Racism



Racism

Introduction

The core cause of racism is stereotyping and irresponsible attitude from both educated and non educated individuals. It can be observed in society in various forms. It can be seen in our schools, in the work place and even in our media. People tend to find racial stereotyping humorous and it has become good business. Unfortunately, many governments, indirectly or secretively, racially stereotype their own citizens and claim that it must be done for safety. Racism generally includes discrimination on the basis of color, ethnicity, heritage and a sense of supremacy based on social structure or hierarchy. It also involves the belief that groups of individuals are characterized by their intrinsic qualities, characteristics and abilities, thus claiming superiority over others (Doane, 2008). Racism often leads to the unfair allocation of resources and can even cause mental frustration, anxiety and depression, in those that are discriminated.

Discussion

There is often a debate with respect to the exact definition of racism, primarily because nobody can agree on what precisely the word 'race' means. In addition to this, different people view discrimination in different ways and consequently come up with their individual definitions. According to most common definitions, assumptions that are made on the basis of an individual's behavior and their racial categorization, is an act of racism. It is a racist statement irrespective of how benign it might be. With that in mind, there are other definitions that categorically state that such a statement must have been stated with malice, or intention to cause some form of harm to the individual. Commonly asked questions regarding how racism must be classified include whether innocent queries, that arise from common stereotypes, with respect to questioning ones abilities or preferences should be thought of as racism or not. Another question is whether racism that originates through ...