What is Racism?

define

A race is a group of people that come from a common background. That group is generally determined based on skin color. Commonly, but not always, people are categorized into one of five races: White, Black, Latino or Hispanic, Asian, and Indigenous or Native. Racism then, is the discrimination or prejudice of a person or group based on the racial group she or they belong to. It's not that simple, however.

The term racism is actually used in many ways. Some refer to racism as white supremacism, the belief that the Caucasian race is superior to all other races. Others define racism as discrimination against a particular race’s culture, beliefs or traditions. Racism might refer to the idea that a single race is somehow purer than other races, or that one race genetically exhibits dominance over others. Some believe that race can be a way to determine behavior and performance.

Racism can be used to refer to prejudice based on race against one person or a group of people; it can be expressed either overtly or subtly. Overt racism is perhaps the easiest to identify. It is fairly simple to see that the actions of the Ku Klux Klan, for example, are racist. They openly proclaim superiority of the white race and inferiority of non-white races.

Subtle racism is a much stickier topic, and much harder to identify. Cultures that contain multiple races often defer to the race that feels it is being attacked in order to define what constitutes subtle racism. For example, the standardized tests that are generally required in applying to a United States college, such as the SAT or ACT, are sometimes argued to be subtly racist because they say non-Caucasians who come from backgrounds steeped in poverty generally don't score as well. Lack of good schools, good books, and stable home environments may adversely affect the test results for those students.

While many problems can be cited in reference to racism, one results from the overgeneralizations that are made in race grouping. The Asian group, for example, includes Koreans, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, and Thai. The failure to understand the distinctions between the cultural values of Koreans generally and Vietnamese generally, for example, can be characterized as subtly racist. There is an inherent assumption that all Asians must be the same, and little recognition that the Asian race comes from hugely diverse countries and cultures. The same holds true for the Hispanic race, a group that shares European ancestry with the various Latin Native Americans. Assuming that an Asian person is Chinese or that a Hispanic person is Mexican may be characterized as subtly racist.

Racism is not exclusively the province of the Caucasian race. Racism between different racial groups is quite prevalent in areas where two groups of different races exist. For example, the rivalry between Asian and Black street gangs in urban America can be tied to racial tensions that have existed for many decades.

What may be interesting in this fount of tensions between racial groups is that we still feel the need to define ourselves by race. A United States birth certificate, for example, requires a statement of race, and one cannot write human. Some of this definition continues because different cultural groups wish to preserve and respect their ancestry. But often, such distinctions, from a genetic standpoint are relatively unnecessary. Significant scientific research on the DNA that makes up all humans shows virtually no significant genetic advantages or difference between racial groups. However, some medical conditions, for example, are more prevalent in certain races over others.

Some argue that the practice of race classifying may further divide people more than it helps as it may lead to common beliefs about a group, or stereotypes, which in turn may result in overt or subtle racism.

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Discuss this Article

what are some examples of a racist?

i'm doing a project on racism and i can't really find examples over the internet.

i came here and found out that i can ask. :)

i hope to have some answers.

- xiaohui06
The question is not what is racism. The question is why do people practice racism, religion, education, science, or other systems. It's to be better off. People fear those of other races or groups who invade, kill, steal, and lie about it. There are double standards for racist behaviors.

When Germans kill Hebrews to steal their stuff it is an evil, heinous, holocaust and Satanic crime against humanity. When Hebrews kill Arabs to steal their stuff it's a God given, freedom fighting, liberation of a Holy Land and manifest destiny. Why the double standards? That is racism. Okay for me, not for you.

Only rule of law, social justice, and loving kindness can conquer the double standards racists promote for being better off. Then again, who doesn't want to be better off and fear being worse off? It seems racism is logical when families practice racism to take care of their own in racist loving kindness. What to do?

- anon18659
racism is a big deal because it affects people everyday. i may only be a 14 year old and you may think what does she know? but trust me, i know. racism can lead to physical situations. racism is widely spread, and is present in all countries or societies in the world. racism is often expressed through distrust or differences between groups, such as cultural character, or just based on different backgrounds. it’s a natural reaction for a person to get suspicious about things which are strange to them. sometimes suspicion can lead to anger, frustration, or fear. a child is not born racist. if not exposed to racism in one's environment, there is no reason for one to become racist. a person cannot be characterized by the skin color or cultural background. everybody should be treated fairly and with respect.
- anon16077
people that are racist are really dumb and need to go get a life!!
- anon12535
to me, racism is a big deal because people have to face racist people every day no matter what!

it doesn't seem as though the world will ever change

...martin luther king had set it so that we would each be united but there's always that one person that thinks differently

....signed

a person who thinkz racism just isn't right!

- anon9029
well we can kind of try and stop racism as the future of tomorrow. we can't allow parents or adults to put the racism into our heads. when an act of racism is committed, act against it. counter it. we can make rallies, petitions ect. you are 120% correct. racism isn't right. it must be stopped. it hurts too much people. me included, speaking personally and i have seen before my eyes people being penalized for being a certain race.
- anon6508
I don't think that racism is right, its wrong a has to stop right now. No-one should be racist to people who you think has a different race, sex, religion. I am get education at some high school. I go to a multicultural school that has a variety of cultures like asian, hispanic, caucausian, African descent, middle easterns, east Indians and those people have religions too. I am 100% non-religious and I make friends to people of a variety of cultures....
- anon3984
What action should be taken for subtle racism?
- anon2117

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