BURN DOWN RACISM!

Racism is the belief that a particular race is superior or inferior to another that a person's social and moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics. Racial separatism is the belief, most of the time based on racism, that different races should remain segregated and apart from one another. Racism has existed throughout human history. It may be defined as the hatred of one person by another or the belief that another person is less than human - because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person. It has influenced wars, slavery, the formation of nations, and legal codes. 

     

During the past 500-1000 years, racism on the part of western powers toward non-westerns has had a far more significant impact on history than any other form of racism. The most notorious example of racism by the west has been slavery, particularly the enslavement of Africans in the new world. This enslavement was accomplished because of the racist belief that black Africans were less fully human than white Europeans and their descendants.

     

One important feature of racism especially towards blacks and immigrants groups is clear in attitudes regarding slaves and slavery. Jews are usually seen by anti-semites as subhuman but also superhuman devilishly cunning, skilled, and powerful. Blacks and others are seen by racists as merely subhuman more like beasts than men. 

      

In the second half of the 19 century Darwinism, the decline of Christian belief and growing immigrants were all perceived by many white westerns as a threat to their cultural control. There are few genetic characteristics to be found in the population of England that are not found in similar proportions in Zaire or in China .....those differences that most deeply affect us in our dealings with each other are not at any significant degree biologically determined.

Author: Sunaina Fazal