Why do people racially abuse others?

Answer 1

Some people think its fun to do that because the other people are different. But don't let them judge you. Some people are just racists and mean.

Of course, it is often more complex than that. What may be taken for racial abuse may be retaliation for perceived racial abuse. If someone lived around only one culture and then another culture does things to or around them that makes them uncomfortable, and it is not the way their own would respond, then it is easy to accuse them of racism and lash out against them. For instance, if a woman wants to be a virgin for life and only men outside her race approach her, she may resort to seemingly racist behavior to get them to leave her alone just like her own people already do. Or if a person of one race is used to walking down the street alone in their own world and not approaching or noticing others, then they may assume people outside their race who approach them are being racist or troublemakers since their own are not as likely to do that as much.

Micro-incidents are a common cause for racist responses. There are a number of things that people may do automatically that they don't mean in a racist way that get taken that way. For instance, if a White woman brushes her long hair out of her face when a person of color walks by, she is usually either nervous, trying to get attention, simply getting the hair out of her face, or it is just a coincidence. She would mean nothing by it, but a person of color might misinterpret that as flaunting her hair and saying her hair is better than theirs or trying to remind them they are not White. Or if a person pulls their stuff to their body. Often, if a White person does that, it isn't done out of racism, but because ANY other person is there, or to be polite and make more room. Not everyone automatically things that people outside their race are only out to steal from them. Or if a person of color acts overly helpful in a situation where a White person would not likely help another White person, they might conclude falsely that the person of color was trying to exert dominance and mastery over them and say they are better than them. While those may be stereotypes, they illustrate how anyone can read racism into situations where it is not intended.