Are YOU a Racist?

Originally posted by SimiusDei
We must really be a continent full of idiots then.

Country, not continent, and yes, we do, I mean considering 1 in 5 Americas actually believes the Sun orbits the Earth.

Or could it possibly be that you live in one of those places up north (like Oregon) where white people make up 97% of the population so you really have no idea at all about diversity?

I live in Washington, and it is by no means a major Caucasian majority (90%) state.

In my neighborhood alone there are Asian, Hispanic, Arabic and Indian families,
not to mention people from several different ideological systems.

Not only that but all the schools I've ever gone to have been racially, ideologically
and culturally diverse, especially my High School, in which we have/had significantly
large minorities of Asians, Arabs, Mexicans and Africans (as in actually from Africa),
not to mention a significantly sized LGB minority as well.

Besides that, I would never discriminate against people because they are different,
not only because it's wrong, but I happen to belong to a group that is, thankfully
not anywhere nearly as badly as other parts of the country, discriminated against.

Yesterday's Racists

Affection for kith and kin, and hostility towards outsiders of the same species, are instinctive to social animals (such as, for example, hunter-gatherer bands in the Pleistocene). They help ensure the survival of the group (and its shared genes) by helping it secure food supplies and mates for its own use and denying them to other groups.

This is the origin of what we call racism. Every human being is an instinctive racist. It's bred into us. It's in our nature.

But the 'racist instinct' promotes group survival only as long as encounters between unrelated groups are rare.

This is because such encounters are costly to the group; they often end in the death of one or more group members. If encounters between a group and its neighbours become too frequent, the group dies out. The instinct that promotes survival in small populations spread out over a wide area becomes deadly when populations sizes are high and groups are packed closely together.

What happens next? If violent encounters between groups are frequent, but not too frequent, group members in whom the 'racist instinct' is strongest will go into battle first and most often. The death-rate among them will be higher than for the group as a whole. Over time, their 'racist genes' will become less common in the population as a whole. The genes of other group members, who are more disposed to be tolerant of outsiders -- and even to cooperate with them -- will slowly come to dominate the gene pool.

Driven by new genetic imperatives, individuals from unrelated groups slowly learn to cooperate. Groups merge. Hunter-gatherer bands become tribes. Tribes become nations, or 'races'. And so on...

This is the origin of what we call tolerance. Human beings are instinctively tolerant. It's bred into us. That's why encounters between members of different races/tribes/groups no longer automatically end in death.

However, this instinct is relatively recent; it's only been propagated widely since the Upper Pleistocene. By contrast, the older, more atavistic 'racist instinct' goes all the way back to our quadrupedal -- sorry, our finned -- ancestors.

But recent or not, instinctive tolerance for other members of our own species is the future -- else we shall not have a future. Racism is the past, and those who indulge their instinctive racism are yesterday's men and women. They are doomed to die out, and fairly soon at that.

The only question is whether or not they will take the rest of us with them.

[edit on 21-8-2007 by Astyanax]

Originally posted by SportyMB
but there's still alot of it left, much more than the in the north.

Yeah,yeah,yeah, we are all of the devil down here, and Yankees are saints... Really, what's the furthest south that you've been?

Oh I love this particular aspect of this discussion. When I'm among mixed company (Yankee and normal folk) it is automatically assumed that my accent drops my IQ by 20 points, and I have a desire to own a black person. I love to prove that wrong. Ya know I thought we were still a bit backwards down here until I served in the Army. In my basic platoon of 30 or so people there were 2 people who had never met a "real live black person" before. One was from Missouri and the other was from....I forget one of those states out west where they got bored drawing the map for it. By the time I graduated high school in '94 interacial dating was something I didn't even notice anymore (my grandparents found it abhorent, and my parents felt it kind of icky, products of their times I suppose). In my time on active duty I heard the N-word come out of the mouth of guys from up north more than us southern boys amongst non-mixed company. That being said, I'll be the first to admit that you still find the ignorant redneck stereotype down here more than I would like, but most often it's someone who's never lived anywhere else, participated in any sport, or shared a barracks with someone of a different race.

[edit on 22-8-2007 by jefwane]

reply to post by jefwane


Jetwane, the stereotypes that yankees have for southerners is amuzing indeed.. You are right. By the way, my dad was fourteen before he ever saw a colored man. Guess where he was from. West Virginia, another yankee state.

]

[edit on 22-8-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth
Yeah,yeah,yeah, we are all of the devil down here, and Yankees are saints...

All I'm saying is that some of the south is still in the 60's when it comes to their attitudes towards blacks, not that much, but definately more than in the north. The Civil Rights Movement ended 40 years ago....not that long ago.

Really, what's the furthest south that you've been?

I've lived in Maryland, currently reside in Virginia, but my home will always be where I was born and raised, Alabama.

AHHHH SportyMB is from Alabama. That explains it.

No wonder sporty, you are from the only state here that still actually believes the civil war is going on. I think they are still trying to get to Lincoln so they can keep their slaves like the north. HAHAHA

I hate northern opinion of the south. We are far more tolerant here that the states I have been to up north. (speaking from experience, not opinion) and I too have heard the word "'n-word'" FAR more from northerners than southerners. Here, you pretty much only hear it regularly from the black guys.

Anyhow, the point of this post is about Racial Acceptance so I'll leave the north alone now as they are still quite a few years away from Racial Acceptance, they'd rather send anyone that's not white to the south so they could criticize us and keep up their "white" ways hahahaha. Just kiddin northern fellow members.

I've lived and worked in Washington state and Alaska my whole life. I've worked, lived, and played with as diverse a grouping of people you could ever wish to see.

All of us have had, from time to time, a bigoted thought or two, so what? I think we can be forgiven that. I don't act on the thoughts, nor pass them on to others.

I can safely say, in answer to your question, no I am not a racist.

Some of you need to get out of the little box. The USA is not the world.

I live in Puerto Rico for my 26 years, we have blacks, white and natives a BIG melting pot and NO there is not a single bit of racism. So whoe ever says that we are program since birth to be racist, I dont buy it. Many countries in the Amercan continent have mix populations I been to many of them and racism is not a problem, there problems are more about poverty and corruption that plagues them, but is equal for all people of all races.

The enviroment that surrounds the person is the root of the problem. I been thinking ever since I move out to the US what can be the root of this huge divide between races and I have come to the conclusion that it was not slavery, all the colonies in this continent had practice slavery and you dont see the same problem, IMO opinion the problem was SEGREGATION, the US was the only country to apply segregation right after the abolishment of slavery making black people second class citizens. In PR we went from slavery to citizens, free man in all the sense of the word, and may be the Spaniards and Portuguese people did not saw black people as a pest, like the Anglos at that time did. Is not about race cause Spaniards and Portuguese are white too. See where Im going with these.

The Anglos have always seen themselves as a superior race, since way back then, and they came here with the same attitude and perpetuated the same for centuries, they kill the natives, they brought blacks later to make them 2nd class citizens I mean, thats what I can see.

Now going back to the enviroment thing, Im in the military, I see people from all places from the US, this kid got to my base like 1 month ago. White kid, from Texas we where taking a break from some combat skill training and he is talking about how excited he is because he is going to Jamaica and then he says this : " Yeah I heard there is only blacks in Jamaica that kind sucks, but I least they are good people from what I heard", now do I think this guys is racist, NO, for starts he is talking to me and I'm a black hispanic puerto rican, do I think that the enviroment that he grew up has affected him in the way he sees african american, absolutely no doubt.

Me personally, Im not a racist never have an ill thought to any person, only stupid people from any race drives me nuts. So no I dont think all people are racist, just get out from this little box a travel a little and you will see what I mean.

Peace!

[edit on 28-8-2007 by Bunch]

[edit on 28-8-2007 by Bunch]

I did not wanted it to edit my previous post this long so I'm going to add this.

There is many examples of how segregation is the root for racism, countries like Australia, South Africa have had the same problems in regards as racism and segregation as the US, and at the present many countries in the Middle East practice segregation as well and you can see how racist they are towards non citizens, I went to Kuwait and the UAE they practice segregation the same way it used to be practice here in the US, many of their workers come from other countries, they don't vote, they can not go to public places, they can not mingle with the locals not even for prayer! I mean some of this workers come from Muslim countries too, no relations, no marriage and they can not even apply for citizenship in this countries, kind of like the movie Syriana shows.

Now if you are a young Kuwaiti kid and your dad tells you, not to talk or mingle with the young pakistani or hindus what are you going to develop? Racism!, they not going to stereotype the non citizens, they are going to be racist simple as that, they are being thought that they are better since a young age.

[edit on 28-8-2007 by Bunch]