Racism

It's an explosive subject:

Let's start with a basic fact, the entire subject of racism in any form is inflammatory. There is no easier way to make someone angry, simply by bringing up the issue, much less having an opinion on it. 

Everyone has an opinion, and they are usually substantial. However, human beings are known for their stubbornness and ability to dig in their heels when pressured. This is where 'Human Nature' comes in. It has been disputed for centuries on its nuances. Everyone from Socrates to Mencius had their arguments. 

Human nature, broken down to its simplest form is, mind, body and soul. The mind is the rational part of a human being. Followed by the body being the physical animalist side of things. It finishes with the soul, which is the creative, emotional part of human nature. 

Altogether, this creates a whole of what it means to be human. However, an important part to remember is these three parts only create a template. Like any template, the material needs to be filled in. So, the argument would be, we are all human beings, but what moulds us into individuals are the things that fill our templates. 

It's tough to be objective.

When you were reading the above, did you have a particular race in mind?

Here is where I want you to look at yourself. As you were reading the bullet points, did your inner mind bring up a particular race when reading about fear?

It's natural to do that. It is an ingrained flight or fight response. However, we are more than our primal instincts, and we should be able to overcome the need to see differences based on physical or cultural characteristics. 

The funny thing is, racism is a relatively new concept. In ancient societies, they couldn't care less about your skin colour or where you were born. Slavery was an everyday aspect of life and the only circumstance that kept the master from becoming the slave. 

We can't even blame colonisation because the Romans were kings when it came to conquering. 'Veni Vidi Vici' The famous words by Caesar after his rapid victory at Pontus. ' I came, I saw, I conquered.' It was just another day for Caesar and another feather in his cap for the glory of Rome. 

The closest the Romans came to racism was against the Senones, a Galic group of people that sacked Rome. The memory was so deep in their cultural memories; there was deep distrust of the Galic people for centuries. 

What is Racism?

Above is a definition of racism from the Oxford Dictionary. (Soanes, 2010)The first entry is the main one everyone tends to view. However, I want to focus on the second. 

Discrimination against or hostility towards other races. 

Those seven words say a lot. While the first entry can lend towards subjectivism, the second one is more objective. It's a given that anyone looking at the first entry will argue that people of colour are seen as unequal. It has been this argument that people have used for generations. Sadly, it's true. People of colour have been seen as lesser over recent centuries. Mainly due to European colonisation. I am in no way arguing that fact, but I want to clarify a few murky areas. 

• Racism is not insular to people of colour. 
• Anyone can be racist, no matter their background or ethnicity. 
• All people have elements of racism in their culture.
• Not all people are racist. 

The newest buzzword over the past decade or so is reverse racism. It's basically where people of colour are racist against caucasian people. If you think about it, reverse racism is an oxymoron. It means anti-racism. If that's the case, can we all be reverse racists?

Overall, the meat of this article is that racism isn't about colour. Don't get me wrong; it has been made about colour. But the definition of the word is not. It's about discrimination and hostility against other races of people, which is honestly stupid. What makes a race? It cant be the colour of your skin because my mom, even though she was caucasian, was several shades darker than me. ( I inherited my dad's European complexion.) 

So if racism is not about skin tones, then it has to be about culture and background. That would mean a group of people who are different from the individuals who are 'hating' against them. Well, that would open another can of worms, wouldn't it? 

If you take anything away from this article, I hope it's the following sentence. 

Racism is wrong. 

That is the most crucial fact in this whole article. There are good and bad people in every culture, race and religion. As human beings, we are built on a single template, and it's what goes into that template that makes us who we are. My advice is to remove racism from the template and not to instil it into the next generation.