help me understand why rascism occurs

as i've grown older i've tended to avoid asking many why questions cos the answers are too complex. but i'm interested in this one too much.

i think the reasons are probably different in different historical contexts. in the UK i can see (thought not totally agree with), why people are anti-Islam, with the attacks n media hype n so forth.

and i can see why older people looked down on blacks, cos when they entered the UK they came into the working class, and so the tendency for crime n so forth would have been greater, hence a bad reputation.

but now with loads of respected blacks in prominent positions, people are still rascist. is it just because they look different, and people dont generally lyk things that are different? is it as simple as that?

 

I think reason for racism is simple: It happens when someone feels they can make themselves seem more important by belittling someone else.

 

Very well said, I completely concur.

 

I think there is also a nurture element to it as well. If a parent carries a certain attitude towards something, it is more likely the child will as well. Like growing up liking certain sports teams, i think. Just a thought anyways... but i also agree with what gardener said.

 

Its not as simple as that. I think its not only the feeling of wanting to feel superior infact I think thats way down the list. I think people who are apt to become rasist are those who identify strongly with some shared culture values that they and people like them use to say "this is us". Its a result of those values being PERCIEVED as being under threat or diluted in some way. It stems from the wrong headed notion that any one particular culture can remain in isolation from another. Also its when one culture or members of that culture wants to impose its values on another.
In britain there is a sense that in the 1950's jamaicans came over and they were the enemy, then it was asians, now its the poles and the east europeans - but hey if the BNP etc have anything to be proud of let them state what it is - I can find nothing absolutely bugger all to be proud of in Britain - certainly not to the extent I want to cause racial tension. Its all about people whose group identity is somehow percieved as under threat -ergo: the BNP party finds they are white supremacists - its that shallow honest ! I think the feeling of supremacy comes after the feeling of being threatened. It works both ways theres arseholes who are east european black you name it - I only pointed out the white racist arseholes because - they have more power at the moment than any other cultures rascists in britain

 

Competativeness, fear, ego, selfishness, delusions of grandeur. Generally held by your typical WHITE racist.

Or

Extreme pride in your particular heritage. Generally held by the minority races, and totally understandable. Racism goes both ways.

 

When old people are concerned... the racism is usualy "lazy racism". They are set in their ways.

 

it exists because it has some basis in reality. though often times those who promote it use an exaggerated rationale for doing so. stereotypes exist because they are based upon reality. if this were not true these stereotypes wouldn't exist.

 

This is very true! I am the LEAST racist person you can imagine ever meeting. Without question. But yet, I have been in a situation or two where I came away pissed and sheepishly saying things like "fuckin' dumb niggers!!!". That is where the stereotypes come from. 'Course ANY race has their "niggers", so really it should be "fuckin' dumb people"!!! But that would not be as "colorful".

 

Racism in modern centuries is the result of definitions and categories created by Euroimperialists as part of the apologetics for their colonialism. This is not the earliest use of racism: the Greeks and Romans used similar definitions and descriptions against the Celts whom they wished to demonize in order to rationalize their conquest and destruction.

In the USA, every wave of immigrants met a barrage of bigotry. Most went through a process of overcoming this. Notably four groups in USA history were kept down and not allowed to move up this "immigrant ladder" over the generations: blacks, Natives, Puerto Ricans and Mexicans.

There are other examples. Bigotry has persisted most often where someone is oppressed and the rulers seek to excuse it and the common people seek to understand it by resorting to simplistic bigoted explanations. The same complex of bigotry which we call "racism" has been used against people we would consider "white" (itself a racist and bogus category): the Irish, Appalachians, etc.

It is based in socioeconomic relations. Caste. Dominance. It is a retrograde attitude in the modern international world avowing equality and opportunity for all.

 

help me understand why rascism occurs


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Early primitive man lived in small social groups in which each member had a specific task to perform. these tight knit groups were highly suspicious of outsiders, and in order to survive those communities developed what is known as an us versus them mentality.

Eventually this behavior became hardwired into human consciousness, and so man is automatically suspicious of anyone outside of his or her race, color, or ethnic group. conversely we tend to be more trusting of someone within our own group.


Hotwater

 

i come from a military family, and grew up in different countries and societies..
as a kid, the notion of race was ludicrous to me. I had friends from all racial backgrounds, and a lot of those kids were biracial. it wasnt until i moved to the states that the notion of racism really hit me. i remember walking into the lunchroom, and the white kids sat at one place, and the black kids sat at the other. i think racism is something that is taught, and not ingrained into our DNA.

If we could keep the innocense of childhood with the wisdom of maturity, what a world we would have.

 

i think a lot of the time, people get pissed off with the attitude and culture, not the race. i say this because of my lifetime of experience ina small southern town. i love BLACK people just the same as I'd love anyone else, so long as they are kind. however, GHETTO people who try to live that whole urban, dirty south thing annoy the FUCK out of me, including the whites who take up that lifestyle, not just the blacks. they think everyone owes them something.


well, okay, sure...here's a brand new apartment-central air & heat, wall-to-wall carpeting, alarm system, sprinklers, spacious, too, for your family...stay here without paying a dime. and here's a card for free groceries. your children will eat lunch and breakfast free in the school cafeteria, plus we'll pay all your medical bills. on account of your color, you'll get into most colleges, plus we'll help financially, if we don't pay his/her full tuition, which we'll likely do.
in return, they bitch about the size of the apartment. they want something bigger! they bitch that they don't eat well enough, even though the amount given is pretty generous. (i know because i was once on EBT) they want more and more. they're SO rude, violent, confrontational, disrespectful, beligerent, discriminitory, and materialistic. if a kid tries to make something of themselves, or takes an interest in anything other than hip hop culture, they're horrible alienated and excluded and often called an "uncle tom".

remember the superdome in the aftermath of katrina? hell, remember all of new orleans after katrina? they shot down a helicoptor trying to take a young cancer patient to safety. they shot at anyone trying to bring help, aid, or order (not that there was ANY for several days ) and generally made a huge mess of things. don't forget how they raped women in the superdome under the bleachers. then they got to houston and refused to help vlounteers move in mattresses for THEIR sorry asses to sleep on, even cursing at them. when a subway restaurant donated sandwiches, they bitched and cursed and said they wanted some fucking pizza hut.
also, a girl without a guy by her side can;t go to the mall in this town without some motherfucker with his pants at his knees and a gold chain loudly propositioning her for sex, then loudly calling her something to the effect of "stank-ass ho" when she declines the "offer"
this kind of behavior and attitude breeds racism. however, i think they act this way for a sad reason-they think people all hate and are out to get them. i wish noone lived with that kind of fear and uneasiness. i wish everyone could be open to others' love and love others. what a beautiful world that would be.

 

Dude, you are being counterfactual by saying that the "Euroimperialists" are apologetic for the colonialism. If they were sympathetic with the natives of the colonialized regions, rascism would not occur as a result of that. I suggest you not use big words when you dont know what they mean. Either that, or I'm somehow misunderstanding you, and I apologize for criticizing you if I am. =]

 

it doesn't 'occur' until it is stimulated 'for fun and profit' by political opportunism.

it isn't that the human animal is predisposed towared it, but rather that what we are predisposed to is a certain degree of gullability, and that is what political opportunism, masquerading as so called conservatism exploits.

=^^=
.../\...

 

Whatever you say.

 

i think its a relic from tribal warfare, possibly some thats to come perhaps?

 

It depends on where you are, and what level of racism you are talking about.

Against my better judgement, I am going to get into this conversation that usualy ends up kickin me in the ass. If you decide to read on, have an open mind and don't jump to conclisions. I offer only a different perspective from my own experience with racism....so here it goes.

Be warned: The "N" word does appear in the following text

I grew up in Denver, and never really experienced racism outside of educational examples. I wore Fubu clothing, listened to mostly rap/hip hop type stuff along with the classic rock that I picked up from my parents. It's what my surroundings were. Then I moved to a "BFE" town in the middle of Kentucky, and heard the word ****** used for the first time in front of me (when I was about 15). And I began to hear it often, along with a lot of racist shit I was never exposed to before. I didn't understand what was going on; I didn't think anyone still used the word to be honest. But then after a few years of living here I began to see where a lot it was coming from.

It all derives from a stereotype. Even though I think it's silly to stereotype, it often is sprung from a truth. In the case of the town in which I live, the stereotype proves itself everyday. If I had to guess percentages, I'd say that 95% of the black people in this town live in the same area. Mostly all section 8 housing, and housing projects. When in this area you allways see the same thing. Trash in the yards, and people hanging out in the streets selling drugs all day. Mostly crack/cocaine. Though they can't afford to pay rent without the governments help, they have plenty of cash to put 22 inch rims on the pimped out Caddilacs. I've seen people living in the housing projects driving a brand new luxury Caddy on 24'' wheels. If you see a group of people, or one person for that matter, standing in the streets and you stop your vehicle.....I could almost guarentee that you would be offered crack, no matter who you are.

So the police decided to try and clean the area up. Well when they put more attention on that part of town, and stopped (sometimes searched) the people "posted" on the street corner, the (white) cops were called racists. It wasn't because of the 8 ball of crack in his pocket, it was because he was black type thing.

So the authorities are now taking a new approach. They have used tax money to put most of the families in hotels, while they tore down the $5,000-10,000 "shacks" that they were living in. They built brand new $35-50,000 homes in their place and moved the families back in. No charge to the families of course, they are still paying (or not paying) the assisted living charges that applied to the shacks.

I believe in equal rights....EQUAL. The blacks in this area (for the most part) choose to segrigate themselves and reap the benifets of doing so. I don't think that is right at all. The color of skin isn't a factor for me, but I do slip and call some of the people niggers. I don't do it much anymore; it's been something I've moved away from, but I can use this "evil" word and look you in the eye and tell you that I am not racist. However bazzare that may sound to most, it is true.

It is life in this small town that has warped my perception on the matter, and I know that it isn't the same in other areas. Being one of the reasons I've begun to hate being in this town.

I don't like the idea of BET, the Negro College fund, all black schools, etc. Mainly because I know that a WET (White Enertainment Telivision), Caucasion College fund, or an all white school would be the most racist thing since the Civil Rights movement changed my country. There is a double standard that I face, and it often gets under my skin. I wish that color wasn't a matter, and equal rights were shared by all of God's children......the way MLK dreamed it in the first place, but that's just not the way it is.

I don't know if that cleared anything up, or if it even makes sense to anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about....but there ya go. Call me what you will........

PEACE

 

people love judjing

 

I think that if we choose to think of others as an individual as opposed to the ethic group of which they were born, then there might be a better chance of racism not occurring. It seems to derive from people being judgemental about a group of people as a whole instead of accepting each one they encounter in life as an individual; regardless of their ethnic heritage as revealed by their physical appearance. Each human is very different from the next one ...... and rather than seeing each other as black or white or yellow or purple or English or German or Swedish or American ........
if we see each other as simply 'Human', it might serve to encourage a little cohesiveness and mutual acceptance among us; which we all so desperately need. Regardless of the color of our skin or the native language that we speak or the country in which our ancestors were born, we are all very much the same in that we are all human beings. Perhaps we should all learn to concentrate on our similarities instead of our differences. Particularly now, in these times of trouble for the planet on which we all reside; it might be advisable for us all to group together to focus on the one thing we all have in common: Working Together To Save Our Planet Earth.

I'll meet you all half way .........
Pinwheel
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"The only limitation is your imagination....."

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