Are we all inherently racist by nature?

[MenInG]

This statement has been made in our discussions on the Azeem Rafiq issue but lets put that test with a poll.

 

[LaLoco]

Inherently are curious to experienced something first time, after seeing it first time, and any attribute that is different than one possess.

Racism is taught and shaped by environment.

 

[sweep_shot]

I believe every country has racists. No ethnic group is free from it.

I know many Bangladeshis who don't like dark skin, for example. They are even racists with fellow Bangladeshis who are darker. Many Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese etc. are racists too.

Blacks can be racists as well. So are whites. So are Hispanics.

Racism is a global problem.

 

[JaDed]

I believe every country has racists. No ethnic group is free from it.

I know many Bangladeshis who don't like dark skin, for example. They are even racists with fellow Bangladeshis who are darker. Many Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese etc. are racists too.

Blacks can be racists as well. So are whites. So are Hispanics.

Racism is a global problem.

You might need to check the definition of a racist.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Yes, prejudiced might be better word.

 

[JaDed]

I think humans are biased for sure we all have our biases but all of us being racists I don’t think so.

 

[sweep_shot]

You might need to check the definition of a racist.

I know the definition of racist.

However, the word racist now has a broader meaning. It also includes things that are not related to race.

For example, a lighter-skinned desi man may make fun of a darker-skinned desi man. It is technically colorism and not racism. But, it is considered as racism.

 

[ElRaja]

no, xenophobic maybe, not racist.

 

[JaDed]

I know the definition of racist.

However, the word racist now has a broader meaning. It also includes things that are not related to race.

For example, a lighter-skinned desi man may make fun of a darker-skinned desi man. It is technically colorism and not racism. But, it is considered as racism.

And you made this new definition?

 

[sweep_shot]

And you made this new definition?

No. That's how people use the word "racist". I am just being practical.

Do you hear the words colorism or colorist in real life? Nobody really uses those words.

I would love to use the technically correct words though.

 

[JaDed]

No. That's how people use the word "racist". I am just being practical.

Do you hear the words colorism or colorist in real life? Nobody really uses those words.

No one uses racism in that context of making a joke.
There is a difference between making a joke and discrimination against a certain section of people.

Including all in one group is a disservice to people experiencing actual racism.

 

[nextover666666]

I believe every country has racists. No ethnic group is free from it.

I know many Bangladeshis who don't like dark skin, for example. They are even racists with fellow Bangladeshis who are darker. Many Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese etc. are racists too.

Blacks can be racists as well. So are whites. So are Hispanics.

Racism is a global problem.

Spot on Brother, racism, discrimination, is a global problem indeed.

 

[sweep_shot]

No one uses racism in that context of making a joke.
There is a difference between making a joke and discrimination against a certain section of people.

Including all in one group is a disservice to people experiencing actual racism.

Okay. You want to use other words, that's fine.

I think correct word would be xenophobia or discrimination (if you really want to be technically correct).

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

No. We are conditioned by prevailing opinions of the times, and media reinforces that. There might be good reason for those opinions, but it is still subject to manipulation. Western ideas and culture are in ascendancy thus we are fed success stories of light skinned people and those impact everyone. In the past when the east was in the ascendancy, it would have been the other way round.

Yes you can make generalisations about races, but not sure they would stand up to much scrutiny.

 

[Mamoon]

Yes. Every single individual in the world is racist. This is why all these anti-racism movements are a load of nonsense and they don’t succeed.

 

[Sirris]

Children for me are a great teacher on human nature.

Children when on the playground just play and do not care about each other’s skin color. They are mostly focused on having as much fun as possible.

Therefore, racism must be a social conditioning or generalisation of few bad experiences onto a whole group of population

 

[KingKhanWC]

Children for me are a great teacher on human nature.

Children when on the playground just play and do not care about each other’s skin color. They are mostly focused on having as much fun as possible.

Therefore, racism must be a social conditioning or generalisation of few bad experiences onto a whole group of population

Racism is tribalism. Those who are different to you are often seen as threats, not as civilised, wrong approach to life or other negative views.

I know people who are best friends with some Asians because they grew up in the west, behave just like them, no religion, no other language etc. The whites forget their colour. Yet the same are against Polish or Eastern Europeans who are the same colour but because they cant speak the same language.

Other races is a great opportunity to get to know others.

Quran says

"O you mankind, surely We created you of a male and a female, and We have made you races and tribes that you may get mutually acquainted. Surely the most honorable among you in the Providence of Allah are the most pious; surely Allah is Ever-Knowing, Ever-Cognizant. "

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

I know the definition of racist.

However, the word racist now has a broader meaning. It also includes things that are not related to race.

For example, a lighter-skinned desi man may make fun of a darker-skinned desi man. It is technically colorism and not racism. But, it is considered as racism.

A light skin desi man wont be scared of a dark skin desi man. He wont think he is dumb because of his skin color. He wont think he is more likely to be a criminal. He wont mind having him as a neighbor.

Desi men do discriminate on skin color when it comes to their preference in women. Its wrong but its not racist.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Yes. Every single individual in the world is racist. This is why all these anti-racism movements are a load of nonsense and they don’t succeed.

Nope. However people do think others are like them.

A thief would think everyone is a thief.
A tharki would think everyone is a tharki.
A racist would think everyone is a racist.

Since you have racist thoughts I would urge you to remember this saying

“There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, or of a non-Arab over an Arab, and no superiority of a white person over a black person or of a black person over a white person, except on the basis of personal piety and righteousness.”

 

[Tera Gawaandi]

Yes, don't know 'inherently' part though.

Recently there was a wave of anti-Asian hate in North America due to Covid and Trump. Then you see black people mistreated in China and called carriers of virus. I won't call Asians discriminating Blacks, it's Chinese in particular who see Blacks as inferior. So during BLM protests, there was a sense that there is an ongoing competition among Asians and Blacks to highlight victimhood.

In subcontinent, Desi people are shamelessly racist.

 

[street cricketer]

Yes we are, we wouldn't like to admit it, but we are.

If you create a hypothetical experimental society in some untouched corner of the earth and allow the humans who are a part of it to evolve independently over time, you will find that the humans of that hypothetical society will divide into different tribes and eventually one will dominate the others through whatever means. And you'll also find that the traits of that dominant tribe would be adopted as the "superior trait" as having that specific traits would be associated with power. Consequently, the trait that's contrasting to that specific dominant trait would be considered as "undesirable trait" over time and these ideas will be drilled into the deeper psyche of people over time as the society evolves.

For example, if taller humans became the dominant tribe, tall height would be considered a superior trait and short height would become an undesirable trait and be considered a weak trait. And that is how racism evolved in human race because for whatever reasons, white people became the dominant race and exerted control over the other races who were coloured during colonial era. And so, white skin complexion denoted a superior trait and the exact opposite, black complexion became to associated with "inferior" and "weak" traits. This idea became embedded deep into the psyche of human beings because we evolved in a society where white people were the dominant race. If hypothetically black people had evolved to become the dominant race like in the famous movie Black Panther, although it would be hard to imagine, you could well have had a scenario where dark complexion would have been considered as a desirable trait, instead of the undesirable trait that it's seen as now.

And humans are still yet to remove this conditioned thinking where you associate anything fair with a noble trait and the word "dark" as having tragic or criminal past. When you say someone's well intentioned, you say he is fair to everyone. You don't say he's a dark personality and there's a reason for it because even our linguistics evolved in the same strain of thought. And funnily enough, white people are the ones who have made an attempt to remove this conditioned thinking the most and brown people have massively racist attitudes towards not just black people, but people of their own race who are of a darker shade. You can quote 'n' number for religious verses to prove that you're not, but deep down, everyone knows there's a massive prejudice against dark coloured people throughout asia, and nowhere is it more stark than the subcontinent. There's a great prejudice against dark skin in India and as for Pakistan, one of the many reasons why East Pakistan seceded was because Bengali muslims were looked down by the west Pakistanis because of their darker complexion.

So yes, humans are indeed inherently racist by nature. But we can definitely attempt to create a society devoid of conditioned thinking that's racist in nature and form a more egalitarian society.

 

[Robert]

I think most people are scared of difference.

It becomes racist when that fear turns into Othering and that Othering becomes supported by a power structure / culture.

 

[Mamoon]

Nope. However people do think others are like them.

A thief would think everyone is a thief.
A tharki would think everyone is a tharki.
A racist would think everyone is a racist.

Since you have racist thoughts I would urge you to remember this saying

“There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, or of a non-Arab over an Arab, and no superiority of a white person over a black person or of a black person over a white person, except on the basis of personal piety and righteousness.”

If your son or daughter falls in love with a Nigerian or Somalian or some proper black person from another African country and wants to marry him or her, you will not be happy or comfortable with it, and that makes you racist.

If you deny it and claim otherwise, you will be clearly lying. Same goes for every single Pakistan individual on this forum who is harping against racism.

Sure you can go ahead and claim that it will not make the slightest of difference to you because acting moral on the Internet is the easiest thing to do. Why? Because you do not have to prove anything.

 

[James]

Not racist, but inherently biased towards one’s own taught and/or learned system of values.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

If your son or daughter falls in love with a Nigerian or Somalian or some proper black person from another African country and wants to marry him or her, you will not be happy or comfortable with it, and that makes you racist.

If you deny it and claim otherwise, you will be clearly lying. Same goes for every single Pakistan individual on this forum who is harping against racism.

Sure you can go ahead and claim that it will not make the slightest of difference to you because acting moral on the Internet is the easiest thing to do. Why? Because you do not have to prove anything.

Your post as usual is only aimed at discrediting Pakistanis, but it is useless as we are not talking about just Pakistanis. Either try looking beyond your usual Pakistan hatred otherwise please stay out of this debate. Thank you.

For all wishing to discuss seriously please use universal examples to prove/disprove whether racism is inherent in us all.

P.S. [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION],

if you believe only Pakistanis are racist, then you can advance that proposition by all means.

 

[Mamoon]

Your post as usual is only aimed at discrediting Pakistanis, but it is useless as we are not talking about just Pakistanis. Either try looking beyond your usual Pakistan hatred otherwise please stay out of this debate. Thank you.

For all wishing to discuss seriously please use universal examples to prove/disprove whether racism is inherent in us all.

P.S. [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION],

if you believe only Pakistanis are racist, then you can advance that proposition by all means.

As I said above, every individual in the world is racist. The only difference is that different individuals are racist towards different people based on religion/culture/ethnicity etc.

For example, most people who support a politically motivated propaganda like BLM are racists in their personal lives.

My special focus is Pakistan because I’m a Pakistani (unfortunately) and this is a Pakistani forum.

 

[PakLFC]

We like some races and dislike some too. Most Pakistanis would be fine if their kids married in certain cultures but would rarely allow us marrying an African Muslim or even an Indian. Turks, Afghan and even some Arab's would be fine. We are all partly racist, the marriage test always racism.

 

[NishanKonar]

Pakistanis and North Indians in general have a huge fetish for light skin color. So often you see Pakistanis mocking Indians ( mostly South Indians or Bengalis ) as dark skinned. even worse most people seem cool with it

Even North Indians do the same as well with their south Indian brethren. But at least in India its frowned upon. In recent years there has been a backlash against fairness creams in India

 

[PakLFC]

As I say the marriage test exposes racism. I find dark skinned Indian women very beautiful to be honest. Equally so many white skinned or white ladies in general are average looking at best. The after effects of imperialism are still alive and kicking in the subcontinent. Whitening products being advertised as being "khubsoorat" tells us everything.

 

[Robert]

Racism is tribalism. Those who are different to you are often seen as threats, not as civilised, wrong approach to life or other negative views.

I know people who are best friends with some Asians because they grew up in the west, behave just like them, no religion, no other language etc. The whites forget their colour. Yet the same are against Polish or Eastern Europeans who are the same colour but because they cant speak the same language.

Other races is a great opportunity to get to know others.

Quran says

"O you mankind, surely We created you of a male and a female, and We have made you races and tribes that you may get mutually acquainted. Surely the most honorable among you in the Providence of Allah are the most pious; surely Allah is Ever-Knowing, Ever-Cognizant. "

No, it's more than that. Scots, Welsh, Irish and Cornish dislike the English, who are a different tribe but the same race.

Racism is the systemic elevation of a set of values over another based on race or ethnicity.

 

[NishanKonar]

As I say the marriage test exposes racism. I find dark skinned Indian women very beautiful to be honest. Equally so many white skinned or white ladies in general are average looking at best. The after effects of imperialism are still alive and kicking in the subcontinent. Whitening products being advertised as being "khubsoorat" tells us everything.

In India things have improved in the last 10 years - especially with the emergence of Deepika Padukone. Even whitening creams are now under immense pressure

 

[PakLFC]

In India things have improved in the last 10 years - especially with the emergence of Deepika Padukone. Even whitening creams are now under immense pressure

How many dark skinned actresses and models do you have? Deepika isn't exactly dark skinned like a Smita Patil was.

 

[NishanKonar]

How many dark skinned actresses and models do you have? Deepika isn't exactly dark skinned like a Smita Patil was.

20 years back all Bollywood actresses where fair skinned like Kareena, Raveena, Karishma, Sridevi, Juhi Chawla

Now we are seeing some dusky beauties like Deepika or Taapsee Pannu or Bhumi Pedenkar. Baby steps but some improvement. Anyways long way to go

At a society level there is still lot of fetish for fair skin in India

 

[PakLFC]

20 years back all Bollywood actresses where fair skinned like Kareena, Raveena, Karishma, Sridevi, Juhi Chawla

Now we are seeing some dusky beauties like Deepika or Taapsee Pannu or Bhumi Pedenkar. Baby steps but some improvement. Anyways long way to go

At a society level there is still lot of fetish for fair skin in India

I don't look upon the ones you mentioned as being dark. That is the thing here.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

As I said above, every individual in the world is racist. The only difference is that different individuals are racist towards different people based on religion/culture/ethnicity etc.

For example, most people who support a politically motivated propaganda like BLM are racists in their personal lives.

My special focus is Pakistan because I’m a Pakistani (unfortunately) and this is a Pakistani forum.

So far the two peoples you have mentioned so far as examples of racists are Pakistanis and now BLM supporters. Very valuable and not at all politically motivated contribution.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Children for me are a great teacher on human nature.

Children when on the playground just play and do not care about each other’s skin color. They are mostly focused on having as much fun as possible.

Therefore, racism must be a social conditioning or generalisation of few bad experiences onto a whole group of population

I would agree with that. Also applies to animals. Can you imagine if a black cat refused to mingle with a tabby? So racism is definitely learned and social conditioning, and it might have been developed over centuries. But it's not inherent, it's passed down.

 

[Gayle_Force]

I don't think humans are inherently racist, however, for hundreds of years the power dynamics of human beings have been split based race and religion. Tragic historical events have created divisions and mistrust that are now ingrained in every society and unfortunately I don't think these issues will be solved anytime soon.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

If your son or daughter falls in love with a Nigerian or Somalian or some proper black person from another African country and wants to marry him or her, you will not be happy or comfortable with it, and that makes you racist.

Growing up my mother told my siblings and I that while she would prefer someone who is Pakistani, we can marry anyone we want as long as they are Muslim. Most Pakistanis i know feel the same way they have a preference for another Pakistani, but they at minimum they must be Muslim.

And i would say the overwhelming Pakistanis would rather their sister or daughter marry an African Muslim than a non Muslim of any ethnicity.

And if i ever have a daughter I would have zero problems with an African Muslim. And while I would prefer my daughter to marry a Muslim, if she wanted to marry a non Muslim I would be ok with that as well and respect her choice.

If you deny it and claim otherwise, you will be clearly lying. Same goes for every single Pakistan individual on this forum who is harping against racism.

Sure you can go ahead and claim that it will not make the slightest of difference to you because acting moral on the Internet is the easiest thing to do. Why? Because you do not have to prove anything.

Another thing about the internet is that the anonymity it provides let people say things they never would say in polite society. So in your case you can express your prejudice against Africans, and to make yourself feel better you assume that I and every other Pakistani is just like you.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Pakistanis and North Indians in general have a huge fetish for light skin color. So often you see Pakistanis mocking Indians ( mostly South Indians or Bengalis ) as dark skinned. even worse most people seem cool with it

Even North Indians do the same as well with their south Indian brethren. But at least in India its frowned upon. In recent years there has been a backlash against fairness creams in India

Its also frowned upon in Pakistan. Their is also a backlash against fairness cream in Pakistan.

And India imports light skin models/actresses. At least Pakistan has not sunk that low as yet.

Pakistanis and North Indians in general have a huge fetish for light skin color. So often you see Pakistanis mocking Indians ( mostly South Indians or Bengalis ) as dark skinned. even worse most people seem cool with it

South Indians dont have a fetish for light skin? Why do you think Amy Jackson who had no acting experience and who couldn't speak a word of Tamil was given a role as an actress?

 

[Kroll]

I don't think racist as that's a very sinister and evil characteristic, prejudiced might be a more apt definition here.

 

[street cricketer]

Its also frowned upon in Pakistan. Their is also a backlash against fairness cream in Pakistan.

And India imports light skin models/actresses. At least Pakistan has not sunk that low as yet.

Well there is barely a film industry in Pakistan and it's of several times lesser in magnitude than even the regional film industries in India, so your point is moot really. It's like Sri Lankans saying we don't import light skin model and actresses, well because they don't have any real film industry to begin with.

South Indians dont have a fetish for light skin? Why do you think Amy Jackson who had no acting experience and who couldn't speak a word of Tamil was given a role as an actress?

Everyone in the subcontinent has prejudice against dark skin, and south indians are no exception either. But the prejudice is lesser in south, well because a lot of them are darker in complexion themselves. I've seen Afghans calling Pakistanis "kaliya" on social media, Pakistanis looking down on Bengalis was of course a huge factor in the '71 war, North Indians mocking south indians (and north east indians tbf), and even amongst south indians, you have casual jokes being made on those with a darker shade of skin by those with fair skin or lighter brown shade. I'm sure even in Sri Lanka, this might exist. The prejudice is just ubiquitous in south asia.

As for Amy Jackson, not sure why you keep repeating this silly point because I'm guessing it would have been hard to sell Deepika Padukone as a white British lady during colonial era because the script of her debut film demanded so. You can't cast a brown lady playing the character of a white British lady in a movie that happens in colonial era. This is of course not to say there is no prejudice towards fair skin exists in the south, you can find quite a few actresses who are fair skinned. But at the same time, you'd also find plenty of dusky and actresses of a darker shade in comparison too. If anything, the most popular ones are actually the dusky ones and they're the ones who have the bigger markets as actresses.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Everyone in the subcontinent has prejudice against dark skin, and south indians are no exception either. But the prejudice is lesser in south, well because a lot of them are darker in complexion themselves. I've seen Afghans calling Pakistanis "kaliya" on social media, Pakistanis looking down on Bengalis was of course a huge factor in the '71 war, North Indians mocking south indians (and north east indians tbf), and even amongst south indians, you have casual jokes being made on those with a darker shade of skin by those with fair skin or lighter brown shade. I'm sure even in Sri Lanka, this might exist. The prejudice is just ubiquitous in south asia.

I agree the prejudice is all over South Asia, however I dont think its more in Pakistan then in India. My original comment was in response to this.

But at least in India its frowned upon.

Its also frowned upon in Pakistan.

Well there is barely a film industry in Pakistan and it's of several times lesser in magnitude than even the regional film industries in India, so your point is moot really. It's like Sri Lankans saying we don't import light skin model and actresses, well because they don't have any real film industry to begin with.

I agree their is no big film industry in Pakistan, however their is a decent size tv industry. And as far as models go they dont necessarily have to be an actress at all. They can appear in advertisements, fashion shoots, etc. Its bad optics if the only foreigners used are white women.

And sure a foreigner would get a much better financial offer in India then in Pakistan, however their is still money to be made in Pakistan.

As for Amy Jackson, not sure why you keep repeating this silly point because I'm guessing it would have been hard to sell Deepika Padukone as a white British lady during colonial era because the script of her debut film demanded so. You can't cast a brown lady playing the character of a white British lady in a movie that happens in colonial era. This is of course not to say there is no prejudice towards fair skin exists in the south, you can find quite a few actresses who are fair skinned. But at the same time, you'd also find plenty of dusky and actresses of a darker shade in comparison too. If anything, the most popular ones are actually the dusky ones and they're the ones who have the bigger markets as actresses.

You got me on that one, I did not know Amy Jackson was playing a white women in her first film. With the exception of Baahubali i have never watched a South Indian film. However I am assuming in subsequent films she played an Indian women, so the point still stands if this is true. You have a foreign actress who got multiple films because of her skin color. I think this is much worse than using a light skin Indian actress.

 

[street cricketer]

I agree the prejudice is all over South Asia, however I dont think its more in Pakistan then in India. My original comment was in response to this. Its also frowned upon in Pakistan.

I agree their is no big film industry in Pakistan, however their is a decent size tv industry. And as far as models go they dont necessarily have to be an actress at all. They can appear in advertisements, fashion shoots, etc. Its bad optics if the only foreigners used are white women.

And sure a foreigner would get a much better financial offer in India then in Pakistan, however their is still money to be made in Pakistan.

To be honest, Pakistan is not a lucrative place for international modelling because females acting in movies itself is pretty frowned upon by the society, never mind about modelling. Not sure if fashion shows and the modelling scene is even big in Pakistan given the largely conservative society. You would move to a new country only if there's a big market there and you'd get a better pay than what you'd get in your own country.

Also every country would have foreign models (I'm sure even Pakistan would have a few, but only very small in number) and there are a large number of white models in China, as just like India, China is a huge market, and given the Chinese economy's strength, the buying power of the average Chinese citizen would be higher than an Indian, and so they'd get better pay in China. I don't think having international models is indicative of prejudice. The problem is not having fair skinned models, the problem is if you don't have models of your own country and there are plenty of Indian models in the country, men and women. In fact, 90% of Indian ads would use only Indian models for advertisements, and a lot of them transition into mainstream cinema, particularly the female models who become Bollywood heroines.

You got me on that one, I did not know Amy Jackson was playing a white women in her first film. With the exception of Baahubali i have never watched a South Indian film. However I am assuming in subsequent films she played an Indian women, so the point still stands if this is true. You have a foreign actress who got multiple films because of her skin color. I think this is much worse than using a light skin Indian actress.

You said the only reason she got into Indian cinema without knowing a word of the language was her white skin, I disagreed with that because the script of her debut movie demanded a white actress. I agree that she acted in about 10-15 movies in India but I have already said the prejudice towards fair skin is ubiquitous in the world, and particularly south asia, and India is no exception to it. 90% of the actors and actresses in any film industry would be purely because they're eye candies, not because of their acting abilities. It's the case in Bollywood, all regional cinema and I'm sure it's the case in Pakistani film industry too. The best actors in India are actually the likes of Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Dhanush, Raj Kumar Rao, late Irrfan Khan and none of them have conventionally attractive faces. In females, it is probably Konkana Sen, Bhumi Pednekar, Nandita Das, Kalki Koechlin, etc. But actors like Hrithik, Ranbir, Katrina, Deepika, etc., became famous purely because they're good looking.

The question is not if fair skinned models or actresses are present in a country. They would be present in every country because fair complexion became synonymous with good looking because of how humans have evolved over history throughout the world. The question should be if a dark skinned actor like Will Smith could have risen to stardom in a country like Pakistan or India. I don't think so. I don't think even Halle Berry might have made it as an actress in the subcontinent and she's basically half white.

 

[KingKhanWC]

No, it's more than that. Scots, Welsh, Irish and Cornish dislike the English, who are a different tribe but the same race.

Racism is the systemic elevation of a set of values over another based on race or ethnicity.

It boils down to a tribal mindset. You just agreed with my point.

I know of white English people who love blacks or Asians but hate the Polish, who are the same skin colour. Reason is they cant relate to those who are different even if the same colour.

 

[Hasan]

Humans by their very nature organise themselves based on shared cultures, values and beliefs. And it’s a natural safety mechanism to be fearful of things, people and events which are viewed as disrupting this organisations.

Ironically its the evolution and diversity of human society which makes us progressive and successful.

Maintaining the balance between the statuesque and evolution is constantly shifting and can be a cause for exploitation by the unscrupulous. Nationalism, bigotry, intolerance and racism are the byproduct of an inappropriate balance and exploitation.

Necessary systems and controls (education, laws and cultural values) need to be establish to ensure that human societies evolve in a orderly and beneficial manner.

Tendency for racism are internet to human societies but they also reflect the failure of the underlying system and controls.

 

[MenInG]

What's the difference between biased in favour of people we like and being racist? What if we only like people who are from our race or religion?

 

[James]

What's the difference between biased in favour of people we like and being racist? What if we only like people who are from our race or religion?

Yes, this is along the lines of my post & what I was thinking earlier in the thread as well ---

"Not racist, but inherently biased towards one’s own taught and/or learned system of values."

 

[Robert]

What's the difference between biased in favour of people we like and being racist?

The latter is a function of a power structure.

So I Britain I can be a victim of prejudice but cannot be the victim of racism as I am born into the majority race which exalts whiteness as the ideal.

 

[transparent opacity]

Yes, to some extent all humans are racist. To think otherwise, would be idealism. In reality, we all have racist tendencies at some level.

 

[gazza619]

We are selective in our racism.

 

[Saj]

From my own experience I think everyone is racist - some more than others.

Some show it clearly, others are more discreet and sly about it.

Again from my own experience, I find that Asians (not labourers) settled in the Middle-East are the worst with a real chip on their shoulder and attitude. They seem to have an attitude where they look down on other Asians around the world.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Yes, to some extent all humans are racist. To think otherwise, would be idealism. In reality, we all have racist tendencies at some level.

Yes we may well be racist to some extent, but the question was "are we inherently racist by nature".

The bolded word is important, and that is the part I take dispute with.

 

[transparent opacity]

Yes we may well be racist to some extent, but the question was "are we inherently racist by nature".

The bolded word is important, and that is the part I take dispute with.

If we strictly talk about inherent traits then I don't think that all humans are racist. No one is born racist, it's the society that makes one a racist. There may be a few cases where genes have played some role, but at large it's the social upbringing.
No one knows what personality traits one has by birth.
Scientifically, parents pass on characteristics to their children, if one's parents are racist, then the child could also be inherently racist. But then again identities are fluid.
Moreover, traits like selfishness and anger are also inherent traits, and both these traits are somehow linked to racism.
It's the never-ending nature vs nurture debate.

 

[Saj]

Yes we may well be racist to some extent, but the question was "are we inherently racist by nature".

The bolded word is important, and that is the part I take dispute with.

Sometimes it's acquired from parents, friends or even where people live or where they settle.

As I wrote, some move away from India/Pakistan to other parts of the world and actually look down upon their fellow Indians and Pakistanis just because they have moved out of those countries.

Pathetic to say the least.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

City Pakistanis definitely look down on those from the villages and the caste system is still fairly deeply ingrained and that's all within subsets of a broader culture.