I don't 'get' Racism...

[deadxero]

Hold on a sec, are you saying that before the "white man" found the "uncivilised" black men, racism did not exist?
Is this something which in your opinion is something only "white man" is capable of?
Is it something "white man" invented?
Before the "white man" ventured out of Europe every other civilisation was living in harmony and did not discriminate against other cultures and peoples, it was something they needed to be taught?
Oh the fucking irony!

No I'm not saying racism didn't exist beforehand, I'm saying that white on black racism stems from around that time period.

Really... look back a bit further.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors

African invasion of Europe in the 8th century... amazing how the Europeans tried to write off that embarrassing little piece of history isn't it

That aside, the argument of what historical event created racism is pointless. There is conflict in nature, thus there is conflict in humanity. Go back 10 thousand years. If the tribe you're competing for food with looks different than you, that's just one more reason to throw a spear at them.

 

[Destrocus]

Didn't bother reading all of thsi, so if what I'm going to say something that was already said feel free to ignore me.

As most of the others here already mentioned, there is a historical reason for racism, namely europeans being a lot more advanced than their friendly neighbours on the african continent.

But there is also a psychological reason: Humans are afraid of anything they don't understand or that is different. First of all europeans didn't know much about genetics when they found the african "savages", so they had to wonder about their dark skin colour and were afraid of these people. Since dark colours are generally attributed to "evil" they had to assume that those africans were some sort of demonic hellspawn-human-hybrid monstrosity, thus they had to "tame" them or else they would corrupt and destroy the "good" and "pure" european cultures.
To return to my former statement that humans are afraid of the unknown and to draw a relation to the dark colour of native africans skin: The darkness, constructed from an impenetrable layer of "black", is the ultimate embodiment of the unknown and thus also the embodiment of fear.

And thats why white people first became racist: because of irrational fears and general xenophoobia.


P.S.: Please note that when I talk about "savages" I do not represent that opinion, but rather mean to describe the general point of view of historic european culture.

P.P.S.: Also this is refering to "black and white" racism, since that seemed to be the main point of discussion. Of course there has always been racism between many different sorts of people all because of the fear and rejection of the unknown.

 

[Celestil]

Well, I would never treat someone differently because of their skin color. But if I see a group of black people walking my way I'm going to cross the street. I don't do it because I think i'm better than them, I do it because of the way most of them portray themselves. Mostly because of rap, if all i hear is that they are going to shoot up places and kill people, I'm sure as hell going to avoid that.
And the way they dress, which isn't limited to them, I know, but I see more of it on them...if I see anybody dressed in baggy shorts that are down to their ankles and all that, I assume they are trying to portray themselves as ghetto or sleazy, and so I shall assume thats what they are. I know it's bad, and i'm not to happy I'd do it but it just is how I am. I realise that people of the same race as me are like that and I'd do the same but it's not as frequent I see that.
But if they come up to me and greet me, I would treat them as a good person and if they really are, than yay a friend.

Welp, that's my thoughts on racism, I guess. As long as it doesnt go as far as to hurt, in any way, someone than I dont care, as soon as it crosses to hurting someone based on color than that racist should die.

 

[Janktrio]

I never really got racism either. I understand why some people are racist but it still seems like a strange and foreign thing to me. That's probably because I grew up in a multicultural area so I knew from a young age that there are many different people and they can all be good or bad no matter what they look like. That and the fact that my parents were never racist so I never really encountered anyone enforcing racist ideas on me.

 

[UnrealCanine]

Way back in pre-civilization times, man hard to hunt for food and essential resources were harder to come by. We knew that grouping up had it's advantages, i.e. hunting is easier, but that too many had its disadvantages as well, i.e. not enough to fill a stomach.

Instict provided us with an "Us or Them" responce. If two tribes met over something, the winners would survive, the losers would die (through battle or stavation)

Skip forward to today, and we still have that instinct preserved. Think you're not a racist? How many have you have argued in a PS3 vs 360 debate? How many of you think PC gaming is superior to consoles? How many of you think 'x' forum is full of twats?

 

[Nuke_em_05]

Race A comes across Race B, Race B looks and behaves differently, so Race A considers Race B as non-human.

Race A will also assume it is "more advanced" than Race B, and so assume that Race B is inferior.

Over time, most folks in Race A realize that Race B is pretty much exactly the same, and adjust behavior accordingly.

Exceptions in Race A, motivated by fear, hate, or profit, continue to consider Race B as inferior non-humans and teach those "values" to their children.

Tada!
Racism.

 

[Da Orky Man]

Pretty straight-foward, i just don't understand racism.
Why are people Racist?
What is it about the colour of you're skin that makes you 'better' than others?
I just can't put my finger on it, why is there racism in the world?
To me it doesn't make any logical sense.
So, what are your thoughts on this?

If you look at it from a purely statistical view, it can be logical. By far the most crime committed in the US is committed by black African-American teenagers.
Means you should be more wary, but otherwise, not it doesn't make much sense.

 

[101194]

Pretty straight-foward, i just don't understand racism.
Why are people Racist?
What is it about the colour of you're skin that makes you 'better' than others?
I just can't put my finger on it, why is there racism in the world?
To me it doesn't make any logical sense.
So, what are your thoughts on this?

Xenophobia is a survival trait (this is just my personal educated opinion based on what I understand about biology) It's more about culture, most racism comes from mis-information and stereotypes. We fear what we don't know or are incapable of understanding, this is why we're afraid of death ect...Even if you don't realize it, you might hold some cultural "Racism" even at the most minor level. Really isn't that hard to understand.

 

[Sizzle Montyjing]

Race A comes across Race B, Race B looks and behaves differently, so Race A considers Race B as non-human.

Race A will also assume it is "more advanced" than Race B, and so assume that Race B is inferior.

Over time, most folks in Race A realize that Race B is pretty much exactly the same, and adjust behavior accordingly.

Exceptions in Race A, motivated by fear, hate, or profit, continue to consider Race B as inferior non-humans and teach those "values" to their children.

Tada!
Racism.

Racism made easy
That was good, but i couldn't help feeling that it was done with hand-puppets...

 

[boyvirgo666]

Hopefully we'll see an end to racism within a generation or two. Some of my friends parents are racist, and depending on the intelligence level of my friends, some of that rubs off. But that generation is fading away, good riddence.

The proudest moment in my life was when my son told he he couldn't give a shit what colour a persons skin is, because it makes no difference. He knew at 8 what a lot of adults still don't understand.

I wish i had your hope for humanity. I really really do, but in 2 more generations we will still have racism, Because in general people are idiots. We all stick to stupid ideas for no reason. Such as people who dont play video games because they think its a waste of time but they still watch TV.
Congratulations on raising your son though. That is the kind of person the world needs. Less people clinging to ideas that frankly just slowly create a cancer in human society...man i need to stop reading robert heinlen before posting. i sound like an ass

 

[Brandon237]

Racism is only practised by those who are ignorant, not able to rationalise, not willing to rationalise or from a generation / family where the idea is so deeply struck into them that they can never really help themselves. I find that a person's core personality and ability to think is FAR more important than anything else, My group of friends is: 2 white guys (myself included), 1 coloured guy, 1 white girl, 1 Indian girl, 1 Chinese girl. And everyone gets along well, and they are all great.

Unfortunately my parents can be quite racist Drives me up the bloody wall... and they are both sexist too... I give up sometimes...

 

[Sizzle Montyjing]

Racism is only practised by those who are ignorant, not able to rationalise, not willing to rationalise or from a generation / family where the idea is so deeply struck into them that they can never really help themselves. I find that a person's core personality and ability to think is FAR more important than anything else, My group of friends is: 2 white guys (myself included), 1 coloured guy, 1 white girl, 1 Indian girl, 1 Chinese girl. And everyone gets along well, and they are all great.

Unfortunately my parents can be quite racist Drives me up the bloody wall... and they are both sexist too... I give up sometimes...

So even you're mother is sexist?
Are they sexist to each other's gender, or only one in particular...
because i've never understood women who demote themselves.

Oh and WTF!?
The captchas have adverts now!?

 

[Mr Shrike]

I think Racism is a stupid fucking idea & the sooner people forget about it, the better.

Judging someone solely on the colour of their skin is pure idiocy.

CAPTCHA - whole shebang ...Best CAPTCHA ever!

 

[zhoominator]

I do know where I fall on the racism thing anymore. Before I didnt care, now I seem to be a bit more racist. Not as ad as some, but I jsut think natives shold make up the majority of a place. I read abouthow whites will be a minority in 2050 in America, and what if that happens to Europe ? I dont like the idea of my race being diluted and vanishing. Africans should have a majoriy in Africa, Asians get Asia, whites should be the majority in Europe, etc.

I dont care if America ends up with a completely different race, but its kind quick and thats what I dislike, and I just dont want that happening here until its just black people and asians populating the earth, and my race ends up liek the neanderthals.

Sorry, but this argument is complete nonsense. Assuming you are from the US and you aren't a Native American, well obviously I could easily argue that you aren't a native to the country that you think natives should make up the majority of. Better pack in the US government and send half of them back to Europe now! Oh, but wait, many aspects of culture that Europeans now possess come from other places again (Christianity, a primary religion in many European countries and the US, kind of comes from the Middle East) so where exactly should we send them? People's of the Earth shift around, they've done it since forever and really the only difference now is that we've just found ways doing this faster. Every culture you see is really a mish-mash of other cultures that have popped up in these geographical areas over the years.

I wouldn't be surprised if "whites" became a minority in the not so distant future in places. Why? Because of mixing in the gene pool. Just like I wouldn't be surprised if people with the really dark skin colours started to disappear too (outside of isolated African countries I mean though). Eventually, we may all end up a very similar looking species, with enough cross breeding that we'll all look like a mixture of every race (although that would take a crazy amount of time to happen if it does). Evolutionary wise, this is a GOOD thing.

I do understand that people also have a dislike of different things for evolutionary reasons and this is the root of most racism, then cemented by ignorance and teachings of parents and others. Unfortunately, for this reason, the world will never fully be rid of racism.

 

[Brandon237]

Racism is only practised by those who are ignorant, not able to rationalise, not willing to rationalise or from a generation / family where the idea is so deeply struck into them that they can never really help themselves. I find that a person's core personality and ability to think is FAR more important than anything else, My group of friends is: 2 white guys (myself included), 1 coloured guy, 1 white girl, 1 Indian girl, 1 Chinese girl. And everyone gets along well, and they are all great.

Unfortunately my parents can be quite racist Drives me up the bloody wall... and they are both sexist too... I give up sometimes...

So even your mother is sexist?
Are they sexist to each other's gender, or only one in particular...
because i've never understood women who demote themselves.

Oh and WTF!?
The captchas have adverts now!?

Mother is sexist against men, father is sexist against women. It only really shows when they are driving and at the slightest hint of anger the curses and the bigotry come out.

Sexism and racism are both multi-directional. And I am not just saying that as a white male atheist because I am always teh evil one

Just skip to the next Captcha then XP

 

[Sizzle Montyjing]

Sorry, but this argument is complete nonsense. Assuming you are from the US and you aren't a Native American, well obviously I could easily argue that you aren't a native to the country that you think natives should make up the majority of. Better pack in the US government and send half of them back to Europe now!

Hey!
We don't want them!
They made their choice, no going back.

 

[UFOROMANTIC]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UncannyValley

Yes, I know it's TVTropes and I know how some of you feel about this, but you should take a look at this. It explains a scientific theory that may provide a biological explanation as to why racism exists. Of course, it is inexcusable, but it will help to stamp out racism if we understand why it occurs.

 

[Stublore]

I understand that I might come off as nosy or arrogant by assuming I can intervene here - please excuse me for doing so if this causes any offence:

I think you're taking a few errant words far too seriously here - you're putting words into someone's mouth based on your own perception of what they quite casually typed out on a forum, and now you're judging them (or at least their stated view) based on an interpretation of it that is entirely yours, without first waiting for the other party to confirm or deny that is, indeed, what they were trying to say.

I'm afraid I don't see the logic here.

How can you be nosy?
It's a forum for open discussion, not a private discussion between 2 people.
Other points of view are always welcome

I can only go on what's posted.
Anything else is illogical, right?
I don't believe I have put words into anyone's mouth.
Of the 2 empires given, which ruled on the basis of their views of "superiority", one was racist for this policy, the other was not.
I don't get the difference.
They both ruled on the basis of their superiority, so if they were superior, everyone else was inferior. Is that a good description of a racist view? I/we are superior to everyone else.
How is one different from the other?

 

[sergnb]

I think it's a pretty understandable human behaviour, it is nothing too complex that anyone wouldn't "get" why it happens.

You defend your homeland, because that's your duty. You were raised in the land and you feel obligated to defend it from the outsiders that want to invade it.

Your invaders seem to be black/brown/white so you act agressive against all people that might be invaders. Therefor, you are always on guard against people of that skin color.

Of course, this fairly simple and primitive behaviour has faded into a sense of fear, confussion and whatnot. Basicly, you just want to deal with people you know are gonna be good. When everyone you have ever seen during your childhood was brown, for example, you tend to have positive regards towards brown people. But when a complete alien white guy wants to talk with you, you are not sure. He isn't from "here". He is isn't a native. He must be an invader, that wants to take our children, women, and money.

I don't need to say this behaviour is REALLY primitive and should cease to exist, because it is obvious. I'm not defending racism. I'm just saying it's a human typical mechanism that is triggered under certain circunstances and we must understand why is it caused. We young people that have grown up in a multi ethnical and cultural society, have no problem accepting this situation. Those who haven't are the ones that have the problem. And their spawn will have it too, because childhood indoctrination works like that.


How to solve this: Cut the root. Strike the old people. The problem lies in there. Show them foreigner people are nothing to be afraid of. What do you think would happend if your father told you "this is a silly thing we are doing, son" after 40 years of complete and utter racism bullshit? You would question yourself. You would think about what you've done.

 

[Gustavo S. Buschle]

It's a natural animal instinct to try to smash everything that's not you.