Racism..........?

Question

Throughout history humans have always hated other humans that they feel are different. Is it possible that it is human nature to hate things they don't understand. Will the world only ever unite once the human race has a different species to hate?

First of all thanks to all those that have answered so deeply. Yes it is a deep question and i apreciate all of your answers. From what i have read i can see that the general consesus is that racism seems to be a thing of the past and that any hate that is relevent in todays society stems from differences other that the colour of your skin. Interesting thoughts...thanks

Answer 1

That someone is different from you exists on more than just a racial level, also on national, religious, social class, ect.

What we are seeing now is that people are more and more working together for mutual benefit, and racism does not fit into this agenda. This is one benefit of globalization.

You would be amazed at just how often humans are working together. Just look at the number of International non-Governmental Organizations, International Organization and transnational corporations, and I think you will find that it is people's abilities (the content of thier character?) not a perferred skin type much of the modern world seeks.

Also, consider global warming. More and more countries and individuals are working together to combat this. Even W is coming around.

Also, if human nature were to hate what we didn't understand, we probably would have never overcome our fear of fire, which is what really distinguishes us from the other beasts.

Answer 2

Difficult. Obviously if you look at recent history, things have been changing rapidly, i.e Black people have gone to not being able to share water fountains with whites in the US/Britain etc, to being (hopefully) equal with white people. I walk down my street and there are mosques 5 minutes walk from Christian churches - this shows a progression in acceptance to not only people, but the culture of those people - (yes, issues arrise but the existence of the two within the same space shows an increased level of acceptance compared to the past). The skin colour problem is phasing out i believe, there will always be the fear of what is different but this is not fundamentally race- its difference as you point out. Look at colleges today - the age old idea that is still evident - The Jocks ridicule the Goths and vice-versa. We all know why. Difference within the same community is often not as large as differences between countries and cultures, and we already have problems when there are differences in peoples peronsailities and choices alone. This, added to the innate downfall of man - Greed. Greed will probably mean that people are fighting people til the day we are wiped out. Rascism in itself is slowly but surely fading out, if we are talking about accepting harmless cultures and the colour of skin...but that isn't necessarily the issue.

Answer 3

I was just thinking about where hate comes from when I read your question. If we are created by a Loving Being, how are we able to hate? Since a lot of humans seem to hate, is it something that humans need to do? Has it got a purpose? Sorry for answering your question with more questions but it's a very deep one.

Answer 4

just as all mankind came through a man and a woman .so all races were put into the gene pool of the first two people .as each race was brought forth from the womb each baby developed differently in color, thinking ,felling etc. this difference is why we hate and because we are all related we all want to not hate our brother yet we do .don't ever expect a black man to want to be a white man nor a white man to want to be black .god made us different so that he could accomplish everything that he wants done.to have martian Luther king a white man would have done no good ,this is just one of a million reasons why we need color and need understanding yet we well still hate the first brothers hated cane and able and we no how that turned out and it continues today.

Answer 5

It is still to this day an ongoing theme that is very unnecessary and to which I beleive could be the root cause to many of the world's problems. We know for a fact that it was the reason for every single war that has taken place. I think when G-d created us he gave us such a wide range of emotions but I can understand his rational too. If for instance everyone were to get along the world would be in limbo. There's a saying you can't have one without the other and in this case I believe it applies to good and evil.

Answer 6

I think the real issue here is how far we've developed beyond our animal instincts. The only real difference between humans and other animals is that we can consciously look at the facts and decide to override our impulses. It might well be an instinct to be wary of those who are 'different' - that's self preservation in the form of fearing what could potentially harm you, as well as being an inbuilt guide as to who is a good 'mate' and who isn't (beautiful people being attractive to us and deformity generally scaring us). As 21st Century humans with the power to think around these issues, we also have the power to overcome any prejudice they cause, and thereby, eventually, to annihilate it.

Answer 7

I think the saying Rome wasn't built in a day comes in to play here. Racism may not ever fully go away but it could get better. Will it? I'm not sure. I guess the only thing we can do is inspire chande by our actions. Those who aren't racist need to speak and lead those who depend on a leader in the right direction. I'm probably saying this very badly but that's the only way I can think of to describe it.

Answer 8

We seem to hear this word more than once a day and it is becoming tiring. Like the word Hate, it is used to often and not with the real meaning. On conclusion I would say that we are a small Island here in the UK and we seem to have a consensus of being overpowered, now that is not being racist but you may see now how the word is over used.

Answer 9

I constantly see racism in our society, even on public television like Mind of Mencia or the Chappelle show, everyone is ethnocentric, meaning they think their culture or race is better than another's, so no one will want to unite under another persons race or language

Answer 10

Phsycology is part of evolution as well, hopefully our essentially anti-racism society will bring along in due course the death of racism. I don't think more races to hate will bring about unity within the ones we have, It will just bring even more conflict. Anti-racist sentiment has decreased hugely over history, and over time it will die out.