Why is it painstakingly difficult to change or re-educate a racist's mind?

Answer 1

Because their way of thinking has been instilled in them when they were young and impressible. The lines on thinking were firmly entrenched then. This is all some of them know. Doesn't make it right, but this is the way they think. They think their way of thinking is the only right way of thinking. That's what makes it so difficult to re-educate these people. regardless of what you say to them it's "there way or the highway", so to speak.

Answer 2

Because a racist "knows" he/she is right. They believe in their racist perspective, and consider you an incompetent moron for trying to convince them otherwise.
Basically, racism is built onto a set of beliefs about a certain ethnicity or group of people. If you understand the nature of beliefs then you know that they are a largely unconscious process within the mind, and as such, don't require us to constantly validate them. Racism is a self-validating hatred of a particular group, and you can't just re-educate someone on their beliefs.
Has anyone ever tried to convince you of something that you just did NOT believe? This is the same type of situation you're stepping into when you tell someone it is wrong to be racist, or try "re-educate" them. Beliefs, by their very nature, cancel out conflicting information that threatens to prove them false. So, unless you can build a new belief-system for them...you're not going to change their mind very easily.

Answer 3

For the same reason that you are assuming that only a racist's mind would be difficult to re-educate or change. We are prone to categorizing people and feel more comfortable when they fit into the boxes we have created for them. Anyone who was raised with a certain set of beliefs, be it racism or not, would have a difficult time discarding those beliefs for new ones.

Answer 4

Possibly because many people have developed raciest attitudes due to having had an experience with some of the worst traits of the race they have an attitude about. While people who don't have a raciest attitude only know of those bad traits and short comings of a particular race from reading about them or never having experienced them up close and personal.

It's one thing to believe an academic argument and quite another to have the physical experience. So the academic is easy to believe but the physical is impossible to ignore and is harder to overcome with re-education.

Answer 5

That is like trying to change someone's beliefs in religion, people have their own veiws and it doesn't make it right but if u were brought up to believe something then it is very hard to change that veiwpoint and see it as wrong. If u were taught the sky was green all ur life and suddenly lots of people tell u it's blue does that mean ur gonna believe them probably not even if the sky really is blue. Unfortunately it is a fact of life and you just have to just try and be a good person yourself.

Answer 6

Most racists are so narrow minded that they don't want to learn anything new- other points of view. You can't change the way a person is because we're all born with different personalites, and they've probably been raised to think a certain way since childhood.

Answer 7

Because most racists (black, white, or whatever) are raised with these beliefs of hatred. They aren't taught any different. So whent hey grow up and movie out into the real world, these attitudes are ingrained.

Answer 8

The problem lies within the wording of your question. You can't "re-educate" something that has never been educated. Most racism is born of ignorance.

Answer 9

Change requires an open mind. Typcially, a racist has a closed mind.

Answer 10

Because no light gets into the darkness of ignorance that refuses to consider the possibility it might be wrong.