by MrMoe 100 Replies latest jw friends
Why are people racist?
The same reasons some American religions cherish their groups perception of 'Unity'.
Anyone who does not appear to conform in look, spoken word and act, is a threat to the groups efficiency management and ultimately the contamination of the groups perceived stability.
Why do you think the religious organizations centered in Brooklyn, New York put so much emphesis on conformity; so management can quickly identify the unacceptable.
But i still don't get it, because perhaps i do not feel this way. Cannot process these feelings.
WHY?
I work on computers for a living here in the U.S. We are required to collect certain data for the Federal and State governments regarding ethnic background. We are told that this is so that the government can calculate their statistics to make sure certain racial groups don't get left out. Unfortunately, the reality I see is that many groups do get left out. This kind of data is dangerous because it is so easy to misuse it.
We also see that the government is way behind the times in tracking this information. You can be Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, Alaskan Native/Pacific Islander, etc. Choose one. Well, what if your father is black and your mother is half Chinese/half Pacific Islander? What if your mother is White and your father is Hispanic? (Yes, here in America, people are no longer white if their roots are from some Latin countries. Believe it or not, immigrants from Spain and Portugal are considered Hispanic here.)
For school children it gets to be a really emotionally charged issue. They don't know what to choose for fear of betraying the other parent. Also, children of mixed heritage self identify differently. Each individual situation is unique. So how does our government handle that? They don't. The Federal government has ignored the problem. Now some states are inventing complicated rules, because the federal government has waited so long to resolve these issues. It's a vicious cycle.
America is a melting pot just as the world is becoming a melting pot. We need to start doing away with all labels, including the ones perpetuated by our governments in tracking this information. We are humans. Period.
JMHO
Tammy
some because of ignorance....some because of what they have been through and experienced personally
Duck, I think the whole problem there is the govt's focus on "affirmative action" as defined by race. I agree with MrMoe's observations when it comes to this issue: Skin color, country of origin, etc, should have absolutely no impact on whether you're considered for governmental assistance (financial, college, etc). This has become a really stupid issue in this country; the obvious conclusion is to disregard "race" altogether and provide assistance for those who need it. IE if you can't afford to get into a certain school and yet can pass the tests, you should damn well get into that school. The end result would be that most of those getting assistance would be those in "minority" groups that have historically been held back, but at the same time our "beloved" right-wing fringe wouldn't be able to complain, because any poor whites that passed the tests would also qualify.
Sometimes I think the solution is just beyond us for the time being... I forget the name of the movie, the one where the Congressman suffers a breakdown and can't help but be real, and tell the truth about anything & everything... (I am a total culture dweeb; the actor is super-famous, but I can't even remember his name)... Anyway, at one point he basically says that the solution to the race issue is for everyone to interbreed until we can't tell the difference between one "race" and another... Well, dammit, it's funny because it's true. If there ever was such a thing in the first place, how many "pure white" folks will there be in 100 years? Racism is doomed, because the world is becoming ever more interconnected. The "races" as we know them today will be a thing of the past before long, and good riddance.
If there ever was such a thing in the first place, how many "pure white" folks will there be in 100 years? Racism is doomed, because the world is becoming ever more interconnected. The "races" as we know them today will be a thing of the past before long, and good riddance.
I beleive you are correct in this assumption. I can't wait, but it is a damn shame racisim will have to end in this fashion. Isn't there such beauty in the different cultures? The dark ebony skin and curly hair of one woman and the pale ruddy complexion of a child with red hair or the tanned skin of a little boy with sleek black hair? Damn shame.
Amanda
Perhaps my biggest pet peave. Reverse discrimination. There is no such thing. This term presumes that racism and prejudice are a white problem. As it is often applied to whites who hate white people and blacks who hate black people. The difference being it is inferred that the black person is acting white. Until various leaders (white and black and whatever) accept that racism is a state of mind and not a color many problems will be overlooked. I've met hardcore racist white guys and I've met hardcore racist black guys. They are the same thing. Both have their reasons for hating and both believe that they are justified in how they feel. The one step forward two steps back thing isn't going to get us very far.
I see that the generation of those in my age group have different viewpoints. We are different. We see things in a different light, we sense things on a different level.Amanda don't be so sure about that. My generation saw the start of civil rights, we were sure racism would be wiped out in our time. It's as bad as ever, just not legal any longer.
Here where I live there are plenty of "good old boys" and they are raising their children the same way. In an area with 150,000 people in two counties there are less than 100 blacks, and for a good reason. They don't feel welcome here. You can imagine the names a black referee was called at a basketball game last year, by fans of both teams. Many of the name callers were younger than you.
My daddy can beat up your daddy. My school is better than your school. My city is way better than yours. The Niners kick butt. Rams suck. America, love it or leave it. Fords rule. Jap cars suck. I buy american only.
I think all those things contribute to racism in a way. We put ourselves, people we love, things we love above others and put down anything different.
Well, this is just a subjective, aesthetic opinion, but I've always thought that children of "mixed" marriages were the most beautiful I've ever seen... Nothing to back this up with, just that I've always thought humans w/ mixed characteristics of 2 or more "races" end up being the most strikingly beautiful... The "usual" black, white, asian, etc features by themselves don't have quite the same effect... Not that anyone's features should have a certain effect... Just saying, that's all
MrMoe-
I am curious, what song by Tupac Shakur made you begin to think about racism?
