Are you racist...?

Question

You won't believe this, but I watched a documentary that said EVERYONE is racist to a certain extent. White, Black, Hispanic, etc...everyone in every ethnic group is racist against those outside of their etnicity for various reasons, even to the point of not trusting anyone outside of their race.

I really find this hard to believe, as I tend to associate racism as ignorance. But discovery channel producers tend to think it is natural and normal.

Does anyone agree that everyone is racist? Or, are you like me and tend to think it all depends on HOW a person is raised and not on their skin color as to how they see others of a different race...?

Let me clarify that I define "racist" as hating someone just for their skin color. I think there is a big difference in disliking them based on their actions or character. If I think that illegal immigrants are ruining our economy I don't see that as a "racist" statement, as I DON'T hate them for their skin color. I am surprised that Discovery says that EVERYONE hates others based on the color of their skin.

Answer 1

look im latina n i would say im not racist but when u think about u r cuase i was raced in compton with blacks n i mean i always get along wit blacks real good but with white people i always feel out of place not only that but i find most white people see hispanics not as humans but as border hopers last time a girl asked a simple question n every person that was answerin was sayin to go back to mexico n i was real mad i was born here n have never went to mexico but i think we r all humans we r i just think that some times people forget that we all came here illigaly whites blacks every one but even though i havent meet a white person who has just treated me as a human i dont hate them n i dont teach my kids to hate or any thing but in a way i think we all r racist but not in a way of hatein but now i think that every white person is just inhuman but hopefully with time we will all change 4 the better

Answer 2

I personally think that there is a big difference between racism and ignorance, I also think that there is a big difference between stereotyping someone and racism, a lot of times people get accused of being 'racists' and 'stereotypers' when all they have said or thought was the truth. I base race's on personalities instead of color, I believe (in my personal opinion) that that is a better mindset to look at things, it is much easier ( not to mention better for society ) to say "I hate egotistical people" than to say you hate every single person of a certain color, regardless of who they are and how they act. Sorry for preaching =)

Answer 3

I guess it just comes back to tolerance. If somebody does something to annoy us and they are a different race it is I spose just easier to blame it on their ethnicity for example Are all Chinese people bad drivers?? It is hard for most people to accept certain ethnic groups and I think it is because all races are different and hold different values and beliefs that are totally foreign to others and sometimes hard to fathom why on earth they practise that certain thing. A lot of it is also dependant upon how you were raised and the different values imposed upon you when growing up. I am not sure about the concept of everyone but a majority of people no matter what race you belong to hold prejudices against others of a different race.

Answer 4

Starting_Over that is a pretty serious story.
Thanks for sharing it.


I had a friend when i was about 15 who was a self-proclaimed Nazi. Him being a german teenager and identifying with punk culture.
And just trying to be tough - while being historically interested in the time period made hold certain flawed ridiculous ideas for a couple of years. That all wore off and I think to this day he is a very open minded person that identifies well with minority races and classes.

This is different than your son's situation - but some of that teenage stuff is likely involved too.

Answer 5

I was raised in a racist household, and I tried to raise my son to not be racist, and he wasn't for a long time, actually until he was 15.

In fact at 11, when I asked him to describe a child in his class, he went on a 15 minute recitiation of all of these kids qualities - small, fast, funny, smart...never mentioned that he was black, in fact the only black boy in the class. When I asked him about his omission, he said, oh yeah, that's right. It didn't mean anything to him.

Then on 9/11/2001, he woke up the same kid, with no prejudices, he went to bed with prejudices. Some of his friends were Muslims, he admitted they were his friends after that, but he felt like he should feel different about them, so now so many people hated Muslims.

I tried explaining to him that is was not his friends that did this and the people who did the attacks just happened to be Muslim. Consciously or not, by the end of the school year, he no longer hung around with the Muslim kids.

He now is racist. He never verbalizes these things, but he has changed.

I should add, he has friends whose parents died in the WTC.

Answer 6

I want to believe that racism is not a genetic trait of human. I want to believe that racism is the product of someone's upbringing. Yet these days it's hard to find someone without any thought of racism. Even I must admit that deep down I have certain racist thought.

So although I won't say that everyone is racist, I'd say that most are. But it's important that we understand that our racist feelings are simply that, feelings not facts and therefore we shouldn't make a conclusion based on them

Answer 7

Racism is more than just hating or disliking someone for their color or culture. You can't define it by malice alone, otherwise, people who are just careless or blithely ignorant are justified. Everyone has a homegrown misconception of another race with which they have minimal contact. That's what happens when you're raised in one culture with other cultures marginalized. The key is the willingness to recognize this. I'm much more suspicious of people who insist they aren't racist than people who admit they are, that they realize it and are trying amend it. Unawareness = ignorance, too.

Answer 8

I think we all have a bit of ignorance in us. Even if we were raised to see people as individuals and not by the colour of their skin. I may not agree with the practices and beliefs of certain cultures, and I may think Im justified in doing so. That doesn't mean I'm right. We dont like to think of ourselves as racist, but people will always have their opinions, about how others were raised, their culture beliefs, and their ethnicity.

Answer 9

I live in Australia, and I like to think I am not racist...but for reasons I cant explain when walking near an aboriginal (black natives) I am very careful and I do my best to ignore them because they always ask for money, I also am very careful when dealing with lebanese people for some strange reason, I just dont trust them....and I am also careful with my day to day dealings with just ordinary Aussies (I am of italian origin) I just have a feeling that they hate southern europeans, I am wrong most of the time, most aussies are cool, but I have encountered the odd bigot...also on the other side of the coin, I will tend to be more trusting and will make friends easier with mediteranean people, mainly (Italians, greek, spanish or turks) ...I dont know why I do this, or where it comes from. its like something that comes automatically without me thinking about it, but I dont think of myself as a racist....I believe everyone is slightly racist in their own way.

Answer 10

thats not true that everyone is racist in a certain way. the reason why most people would think this way is because its hard to find some one who isnt racits. trust me because i have alot of friends and only 3 of my friends are not racist and they never said any racist comments at all and they dont think racist. they always keep a open mind when dealing with people