Why is it taking so long for people to get with the program ... ?

Question

What I mean by that is .... This is 2007 and we still have racism .. I still have seen and heard people making judgements of women or men who date out of their culture or colour ... Isn't a human being a human being ...Will we ever just see the person and not the colour?

I know I have put this in a form of a question but its really more of a rhetorical question ... I know the answer ... I just wish people would wake up and smell the coffee ... maybe racism is not the proper word to use but ... closed minded is ... or small minded ... but make your comments as you feel them ...

Answer 1

We will always have racism. Human beings are animals - pack predators. We base all of our initial perceptions upon what we SEE - it's the only information we have. Further, we base a lot of our decisions upon what we fear. And things that are different are inherently scary. It's a survival trait that's been bred into us over millenia.

Now, we can LEARN to not be racist - to overcome those fears, but it takes time and effort. Not everyone is up to doing that, and never will be.

As far as judging folks based upon their culture, that's the same sort of thing. There are cultures that I dislike. I'm inclined to believe that a person I meet from there is going to have ideals and beliefs that I dislike - but I wait until I meet that person to really form an opinion. This is only common sense.

You cannot approach every situation as a tabula rasa - You are going to have a plan and notions based upon your experiences and knowledge. What makes folks racist are those who don't update their information as time goes on and who refuse to treat individuals as individuals.

Sorry - long rambling answer. To sum it up - Why? Because we HAVE to make judgements based upon what we SEE (until we have more information), and upon what we've EXPERIENCED in the past. And because throughout history, DIFFERENT=BAD.

Orion

Answer 2

I'm not sure if racism will ever disapear. In contrast it may even increase or stabalize.
Seeing someone as being different is ofcourse nomal. When I see a girl I form a different picture of the person then when I see a boy. The same goes for seeing someone who looks Chineese or American. Someone who is in a wheelchair...etc
Racism is not having a pre-concieved conception of someone we see- but believing ones race is better than the other.- That it is biologicaly better.
It is also important to distinguish between religous ideas and racism- religion is closely linked to culture. And some religions are very against relationships with outsiders.
"racism" is also such a broad word -I don't really like its use at all. If people are making judgements because others are dating out of culture or colour -this (in my opinion) does not neccesarily constitute racism. Let's break racism up! Why do they have these judgements? Are they afraid of something? Have you asked these people why they think what they think?

Generally I believe racism is real and deeply rooted in all cultures. It ranges in form from wars to racist remarks. But caution must be used when labeling indivdiuals as racists.

Answer 3

As long as we approach the issue of racism only from a rational (logical - intellectual) perspective, we will fail to achieve a lasting or universal result.

We must recognize that we are not just logical animals; we are also animals with hard-wiring that is connected to our predator and clan-social animal selves. In a clan (or pack or herd) we think in terms of me-you and us-them. We go by identifiers to distinguish quickly between you-me and us-them. The fastest identifiers are things like complexion and other physical characteristics, language, mannerisms, clothing, traditions, age, size, etc.

The more things are the same between you and me, the easier - faster - it is for you and me to make connections. The fewer things that are the same, the more effort it takes to dig deeper for similarities and connections.

The fewer the obvious connections, the more likely we are to assume the worst about another's actions, motivations, and abilities. We're also more likely to generalize about whole groups who - on the basis of those fast identifiers - appear to be the same.

How to get past this? In our schools, we need to teach about that animal part of ourselves so our kids, as they grow into adults, can catch themselves when they think in us-them ways. We need to normalize the feelings we have when we see someone different from ourselves (i.e. complexion, language, cultural practices) so we can then move on to a more rational response, like: "Oh, OK, I'm having this feeling of insecurity/discomfort/anxiety/... about this person because he's different than me. That's my instinctive reaction."

Our leaders need to learn the same things, and take responsibility for the language they use when talking about other groups, even when talking about other political parties.

It's easy to view racism as something easily overcome if only we would "try harder," but it is not easy to overcome. It is visceral, subconscious, and we need to address it on that level.