Do you think people who are racist are afraid of others becoming stronger as people?

Actually no. I think most racists are racist out of ignorance. Its been built in their heads that a certain race is inferior, bad, etc… and its stuck. The reason I say this is because I think most racists learn their racism as they grow up. Their parents and/or community raise them on racism and it becomes an unquestioned assumption.

There might be some people for whom the real reason is fear of the race becoming stronger, but I doubt your run-of-the-mill racist has such a motivation. Its also possible that if trace things back far enough, there might be such a fear, but thats not what I think drives most racists.

Ignorance and fear. Fear of otherness. It is as old as tribal culture.

Ignorance of others comes from never meeting others. You live in your own community and hear shit about others, and you believe it because they look different. They look like they could do that stuff they are rumored to do.

Fear is intertwined with ignorance. We tend to be afraid of that which we don’t know. We get all angry about them, and how they want what we have and are going to kill us if they get a chance. Not all of these fears, I should point out, are unreasonable.

There’s something else I would throw in the mix, and that is the economy. When people are not doing well, it can make them feel better if they find a scapegoat. Right now, the major new scapegoat is immigrants and Muslims. They are the fearful others who come from outside, and we must defend ourselves, so the thinking goes. And worse, some people think “we must kill them.” Thus lynchings and hate crimes and intimidation. Get out you dreadful other (fill in with the hated epithet of your choice). You don’t belong here. Get out before I kill you.

So yes, racists are afraid of others. Often times, they remain afraid of others even when sitting down to dinner with them. That’s pretty scary.

Racism is an extended version of in-group and out-group psychology as I see it. Jane Elliot’s Blue eyes/Green eyes experiment shows this. I think ultimately it is a survival instinct but one that we don’t need any more…gradually it will be replaced by love and community relationships. We will get there I’m sure.

@nebule I think ultimately it is a survival instinct but one that we don’t need any more…gradually it will be replaced by love and community relationships.

Very optimistic. Evolutions doesn’t move very fast. Why do you think out-group hatred will be replace by love and community relationships? How long do you think this will take?

I think that because I feel it. I know evolution takes a long long long time… but I think with exponential growth we’re getting there quicker than we might think.. i live in hope anyway!

@nebule Only if not caring about one’s appearance improves survival… given that the divisions in our society tend to fall along racial lines (e.g. which races tend to populate the slums, the competition between countries), I’d say we’re still very far off.