Do you, like me, assume that racist people have had a troubling past?

Question

and that behind all of their racist remarks, there is just fear, or maybe anger? At times, i really want to give them a piece of my mind (and i usually do), but not until now did i ever realize that maybe there's something happening in their lives that bring them great pain. (or maybe their are just stupid, i don't know) Noone is born racist.

judith, i totally understand that it is hard to except alot of the people that are a part of my race; some of us act like clowns! but it just hurts me that people place me into the catagory of being uneducated, ghetto, unclean. It just isn't fair. thank you for your input = )

Answer 1

I think racists are made usually by their parents. Also I agree with you; I think many young people turn to hate groups because they feel the need to belong to something & are filled with anger. Others join gangs.

You won't like the rest of my answer but here it is. Many people become racists after meeting members of your race. I try to maintain an open mind but it isn't always easy & I have come to believe that other races feel the same way about us (white people).

Answer 2

I have a friend who used to be extremely racist. But he didn't have a troubling past nor a racist family. He certainly wasn't insecure, nor stupid in anyway. (actually he had a 4.0 GPA, scored exceptionally high on most standardized exams)

He's not racist now. I can tell you that for sure. We were just kids and we didn't really know any better. (not that I was racist but most of my friends were.)

Aren't most skinheads and Neo-Nazis etc. mostly teenagers? (well, the common ones you might encounter on the streets)

Once a skinhead came up to me and started saying stuff to me. So I asked him when Adolf Hitler was born, and what his father's name was, the kid was like "....." I told him "go do your homework before you try to be something you are not, just because you want to fit in." (Well, he was alone and I can be quite intimidating when I need to be.) The kid (probably 16 or 17 yrs old) just walked away without saying anything back.

I think most of these guys just need to belong to some group to feel worthy or secure; they just don't know any better because they are just kids. I wouldn't say that they are all bad people.

Answer 3

I believe that racist people are terribly insecure. Racism can be and is taught in many families, as horrible as that is. People, often, who have not attained the goals they wanted for themselves, have a tendency to blame it on a particular race. They will say things like, "If it hadn't been for that guy, I would have had that job!"...........and they mean because of the other person's race. It's usually a false remark, of course.
My stepfather was uneducated.......actually attended one day of kindergarten (period) in his life. He said things that just used to hurt my heart! He believed all he said, and he said ridiculous racist things all the time. So many people have anger going in their minds just all the time...........these people are usually negative about everybody. They seem to take particular joy in racist remarks. I have a half brother whom I really have never understood. He was married and had children by the time I was born. He is so negative about EVERYBODY, that it is really a sad thing to realize. This half brother, even wrote me a vicious letter, after our mother died, to tell me how he hated me before I was born, because I was born, and he always would! (now, that's not natural, is it?). I've always been delighted that my family is so multi-cultural. My son married a girl from Mexico. My niece married a man from Afghanistan. Another niece of mine married a man from Tonga. My middle brother married a Hawaiian. A multicultural baby was left on my doorstep, and he's a gorgeous, smart little fellow! I believe we are all blended, in one way or another, and when people realize this, the world will be a safer, more loving place.

Answer 4

There can be many reasons people are racists. One is just that their parents where racist and they have become racist because that was just how they were raised. Another is that they are just actually insecure and trying to find someone else to put down instead of themselves. A thrid is that all they have seen from that race is just bad. For example I went to a school that was from the inner city, when I was in middle school and pretty much all I saw from black people was disrespect, and selfishness. I was racist through most of middle school because of that, after I got out of there and realized it wasn't all black people that acted like that I became not racist again. Pretty much that's what I have seen that causes racism.

Answer 5

It certainly is possible. But, hard to say. Certainly racism is a learned attitude. Whether racists pick it up from home or from friends during their adult lives, it can be a form of fitting in to a group. Like most people, racists want to be accepted and values have a tendency to change over time. I think you may be right about the environmental influences though. I have never heard of a born racist.

Answer 6

You are right, no one is born a racist. They either have had an experience that has clouded their judgment, or they have been taught some wrong things, or they have been around really narrow minded people, or a combination of all things. Fear plays into it and when people are in fear they tend to go into the " group" reaction and go with the flow and that can be bad. Education is truly the answer.

Answer 7

There isn't a single reason. Having negative characteristics and beliefs tend to be the result of a bad past, but it's definitely not the only cause.

Some influences that could cause racism:

- Their parents' brainwashing/opinions
- Peer pressure
- Role model's opinions
- Generalizing one or a few people of that race/religion
- Bitterness that happened because of bad memories (death of a family member/war/bullying)
- Government propaganda (e.g. WWII)

Answer 8

No. I don't assume that They have a troubling past. I am sure that they Learned it as a conditioned response from someone in their immediate family. It's a learned behavior and many are copying someone else that taught them to think and speak as a racist. It also makes them feel superior and glad to know they can feel better than someone else. Honestly, I trace it back up their family tree. But it can be stopped through re-education. And that is already at work.Be patient and don't let it hurt you. (Easy for Me to say, I know) @8-)

Answer 9

I believe some people are born into a racists family. And that is what there taught and that is all they know until they get into the real world, if they even realize that its wrong at all.

Answer 10

.We have white ,black brown ,yellow racist.
When we bow down to their level we become just like them.
I am an African and lived in towns where there were no blacks in Europe and I was treated with respect.I am now living in Japan there is racism here against foreigners in general. Even English schools would prefer white teacher to qualified black teachers .They call it business.But saying that I have over come this stereotyping that all Japanese are racist and sown myself into the fabric of this society and I am welcome with open arms.
I taught them I am human and show them what I was made of.
We can't get rid of ignorance. But we can stop being ignorant