason to think Neanderthals were inferior to modern humans. Heck, their brains were larger than ours. And if they interbred with us, you canā€™t even argue they were less evolutionarily fit. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/30 "2015-07-24T18:13:40Z")
What does this theory mean to me, a melanoma patient? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/31 "2015-07-24T18:37:17Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Most dismissed it as just racism because they didnā€™t understand the meaning of the ā€˜magic negroā€™ memeā€¦ Or because, you know, _Rush Limbaugh_. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/32 "2015-07-24T19:05:06Z")
The Star-Bellied Sneetches are CLEARLY superior to the Sneetches with none upon thars! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/33 "2015-07-27T11:17:04Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > It is the very definition of racism. It is saying that your value as a human being is _literally_ (used correctly\*!\*) based on the color of your skin not the content of your character. It is no different than the Nazisā€™ ideas about Aryan blonde hair and blue eyes vs Jewsā€™ big noses. > > Just an aside: Back when Obama first came on the scene Rush Limbaugh played a song parody of _Puff the Magic Dragon_ entitled _Barack the Magic Negro_. Most dismissed it as just racism because they didnā€™t understand the meaning of the ā€˜magic negroā€™ memeā€¦ Yes we did. Where might you have gotten the idea that the ā€˜magic negroā€™ meme isnā€™t racist? That said, I donā€™t generally find myself comfortable with applying the ā€˜racistā€™ label to behavior I find objectionable. Particularly when I would find it objectionable even in situations where race couldnā€™t apply. AFAIK, everyone who objected to the windbagā€™s parody did so on account of the fact that it was just another iteration of the brain-dead canard about viewing him as a messiah, and with a side of race-baiting thrown in. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/34 "2015-07-27T11:19:07Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Imagine if someone said white people were superior because they had \*less \*melanin. Society would be outraged. Or we would laugh the notion out of the room, the way we are this one. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/35 "2015-07-27T23:06:33Z")
I just went to the tanning salon. I feel smarter already! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/36 "2015-07-27T23:18:26Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. This is an extraordinary claim. Iā€™d settle for some good old-fashioned ordinary evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/37 "2015-07-27T23:39:29Z")
> [@thanatic](#): > > Melanin Theory says Black People are spiritually, physically and mentally superior to white peopleā€¦that melanin gives them special properties Why donā€™t you ask a mod if theyā€™ll consolidate all of your threads? Perhaps you could have it titled: ā€œWhite people bad, Black people goodā€. Seriously, youā€™re dropping these, letā€™s call them nuggetsā€“which are just variations on a rather lame themeā€“on the board here and then, when you do deign to visit the thread again, basically JAQ off. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/38 "2015-07-27T23:44:54Z")
I find your ideas intriguing, and wish to subscribe to your newsletter. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/39 "2015-07-28T00:21:33Z")
I yearn for the days when [crank.net](http://crank.net) was kept updated. You could subscribe to all of their newsletters! ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297/40 "2015-07-29T16:32:39Z")
The nation of Islam stuff is interesting because it almost sounds like some 19th century stuff about how black people are too incompetent to be held accountable. Like how guns are a white mans trick to get poor black men to shoot each other, notice there is no agency given to the shooter only the ā€œproviderā€ of the gun. Or crack cocaine, even if lets argue for the sake of things it was intentionally flooded into poor black communities, I donā€™t recall anything about being forced to take it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-on-melanin-theory/725297.md?page=3)