How was racism developed?

Answer 1

There is absolutely no way to know when racist thought began; however, we can extrapolate the reason for its existence.

First, consider that every single person who lives, has lived, and will live is racist to some degree. Racism originates from the instinctive behavior of identifying differences. People, like animals, instinctively identify the alien (or perceived alien) among them. Animals (I include people in this) are naturally cautious of the "outsider," and for good reason. The outsider may represent a threat to the individual or the community as a whole. Therefore, there is no wrong in being aware and cautious of someone you perceive as different. Blind acceptance of what other perceive as difference however is a relatively new concept in the history of the human race, and a path down which lies many potential dangers.

Second, there are two types of "racism." There is racist perception, that is the natural propensity to identify someone who is visibly different than oneself, that which is discussed above; and, there is racist behavior. There are far too many examples of racist behavior to list. Consider though that racist behavior is any sort of action by an individual or group that is unfairly and needlessly aggressive to another simply due to the color of that person's skin or their perceived ethnicity.

People do not have the right to act aggressively first to anyone. Simply put, leave action until action is necessary. No one can support racist behavior with any compelling evidence. It is knee-jerk, reactionary, and often simple bullying. There is only one effective way to deal with bullying and that is to introduce the bully to the receiving end of such.

The argument can be made that "this only proves that bullying works. It completes the circle, so to speak. It teaches that violence is OK."

While violence can never be okay, it remains occasionally necessary. I hate to use this as an example, but a recent event lends itself well to making my point. Several weeks ago, a gunman opened fire in a Tuscon, Arizona shopping center, killing six and wounding fourteen others. Bystanders, who themselves were unarmed, grabbed the gunman, wrestled him to the ground, and disarmed him, holding him there until law enforcement arrived. They did not try to reason with him. They did not stop to explain to him the error of his ways and how his actions might be harming people around him both physically and emotionally. They put him on the ground and held him there. They did not do this in a gentle, loving way. They did it with violence.

I recognize that not all people are capable of such quick thought or action, or even able to determine when an appropriate violent response is warranted; however, the inability to recognize that violence is part of human nature--be it racist acts, simple discrimination, or separatist beliefs--some things need to be stood up for and addressed, and sometimes in addressing them, violent response is the only option. One other quick example to support the argument. In 1938 the Nazi party sent the German military into Poland and WW2 began. Racism was a central issue in this war. Millions of people were sent to the gas chambers and gunned down for no other reason than they did not fit the ethnic ideals of those in power. The world did not stand by and try to reason with Hitler and the Nazis, to convince them that they were hurting others because of perceived differences related to ethnicity. No, those countries who fought back did so with bombs, and bullets. And when the fighting was done, they put the perpetrators on trial, convicted them of war crimes, and then stretched their necks.

The identification of the origins of such that cannot possibly be identified only clouds the issue. Sometimes understanding what a thing is, is all that is necessary to try to combat it.