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Two things: one fear of anything different and being taught by families at a young age.
One reason why Rogers and Hammerstein's musicals were always a hit was not just their music/plays but every musical had a 'teaching' or 'significant' point to a song. South Pacific, for example....perfect example: You have to be taught to hate and fear, you have to be taught from year to year, to hate all the people your relatives hate, you have to be carefully taught." You have to be taught before it's too late, before you are six or seven or eight........
Think that pretty much sums it all up.
But even when one is conditioned not to be racist, as an young adult or adult, when one is faced with people from a culture that has greatly different values and attitudes than ones one, there will be some suspicion, dislike and fear generated. The greater the differences, the more pronounced the dislike.
I really feel that most of the clashes within the US are more culture and class clashes, than conflicts of skin colour. If you gathered a group of people of different skin colour together is one room, if they all talked and dressed the same way, and had the same level of education or job skill level, they'd all get along pretty well, especially if they were all the same sex. There will be natural frictions if all the people were single and the distribution of sexes were unequal. Then you get that mating ritual competition thing going.
For me, it was being immersed in a particular population for a number of years. Their ideals and ethics and notions of appropriate behavior were so wildly different from mine, it was just bound to be a disaster. That's well-informed racism. Lol.
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I couldn't have said it better myself.
A lifetime of trying to convince me that "we're all the same" evaporates the moment I stop in to pick up a Snacker from KFC.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AntiHero
What makes people racist and xenophobic? I'm wondering why some people have developed prejudices against people of other backgrounds (race, religious, nationality). Do you think prejudices stem mainly from indoctrination at childhood, esp. by parents or do you think such mindset has developed by negative personal experience (such as getting mugged by a person of different background)?
There could be other causes like the media influence.
Racism rose from the ploys of the the rich to keep the poor in toe. The wealthy have always feared the poor and the one tactic that has always worked is "divide and conquer." As long as the masses are fighting each other over race, religion, or whatever, the rich have nothing to fear. Someday all people will realize that the struggle is not one of race or religion but of class.
What makes people racist and xenophobic? I'm wondering why some people have developed prejudices against people of other backgrounds (race, religious, nationality). Do you think prejudices stem mainly from indoctrination at childhood, esp. by parents or do you think such mindset has developed by negative personal experience (such as getting mugged by a person of different background)?
There could be other causes like the media influence.
What's your opinion?
I think its simply human nature & denying this is a huge part of the problem.
How could it be media induced when its as old, maybe older, than civilization?
People who look different are easy to single out & persecute. So thats who people single out & persecute. The reasoning behind it is very diverse, but in the end its just because they look, pray, or speak differently & therefore make easy targets.
I recall a guy in one of my classes who swore up and down during discussions that "racism doesn't exist anymore." I asked him, would you be cool with letting someone in your family date or marry someone black? He hesitated for a minute and said, "probably not, but that doesn't make me racist."
[quote=miu;7386944]It's a natural instinct to want to be surrounded by your own kind and in small intimate groups. It happens in the nature also. Primates like chimpanzees live in tribes. When the tribe gets too big, it splits into two and one group will move away. And after a long while, when those two groups interact, they fight and try to kill the other tribe off. Of course, we are a little better than the chimps. We have opposable thumbs, we have memory and the power of speech.
Otherwise, it is comforting to many to look around and see that all your neighbors look and act like you and your family.
I think that to have a truly integrated society, it's going to come very slowly. It can't be rushed. Equal rights laws are all well and good, but like a good close friendship, common ground has to be found and respect shown to all involved. Even when a white family moves into a white neighborhood, they are checked out carefully by the other residents before being accepted and letting their children mingle. The old residents want to make sure that the new family shares their same values and goals. There might be some welcoming parties. The new family will introduce themselves and say where they will work and what church they plan to go to. They will talk about how well their kids do in school or if one of them is good in sports. The new family acts submissive and works to blend into their new surroundings. They keep their yard tidy and plant flowers. They keep their cars washed and clean. Over time, they get accepted into their new neighborhood. Just because one is the right race, doesn't mean an automatic acceptance into a neighborhood.
So what that small town in Arkansas has is a bunch of white retirees. They probably don't want any young people living there either, even white ones. I imagine that they don't want young people driving fast on their streets either or to listen to loud music. It's like one of those private clubs that exclude women. Is it really that important to have access to a place like that? And why not let those old people die in peace?
How about some blacks get together and form a picture perfect all black town or gated neighborhood?[/QUOTE]
Sorry Miu, but there are many. You just rather not look for them.
Woodmore in Upper Marlboro, MD.
Hell, look up any new community in Upper Marlboro and its all black, well groomed and all the other qualifications you deem as right.
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