Why does racism persist?
I'm going to be completely honest, and pretty much unfiltered in this post. Nor am I going to be politically correct.
The way I see it, racism is stupid. Whether you're White, Black, Mexican, Asian, Arabian, Jewish, or even mixed race, we all bleed the same color blood. And we all have the same basic bodily equipment.
And regardless of what country we come from, we all have the same basic thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, concerns, and fears. And those things do not only transcend National barriers -but also time itself - which is why history so often repeats itself.
So quite honestly what does the color of our skin, or the country that we come from, why is race, or the country that you came from, why is it so important?
Now I do have a lot of conservative beliefs on a lot of different issues, but one thing I have never understood is National Pride.
Because quite frankly, whatever country you were born in, and the same thing goes for race and skin color, that is just an accident of birth. And with that said, what reason do you have to be proud?
You have no control over what country you were born into, what family you are born into, what race you were born into, nor the gender you were born as.
So why can't we just put aside racism, and just get along? Why are we constantly getting offended over things that are trivial, whether it be race, social background, or even words that we use.
And incidentally, when it comes to the words that we use, there is quite frankly no "bad" words in of themselves. It's the context that they are used in, is what either makes them "bad" or not.
Quite frankly, we are all brothers and sisters Under the Skin, and anyone who doesn't believe that, is living in a fantasy world.
And just help give a little more explanation when I mentioned the words we use, I'm gonna include to videos from the late comedian George Carlin, because he makes some very good points.
Comments
Racism is just something left over from older times, It'll probably never completely disappear but will definitely become progressively more rare as time goes.
Because some people just don't like (are even scared) differences. It also has to do a bit with in what environment they had been raised.
It persists because of The Young Turks.
Xenophobia is fairly natural.
Racism was manufactured and is perpetuated by the state.
AiU cultist detected...
In all fairness, I'm also sure there's a healthy dose of Sargon in there too.
Please continue, I'm interested. I know this is text, but I'm not being sarcastic, I actually want to know how you make the distinction and why you attribute that to the state?
Funny when people call his followers cultists. I used to watch Devon all the time (actually stumbled onto him because I was so repulsed by TYT), but not so much anymore. He's absolutely right on a lot of things, but the act he puts on can be tiring. Sargon not too much. Never really enjoyed his stuff, though from what I understand he has gotten better. Maybe I'll try watching him again.
Xenophobia is simply distrust and fear of those who are different. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with race. AFAIK, it's been around forever, though it ebbs and flows. Though, I value diversity and all that, I still get twinges of xenophobia sometimes, I think we all do.
The origins of racism as we know it, primarily lie in the justification of the slave trade. The slavers (and the state's that used their services) used the slaves' pigmentation as evidence of their "heathen ancestry" as justification for their status as second-class citizens. The state's effectively codified this idea, sometimes implicitly, by allowing the slave trade and sometimes explicitly, like in the early colonies. So, I suppose it might be reductive to say the state started racism, but they played a key role. This role continued later with imperialism.
In the past, states were pretty obvious about perpetuating racism. We had Jim Crow, Apartheid, patronage of racialist scientists by the state, anti-immigrant laws, etc. Hell, in America, police came into existence, partially as an instrument of racial oppression. In some ways, this was another manifestation of class antagonism, because it maintained and enhanced the economic and social privilege of one class at the expense of others.
Nowadays, the state perpetuates it in more subtle ways, such as the war on drugs and other policies that target minority neighborhoods (that's not to say it doesn't screw poor whites too). A lot of our political rhetoric is also grounded in racism, I'm sure you're aware of the southern strategy. That doesn't just end during election season, but deeply impacts policy in general. Nowadays, it's shrouded with a good bit of political correctness too. We know what Reagan meant when he railed against 'welfare queens', yet he never said anything explicitly distasteful. Unequal distribution of state resources has also perpetuated racial antagonism. Schools in poorer, minority areas are woefully under equipped to provide students with s quality education. The result is that kids in these schools often languish and come out undereducated.; leading to increased income inequality, crime and dependency on gov programs, which in turn perpetuates political racism. Then, there's also neoliberal "free-trade" and its negative side effects, which are too numerous and complex to dissect here.
tl;dr: the state isn't "trying" to perpetuate racism, but it's a natural byproduct of a lot of the things it does.
Well, it's passed down from generation to generation. People aren't born with racism, they are taught it. Just think about it: if everyone stop thinking that one race is higher than another, then it will probably end. Racists weren't racist before. Like my mom told me before: children do not see color. They only see it if someone old enough points out the difference between them and other children. It would be wonderful if racism ended, but it won't happen unless people stop teaching children racism.
Honestliy I've never watched much AiU (I only know the constant 'brown buffalo' references) because I'm heavily against doxing Even though he has some good points, I really don't think that type of behavior should be tolerated. On the contrary, I think Sargon has gone downhill. Where before I could disagree but listen, now I think he's been mostly focused on demeaning and dismissing any criticism as 'SJW fanaticism' rather than addressing it head-on.
I've never heard of either. Maybe I'll look into them. Ever watch Skagg3?
That's being a bit optimistic really. It's completely natural to be distrust worthy of people who look different than you, talk different than you and behave different than you. To be honest, people are as racist today as they've ever been, they're just more tolerant, and better educated on average than a century ago. Also I wouldn't even call it racism, as it's an obsolete term in most respects. It's a natural distrust of people who are different than you, have different values than you, different culture, language, etc. Doesn't help a lot of people intentionally fit into stereotypes to boot.
That being said though, just try to play a game over seas. A lot of countries region lock games because gamers in those parts of the world do not like foreigners on their games. I remember Brazilians were so bad for example on two different MMOs I played that they had to region lock all of Latin America to keep them out. It was their behavior toward anyone who wasn't Brazilian that caused problems. That being said I've played games based in Korea, Hong Kong, and Belarus, and it's darn noticeable at times, being a foreigner in another language game, often faced taunting and teasing.
I think the issue is, you don't see it too often only because say on an international game, or international webforum, there are rules/guidelines that prevent it, well, do not prevent, but discourage it. So it's there, bubbling under the surface, just not rearing it's head because of the fear of retribution. Take away those rules and I can promise every MMO would be like GTA Online which is racism, racism everywhere.... I even find myself joining new sessions when I end up in one flooded with Russians for example, they're insanely mean towards Americans... and I can promise Americans toward them as well.
Nuff said.
He's really good. I've been hard pressed to find anything I disagree with him on. He is also extremely well spoken and it doesn't seem like he regurgitates onto the screen.
I watch Sargon's videos regularly, and I wouldn't call him dismissive of criticism. He does have a very sarcastic attitude, but I wouldn't call him dismissive. What videos of his do you find dismissive?
We are all racists, even if we deny it.
I mean, it's hard to be 100% non-racist.
We're all racist, all sexist, and all sexualist. For shame.
Perspective, surroundings, influences etc. there are several variables that could determine why racism still persists and it will likely continue to persist but become a rarer thing, similarly to sexism - although it is still present in modern day, it has significantly decreased since the medieval ages.
You closet fash, fam?
Racism has and sadly will always be a thing but honestly I can live with that, there will always be people who ridicule you for your differences. I know the media likes to exaggerate these subject like it's an epidemic but in reality racism has become so taboo in modern society that it became so suppressed because of the fear of the scrutiny that would come from it.
I faced racism before but it happens so rarely I'm hardly ever ticked off when it occurs. Relatively recently I learned the term "Spic" was offensive and tbh I wasn't even mad. I don't get offended easily. (Of course I can't speak for everybody, that's just me.)
It's weakness, we should pity racism.
It's something based in cruelty and indifference. But, at it's core, is harbored by brittle viewpoints.
I've had friends that had racist tendencies, none of which where any more intelligent than a basket of fruit. Can't fault them, they're just people who can't think any higher.
Well said
Hajd
Like how I play games with people from around the world, and we often spit jokes at each other that are very racist. Toward each other. Actually, reminds me of that scene off of Grand Torino.
EXCELLENT movie.
Racism, as much as it sucks, is always going to be here. As long as people look different from each other, there will always be people that use it as a way to belittle others. The only way to truly stop it is if everyone actually just stops talking about race. People getting upset when a white man does something is just as much a problem leading toward racism as when they get upset about a black man. People need to just stop using colors to label people. There is not black actors recieving this role, there is a man recieving this role. There is not Mexicans being hired for jobs. There are people being hired for jobs. Unfortunately that's never going to happen.
Racism will always happen. Unfortunately.
But I Don't see how people can value someone differently because of a pigment in thier skin. Because that's the only difference.
There's only one race. Humans.
^
Which is kind of what racists tend to think. As "better than."
For some people implying that you're smarter than them is racistic. Which is kind of silly when you think about it.
As much as we usually disagree with stuff I agree with you here. It's a byproduct of state or rather the ,,order" it brings. There will be always the ruling class and the one that follows. While in threory that isn't thatbad, the human need to dominate create such ridiculous notions that people are born ,,better" because of some features, like skin ect.
While I don't believe that people are equal I believe that discriminating them because of something they are born with is ridiculous.
Technically you're very wrong. Ethnicity varies considerably more than we are often told. For example, they can tell if someone is African, European, or Asian just by a person's bones, in the same way they can guess your age and gender. There are also differences in muscle structure, some people in some parts of the world evolved and are actually missing body parts internally when compared to people in other parts of the world. Our pre-programmed instincts are also different. Heck the reason people are lactose-intolerant is because their body can not process dairy, something that all mammals evolve away from consuming but cultures/ethnicities who consumed dairy for centuries evolved to process it again. Some Ethnicities make better athletes, some on average have higher IQs, which is a neurological difference. Etc etc etc.
In short, no ethnicity is identical, not just externally but internally as well. You don't call all DOGs exactly the same breed? Some Dogs are naturally better runners, some are naturally smarter, some have better senses of smell, some hearing, they can almost all mate with each other, all are from the same family, but they're all different. Humans are like Dogs, we are similar, close enough we can breed with each other but we definitely are not the same. It's well beyond just skin color. Is it enough to be picky about though? Honestly I don't think it is. We are close enough to being the same that some intellectuals and scientist just sweep the differences aside and say "We are the same." Because they're not that far from the truth when they say that. But you can promise if some higher power enslaved humanity and turned us into pets they'd definitely split us up into breeds when writing books about us, the differences do exist.
Being ethnocentric is being egocentric
not only that , but the love of your kin , does not mean the hate of the others .
South Koreans are a good example. They have something giving them edge more than just playing a lot.
Or that South Koreans are what like 2-3 inches on average taller than North Koreans because they have a superior diet. The half century following the division in Korea, and later isolation of North Korea from South has had that huge of an impact physically on both countries given populations. Imagine the difference a century or two if the division remains.
Good example as well are the Native Japanese. The Ainu, which actually look more like Europeans than their fellow Asians. This ancestry also leads to some Japanese even today to look very European and not so much Asian, as the genes still exist among Japanese citizens despite most Japanese look more Asian than Ainu today. When I mean European, I not talking about skin/eye/hair, but bone structure, tissue and muscle. Those genes combined with more common east Asians which on average have very pale skin if not slightly tanned often causes random Japanese to actually look very European.
There is a miniseries being broadcasted called 'Roots' (pretty sure it's on the History channel, or SBS for fellow Aussies).
I highly recommend watching it, it's a remake of a series in the same name and it's absolutely excellent, all about slavery in America and the racism that occurred. Not a doco btw.
Incredible acting and just damn good, very gruesome though so if you don't like a bit of blood it may not interest you, it was the times though.