How do you define "racist?" Do you think it mean "a preference for ones own race"?

Question

The term "racist" is thrown around quite a bit almost everywhere. How do you define racism, in your own words. Serious answers only.

Answer 1

Racism refers to various belief systems maintaining that the essential value of an individual person can be determined according to a perceived or ascribed racial category and that social discrimination by race is therefore justifiable.

The word "racism" itself appeared in the 1930s, both in the English language and in French. Such racial prejudice usually includes the belief that people differ in aptitudes and abilities (such as intelligence, physical prowess, or virtue) according to race. Most individuals who use the concept of racial categories believe that different races can be placed on a ranked, hierarchical scale. It is also be defined as the act of separating groups according to these ascribed race categories. In doing so the term receives the appropriate -ism ending. Meaning the practice or act of doing such as desribed above. By definition one who practices racism is known as a racist.

W.E.B. DuBois argued that racialism is the belief that differences between the races exist, be they biological, social, psychological, or in the realm of the soul. He then went on to argue that racism is using this belief to push forward the argument that one's particular race is superior to the others.

Racism can more narrowly refer to a system of oppression, such as institutional racism that is based on ideas that one race is superior to other races. Organizations and institutions that practice racism discriminate against and marginalize a class of people who share a common racial designation. The term "racism" is usually applied to the dominant group in a society, because it is that group which has the means to oppress others, but readily applies to any individual or group(s), regardless of social status or dominance.

Since the last quarter of the twentieth century, there have been few in developed nations who describe themselves as racist, which has become a pejorative term, so that identification of a group or person as racist is nearly always controversial. A number of international treaties have sought to end racism. The United Nations uses a definition of racial discrimination laid out in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and adopted in 1966:

...any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life..
The European Union has a wide definition on factors that can but must not be reasons for discrimination: "Article 21 of the charter prohibits discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, color, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation and also discrimination on the grounds of nationality."


Definition of Racism

Racism is defined as meaning the predication of decisions and policies on considerations of race for the purpose of subordinating a racial group and maintaing control over that group.

Racism is both overt and covert. It takes two, closely related forms: individuals acting against other individuals, and acts by a total community against another community. These are called individual and instituitonal racism. First consists of overt acts by individuals, which cause death, injury or the violent destruction of property. This type can be recorded by TV' it can frequently be observed in the process of commission. The second type is less overt, far more subtle, less identifiable in terms of specific individuals committing the acts. But it is no less destructive of human life. The second type orginates in the operation of established and respected forces in the society, and thus receives far less public condemnation than the first type. Racism is not simply prejudice, bigotry or being biased. (It is to be noted that Black people in America, by this definition do not fit the title of a racist


Types of Racism

Racism may be expressed individually and consciously, through explicit thoughts, feelings, or acts, or socially and unconsciously, through institutions that promote inequalities among "races", as in institutional racism. The concept of "Hate speech" has been created in order to prosecute discriminative discourse, which may be penalized in various countries (US, European countries such as France...).
Scientific racism
Scientific racism refers to the use of science (or the veneer of science) to justify and support racist beliefs. The use of science to justify racist beliefs goes back at least to the early 18th century, though it gained most of its influence in the mid-19th century. Works like Arthur Gobineau's An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races (1853-1855) attempted to frame racism within the terms of biological difference among human beings, and with the rise of theories of evolution after the work of Charles Darwin became well-known, it became common to consider some races more evolved than others. These points of view were very common within the scientific community at the time—even Darwin, who was an active abolitionist and considered all humans to be of the same species (against a trend of polygenism popular in anthropology at the time) believed that there were inherent biological differences in the mental capacities of different races. Ideologies such as social Darwinism and eugenics used and reinforced many of these views.

There were also scientists who argued against biological reenforcement of racism, even if they believed that biological races did exist (though some did not). In the sciences of anthropology and biology, though, these were minority positions until the mid-20th century. During the rise of Nazism in Germany, many scientists in Western nations worked to de-bunk the racial theory on which the regime rested its claims of superiority. This, combined with repulsion to Nazi eugenics and the racial motivations behind the Holocaust, lead to a re-orientation of opinion around scientific research into race in the years following World War II. Changes within scientific disciplines—such as the rise of Boasian school of anthropology in the United States—also contributed to this shift. Since then, many of the scientific studies which claimed to support racist claims have since been methodologically debunked by scientists with specifically anti-racist agendas, such as Stephen J. Gould.

The status of the concept of biological race remains very controversial within science, though practically no mainstream scientists admit to using scientific data to justify racist beliefs. Some scientists, such as Arthur Jensen and Richard Lynn, have argued that the threat of being labeled as a "scientific racist" has made the scientific study of race and racial differences politically taboo and has stifled true scientific discourse. Many scientists, though, believe that there is no evidence for typological notions of biological race, nor scientific justifications for racist beliefs.



Individual, structural, and ideological racism
Racism may be divided in three major subcategories: individual racism, structural racism, and ideological racism. Examples of individual racism include an employer not hiring a person, failing to promote or giving harsher duties or imposing harsher working conditions, or firing, someone, in whole or in part due to his race.

Researchers at the University of Chicago (Marianne Bertrand) and Harvard University (Sendhil Mullainathan) found in a 2003 study that there was widespread discrimination in the workplace against job applicants whose names were merely perceived as "sounding black." These applicants were 50% less likely than candidates perceived as having "white-sounding names" to receive callbacks for interviews, no matter their level of previous experience. Results were stronger for higher quality résumés. The researchers view these results as strong evidence of unconscious biases rooted in the country's long history of discrimination. This is an example of structural racism, because it shows a widespread established belief system. Another example is apartheid in South Africa, and the system of Jim Crow laws in the United States of America. Another source is lending inequities of banks, and so-called redlining.



Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism is a specific case of racism targeting the Jewish people, although scholars argue whether it should be considered a sui generis specie or not. For example, in the Russian Empire, official segregation of the Russian Jews in the Pale of Settlement since the early 1800s was compounded by the 1882 May Laws. Waves of anti-Semitic pogroms, in many cases state-sponsored, were launched in the 1881-1884, 1902-1906 and 1914-1921.

Scholars distinguish traditional, Christian anti-Semitism, which derives from the Biblical account of the deicide accusation, with 19th-20th centuries racial anti-Semitism, which ultimately lead to the Holocaust. The State of Israel was created in 1948 as many Jews and Gentiles considered the creation of a Jewish nation-state, which was the aim of Zionism, as the only way of acquiring real protection from possible future genocides. At the Second Vatican Council in 1965, the Roman Catholic Church cleared the Jews from the allegations of deicide.

Reverse racism


Reverse racism is a pejorative term which is used to describe attitudes, behaviors, and policies which are racially discriminatory in a manner which is contrary (reverse) to historical patterns of racial discrimination. An example of alleged reverse racism is black supremacism and separatism in the United States, which has a history of discriminating against its black minority.

Opponents of racial quotas (Affirmative Action in the U.S.) in jobs and schools contend that explicitly factoring race into the application or approval process is a form of institutionalized reverse racism which unfairly discriminates against racial categories with historically higher admission or approval rates. Proponents contend that racial quotas promote integration and economic equality of groups which have been affected by racism.

A common misconception is that reverse racism is defined as a minority discriminating against a majority. South Africa is an example of a nation in which an economically, militarily, and culturally powerful minority has historically discriminated against a powerless and disenfranchised majority. Reverse racism in South Africa is understood to mean a member of the black majority discriminating against the white minority.

Also, many claim that the very term "reverse racism" is is actually racist itself. As the term is almost exclusively used against whites, opponents of the term's usage point out that the term "reverse" implies that only whites are capable of being racists. Furthermore, the opponents point out that this popular misconception can be construed as one of modern society's few acceptable examples of racism. In either case, they charge, it is as illegitimate as more conventional forms of racism.



Racial discrimination as an official government policy

Racial discrimination is and has been official government policy in several countries. Nazi Germany's state racism is the most famous example, along with South Africa during the apartheid era. In the 1970s, Uganda expelled tens of thousands of ethnic Indians [citation needed]. Until 2003, Malaysia enforced discriminatory policies limiting access to university education for ethnic Chinese and Indian students who are citizens by birth of Malaysia, and many other policies explicitly favoring bumiputras (Malays) remain in force [citation needed].

In the United States, racial profiling of minorities by law enforcement officials is a controversial subject. Law enforcement looks for people who "fit the profile" to commit a crime according to experience and statistics. Some people consider this to be a form of racism. Some claim that profiling young Arab male fliers at airports will only lead to increased recruitment of older, non-Arab, and female terrorists, as well as Arab males who might be mistaken for white males. Some also state that this is unnecessary, as it brings the mistrust of many people. Many critics of racial profiling claim that it is an unconstitutional practice because it amounts to questioning individuals on the basis of what crimes they might commit or could possibly commit, instead of what crimes they have actually committed. Thus, it shifts the emphasis from the act itself (the crime) to the person (the "criminal"); Michel Foucault argued in Discipline and Punish (1975) that this was a general tendency of "disciplinary societies", creating the psychological category of "delinquent".

Answer 2

Using insulting, harmful words and/or deeds while stereotyping a race, an ethnic group or a person.

You can prefer your race without harming another.

For example you prefer and love your house without damaging your neighbors' (deliberately or by accident), or neglecting your lawn and changing the neighbor for the worse. Plus in some cases if you do you can be sued or worse.

In the case of humans when you harm them it's much worse than a house. You affect them personally, their family/generations and the way they live their entire life.

And that is what me and my race have been subject to for over 400 years. And it still goes on - the most racist think we have not been hurt enough or at all so they continue on a daily basis.

Answer 3

My heavens, I never have been flashed, but I did unintentionally flash a few folks once. I was in the hospital some time back and decided to take a stoll to the vending area. Well, I wasn't thinking about what I was wearing and, let's just say that those hospital gowns don't leave a lot to the imagination on the backside. The nurse came up from behind me and put a blanket over my shoulders . . . I was wondering why it was a little drafty back there!

Answer 4

A racist is a person who believes that some races are better than others.

Such belief may not be intentional. A person can be a racist without knowing it.

It's easy to disprove racist beliefs. Just note that more than 99.99% of human evolution happened before homo sapiens. And all races and combinations of races are homo sapiens. Therefore, race makes up less than a hundredth of a percent of what it means to be human.

Answer 5

Racism is thinking your race is superior.
I believe most people are prejudice ( they prejudge another race based on fear, lack of experience, etc)


Per the American Hertigage Dictionary:
The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.

Answer 6

racist means a belief in the superiority of one race over any other. most people call others racists, but they are actually culturalists. culture can transcend race, and therfore the more accurate term would be a culturalist...besides, somebody can change their culture so unlike racism, you are not attacking them for something they cannot change or do anything about.

Answer 7

I think a racist is simply someone to whom the race of another person matters more than just about anything else. You look at a person and see a color and immediately decide what kind of person they "must be". Then if you get to know that person and find out that they are decent and honest and likable the color of their skin still matters more to you than any other of their qualities and you still dismiss them.

Answer 8

Most people do not understand what racism is.
Racism is not simply calling people derogatory names or being prejudiced against certain people.

Racism is the practice of denying individuals the opportunity to improve their social, economic or political influence bsed on a perception of their race being inferior for whatever reason.
Racism, unlike bigotry, requires DOMINANCE which is usually reffering to a majority status oppressing a minority status.
A racist is any person who is in dominance of another person of a different race and denies that person or people from achieving equal footing in the environment simply because they are different.


Racism occours in almost every country.
In China for example, the Majority Han Chinese deny the equal oppourtunities for work to the arab Chinese people such as those living in XIN ZHANG because they see tham as inferior.

In America, Racism is commonly seen as White majority denying equal rights, work, financial or political oppourtunity to Blacks. However, in the case of White versus Black, it goes deeper than that.

Racism in America and some parts of the world is reffered to as WHITE SUPREMACY which is a form of racism which places White culture, White ethnicity and White features above those of non whites.
That is part of the reason you see Asian women trying to die their hair and wear contacts or on a higher note, trying to date White men - they have been fored to believe they are inferior to Whites.


A racist in this sense is anyone who perpetuates White supremacy. Keep in mind however that there is a difference between White Pride and White Supremacy. While White pride is simply the self pride of White people, it is seen as being a perpetuation of White Supremacist values.

Answer 9

WE are all created by God and we are to love another no matter what our race is. To me someone who is racist treats people of other nationalities very badly , speaks badly of them and is jusy plain mean towards them. I do not like to see anyone treated badly. If someone commits a crime then they need to pay the price, But there are bad people in every race. that is no reason to label them all as bad.

Answer 10

To me, a racist is any person who believes for any reason that their genetic lineage is superior to others.

I've seen geniuses born to crappy parents, and mentally impaired kids born to "pure stock" parents. That's enough evidence for me that no-one's race is superior, and that perhaps there are individuals within every race that are.

Answer 11

I don't think racism is a preference for one's own race. I think it is actually when some one puts down or degrades some one else for their background or race.