Surely , by now, people have to realise that there are good & bad in ALL of us. WHY generalise or stereo-type? I think people who hate others , hate themselves. There is only 1 race , the HUMAN race, right?? what does it matter where you come from?? The reason i ask is i am watching the jerry springer show .... hmmm , maybe thats my 1st mistake huh?
2006-09-26 05:04:28 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
I wouldn't think one could come away with quality information from something like the Jerry Springer show. A show like that pretty much shows the worst of us.
To answer your question though, particularly as a black person, I think one of the reasons racism still exists is because there are people (I read dozens of their posts here every day) who honestly do not believe that there IS good and bad in all of us. Some people are convinced that they are perfectly justified in having their racist beliefs. They fully believe that they are somehow genetically, intellectually, etc. superior than their race(s) of choice.
I think the sentence in your post - I think people who hate others, hate themselves - is so absolutely correct. Racism is just another word for hatred. What a lot of people don't understand is that, when you allow hatred to become part of who you are, it hurts the person the hatred originates from far, far more than the race/group/religion/whatever the hatred is directed towards. To me, hatred is like a negative energy that poisons the body over time, mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. I believe hatred also poisons the soul.
I am so thankful I was brought up not to see people as just a race. There is so, SO much more to us than what race we are! Every race has beautiful customs, cultures, languages, traditions and beliefs! Every race has made positive contributions to the world.
When someone is filled with racism though, they can't SEE that, which I find very, very sad. The other day, a poster told me he felt sorry for ME because I wasn't a racist. That's a good example of how clouded and twisted the minds of racists are. To people like that, racism is far from petty. They believe their racism is 100% justified and probably will for the rest of their lives. That's one of the reasons racism continues - generation after generation after generation.
Great question! Thanks for asking it!
2006-09-26 05:31:34 · answer #1 · answered by loveblue 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Humans are one of the only species that has the ability to recall past experiences and use them to make judgments about the future. However this ability that has led to us being so amazingly adaptable and able to survive also causes racism.
People try and judge things based on prior information. People are rude to one another all the time. However if a white person is rude to another white person they don't assume the person was rude just because they are white. They don't because they are white and they are not rude (at least in their own mind) but they may chalk it up to some other factor easily recognizable factor such as the quality of the person's clothes, their age, their hairstyle, or what they were doing at the time (e.g., talking on a cell phone).
However if a black person is rude to a white person the most easily recognizable difference between the two people is their skin color. Now these people tend to associate that skin color with rudeness. The same thing works in reverse to though.
Its perfectly normal to prejudge a situation, its what we are instinctively driven to do. However in this modern day and age we need to learn to question our instincts and ask if our judgments are in line with reality.
2006-09-26 12:16:12 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would have to agree with you. I have pondered this question myself and have come to this concussion. There will be racism and prejudices as long as there are organizations for each race. There is Black Pride, Gay Pride, NAACP, and other organizations who are there to promote their race. As long as we continue to separate ourselves this way we will never be one.
I also think that eons from now, with all the inter-racial mixing, we will all look the same anyway.
I do agree with charmaine_pennon(one up from me on this post) that ignorance is another main factor. I don't agree with the whole "trying to imitate" thing but that's her opinion and she is entitled to see the world from her point of view.
Ignorance is definately a main factor. I do however realize that racism and hatred are passed from generation to generation. If you were born into a KKK family, you will be raised KKK and it is a cycle that carries on and on. If you make racist comments in front of or to your kids, whether you are joking or not, you are breeding racism.
The one thing I have not figured out is this. The African-Americans want to preserve their heritage. Celebrate Kwanza, adorn thier bodies with things that symbolize there heritage. That is great and all but once again it is individuality. Seperating yourself from the whole mass of the human race as a whole. But on the otherhand, one should not have to give up their heritage and forget who they are or where they come from or how they came to be in society. It is a hypocritical statement I know.
So I guess in the end, racisim will never really disappear and we will never become one race, the human race. Slaves were freed how long ago and MLK gave his "I have a dream" speech how long ago? Now the target race is the Middle Easterners. Why? Because a few attacked in the name of their religion, their race, their racism. and it keeps going. :(
2006-09-26 12:14:12 · answer #3 · answered by 1loopyferretpsycho 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stereotypes still exist because they are still personified and played out every day. Racism still exist because some groups of people refuse to do their part to pull their own weight when it comes to making the world a better place.
2006-09-26 14:47:53 · answer #4 · answered by bullybrian2000 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I totally agree with you. Yeah, Jerry Springer's show has the lowest of all life forms on there.
2006-09-26 12:07:10 · answer #5 · answered by AsianPersuasion :) 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I feel that the reason why poeple, some, are still being racist is because of ignorance. I am african american ( black), and from my point of view, I see white people ( no offense to anyone), getting there lips done to be bigger, like african americans who have natural full lips, braids in there hair, getting tans to have darker skin....just things like that, that is why I do not understand why they talk about black people because they are tanning there skin, to be darker, getting there lips done to be fuller and so on!
2006-09-26 12:11:20 · answer #6 · answered by charmaine_pennon 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Makes people complain
2006-09-26 12:06:47 · answer #7 · answered by pirateron 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋