Racism

The racism has been a topic controversial , it is full of controversy to all nations and although this has worked over the years and not so relevant in today , just as in some places still maintained, adding to this all those people who still have those deep-rooted conceptions , whether due to customs, traditions or upbringing .

Definition

According to the Royal Spanish Academy the racism is defined as a feeling or exaggerated emotion, focused mostly in the racial field, can be found in an ethnic group, a social community or in different individuals, generally subjects racist habituate to the discrimination, persecution and abuse, whether physical, moral or psychological with other types of individuals, which may very well be people with dark complexions or low-income ethnic groups, however this word is also used to define or distinguish an anthropological doctrine that possesses the same kind of ideology and politics that is based on sentiment, affectivity and irrationality.

In the same way, racism is defined as any way that an individual has to negatively distinguish another, believing himself to have the power to exclude him from places and restrict certain rights that, by the simple fact of being human, is every act that is based on discriminating against individuals based on their lineage origins , their genotype , their color, their race, or their national and ethnic origin.

Source

Racism dates from the beginning of societies, which is why it is currently recognized as a purely social doctrine or trend , although there is no concrete data on its origin, it can be distinguished that racial acts began at the right time that individuals began to divide into ethnic groups, connoisseurs of the subject express that racism started with what was an ethnocentric or sociocentric attitude , all individuals focused on the benefit of their own culture and ethnicity, for which they wanted to rise and be the best in what they did, for which progressively patterns were created to maintain the supremacy of one group over the others.

History

The concept of racism was manifested for the first time in Europe and the Spanish colonies during what was the Modern Age , in Greece in turn they discriminated against foreigners who came to travel to the nation, not exactly because of their complexion color, their lineage or their entity , by the simple fact of seeing them as strangers who possibly wanted to invade and destroy their land, in Greece the racial conception was different from all those of the time, skin tones were always respected and blacks were recognized as deserving of any benefit, what they did not agree with was the strangers who arrived in Greece without prior notice.

However, around the nineteenth century in Europe a theory was developed that was very forceful, affirming that racism is also evidenced in the bible starting from the great boat that was made to counteract the flood, in which only Noah, his family and the animals were included, according to interpretations the sons of Noah would be the main heads of the different races, being so from Shem the Jews and the Arabs, from Cam the blacks and from Japheth the whites; It is important to note that this interpretation of the Bible was born from the question about the existence of the doctrine, therefore, Canaan , son of Ham , was blamed of the descendants of Noah by the beginnings of racism, since this was condemned by the words of Noah after waking up from his drunkenness:

And the sons of Noah that came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth, Ham was the father of Canaan, with these the whole earth was filled.

Then Noah began to till the land, and he planted a vineyard; and he drank of the wine and got drunk, being discovered in the middle of his tent.

And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness, and told his two brothers outside.

Then Shem and Japheth took the clothes and put them on their own shoulders, and walking backwards they covered the nakedness of their father, turning their faces so as not to observe any of it.

And Noah awoke from his drunkenness, and knew what his youngest son had done, and said: Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.

For this reason, the creation or evolution of racism is attributed to this passage. After this, racism took root, developed and in turn detached itself from the various ideologies.

Characteristics

Although cases of racism are immediately discriminated against , not many individuals are able to know their characteristics, which are the following:

• It is a doctrine that was later taken as a social trend .
• It originates from the need for supremacy , the innate and visceral instinct for survival, whoever else can is stronger and therefore more powerful.
• It is distinguished by discriminating, physically or psychologically abusing a person, excluding them and depriving them of any of their rights as human beings.
• Racist subjects are generally guided by the feeling and affection that the doctrine imparts on them, which is why it is considered to be clearly irrational.

Types of racism

The racism may vary depending on the society in which present and as individuals, so there are several ramifications for the same, one of the most important forms of racism are as follows:

• The institutional racism : This happens when a company or institution heads, managers or owners have any preference for any ethnic or racial origin, so when spread and impose responsibilities and duties commit a racist act .
• The cultural racism : This is most evident in the time to compare one culture with another, as stated above, the need for a has to outdo each other at all associated field to the racism and discrimination of citizens, in order to demonstrate in one way or another defend their position, although this type of racism goes a bit outside the main objectives of the doctrine, it is taken into account as one of the main types.
• The biological racism : In this kind of racism which triggers discrimination and exclusion based on genetic charges that could have individuals, cataloging and labeling them so that their mental faculties look undervalued by some of their genotypes.
• The racism based on skin color : This is considered the type of superficial racism, although it has become clear that racism is clearly unreasonable and visceral, this could be considered one of the most illogical , individuals disfavour and discriminate against other With skin of a different color than their own, these individuals rely on appearance to conclude that they may or may not exclude someone .
• Xenophobia : This type has recently become very common today, it could be said that it is the union of racism with nationalism , in which people from a given country discriminate against others from another ethnic group or nationality due to their cultural or biological characteristics . .

Causes

One of the main causes of racism are social classes, however, for this type of doctrine to develop there must also be some ties in the upbringing of individuals, however, some of the causes of racism will be exposed below :

• The need for supremacy of human beings.
• The perceptions and ideologies that some individuals have raised to distinguish which race was superior and which of these was determined inferior.
• Biological, genotypic or color causes .
• Racism due to the coexistence of various religions.

Consequences

One of the most severe consequences of racism has been the number of genocides that were committed throughout history in its name, coupled with this, another relevant consequence was the slavery that existed at one time to people of color , all This in turn caused social inequality , a full stop; In people affected by this type of discrimination, a feeling of rejection and innate resentment towards their aggressors originated . Therefore, the greatest consequence that racism has had is the division of the masses.

Related concepts

• Stereotypes : Stereotypes are transcendental beliefs, that is, these go from generation to generation, they are part of a custom, a trend that more encompasses the social sphere , which is expected of certain areas in ethnic groups, stereotypes are closely linked to social categories and what is expected of them
• Prejudices : People prejudiced are guided more by affection and emotion, you could say that they are irrational and unjust, impulsive.

Counterarguments

The racism caused many fights and battles, as people affected were beginning to fight for their common rights , they needed them, so one of the biggest arguments against racism was that everyone deserved to live his life as he pleased, all being he deserved to have a quality of life, free from the fear of exclusion and aggression ; With this idea, individuals went out to fight not only for their rights, but also for those of their descendants.

How to avoid racism

Although racism is a doctrine that continues to be seen in some cultures, there are many ways to avoid it, some of them are the following:

• Taking care of the information and basic concepts that are instilled in children as they develop.
• Promoting freedom of expression and equality in each of the societies.
• Teaching future generations that being from another culture, race, origin or nation does not make the individual less capable of understanding or intellectuals.
• Create awareness about exclusion , teach individuals to empathize with others.

How it differs from discrimination

The discrimination and racism have their similarities, however one of the differences is that discrimination is voluntary, is part of a thought that may be vague or not on another individual and hence arises what is discrimination, however, although Racism could be considered a type of discrimination , it is not, since it is not rational and sometimes it does not become conscious.

Cases of racism in the world

In America some years ago people were called black because of their skin color, one that was not white or brown, although the beginnings of this trend were clearly negative , over the years it became a humorous and friendly to treat people, however, in subjects of color that seed of resentment remained, so it is not advisable to call an individual with a dark skin color black .

Although racism in many countries has greatly diminished, continents such as Asia and Europe continue to have some characteristic features of this doctrine, since it could be said that they catalog individuals according to their culture and origin, in the same way it happens in Panama , currently with The majority of foreigners in their country, it happens as in ancient times happened with Greece , they fear that their land, their customs and traditions will be taken away from them, for which they denigrate and despise them, having very low concepts and perceptions regarding these people.

Phrases

• “Racism has historically been a flag to justify companies of expansion, conquest, colonization and domination and has gone hand in hand with intolerance, injustice and violence.” Rigoberta Menchu ​​Tum
• “Racism is a tragedy, but the world can find a cure for it.” (…) “ Racism has often been described as a disease , and it is a problem for all of us. Racism is a disease of the mind and soul. It kills many more than any infection. ” (…) “It dehumanizes anyone who touches it” (…) “The tragedy is that we have the cure within our reach, but we have not yet taken advantage of it”. (…) “ Apartheid was just a symptom of the disease. To win against racism, we have to administer a treatment that is complete and holistic. ” Excerpts from the “III World Conference against Racism”.
• ” Racism is a sin that constitutes a grave offense against God.” John paul ii
• ” Wars will continue as long as the color of the skin is more important than the color of the eyes.”
• ” Racism is the greatest threat to man, the maximum of hatred for the minimum of reason.”
• « Racism is the label of individuals who believe themselves to be the highest and only race. They do this because they know that people other than their skin color are better than themselves and they don’t accept it. “
• “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they are not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
• ” Ethnic diversity must not become a danger to pierce our hearts.”

Books

• The racism , Adrian Cooper.
• Racism and discourse in Latin America, Teu Van Dijk.
• Brief history of racism, Christian Geulen.
• The fire next time, James Baldwin.
• Everything falls apart, Chinua Achebe.
• The faces of racism, José María de Olmo Gutierrez.
• Alphabet of Mexican Racism, Federico Navarrete.
• Kill a nightingale, Harper Lee.