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Racism is a political problem. It doesn't arise out of some universal flawed human psyche, it arises because certain political structures exist that stratify an
by door5 8y ago
Racism is a political problem. It doesn't arise out of some universal flawed human psyche, it arises because certain political structures exist that stratify and marginalize groups of people. In the United States, for example, "whiteness" was an invention that changed over time to include different groups depending on political circumstances. Calling it merely a "human" problem ignores the strong relationship between racism and the legacy of European and American colonialism.
- malvosenior 8y agoIncorrect. Racism is an innate human problem. Every group will have a self preference without massive work to train themselves otherwise. There are a lot of minority groups that look down on other minority groups. It's part of human nature.
- door5 8y agoYou're completely ignoring the power relationships involved here. Racism isn't just being selfish or rude towards people of another race, it's an entire political system that props up a certain group of people over another, and it pervades every aspect of our lives. Very very few white people believe, for example, "white people should have more wealth than other groups and that is good", yet they implicitly support a political and economic system that creates that outcome. They deny that whiteness is even a factor in their success or their politics, or they even incorrectly believe that white people are the ones that are worse off.
- marcus_holmes 8y agoAbsolute bullshit. Kids play with other kids whatever their skin colour. Then they get taught to treat people differently. Racism is not nearly the problem in the UK (or Europe) that it is in the US.
- 50656E6973 8y agoRacism is indeed stoked and used for political ends, but it is still rooted in the natural human fear of tribal out-groups (people who speak, look, act, and believe differently) >Calling it merely a "human" problem ignores the strong relationship between racism and the legacy of European and American colonialism. Framing racism solely in terms of American and European history is woefully ignorant of the extensive world/human history of ethnic discrimination/slavery/murder/genocide. Have you only ever studied American/European history?? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_slave_trade https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_slave_trade