Are humans inherently racist?

[Duplighost]

Is the human mind, by nature, racist? This question has come to my mind many times while discussing the topic of racism. Are some people racist because they have not taught themselves otherwise, or because they have been conditioned into discriminating against a particular race by an outside source?

It is true that in our most primeval state, humans wanted to stay in groups and cast away the "outsiders" (people that did not look like them) in order to survive. However, have you ever seen children on a playground blatantly discrimate someone of another race? Probably not—most likely because these children have not been influenced or conditoned into looking at another race as different from theirs.

Perhaps we all have racist tendencies that stem from or primeval lives, but the question still stands: Are humans inherently racist?

 

[Megakoopax]

I don't think people are inherently racist per say, but I do think people are inherently prejudiced and discriminate against others who are different from themselves in general, not just race. People are instinctively afraid of the unknown and because of their inability to learn about others, they choose to either resent them or attack them. Kind of like the Flight or Fight response, if people see someone who is different from them (rather it be race, gender, mental state, or anything really) they either avoid them or engage them, tolerance towards others is more something people learn as they grow up, sadly not enough people do. That's why bullying is a huge problem in a lot of diverse places like schools.

 

[young grasshopper]

Ah, I love discussions like this, but to really make any progress, we need to address what human nature fundamentally is. The way I see it, people are naturally selfish and prideful. Pride especially is important in the topic of racism, since a person who sees themselves as superior will find any excuse, including race, to rationalize that view. Basically, I don't think that people across the board are predisposed to racism specifically, but rather that some people might be predisposed to use racism as a way of justifying their inherent pride.

Another possibility is an explanation from humanity's instinctual (but imperfect) sense of logic. If somebody eats a fruit that tastes bad to them, then they will logically assume other fruit of the same kind will taste the same way. This inductive reasoning is useful in a lot of ways, but also has many flaws. For instance, what if the one fruit the person tasted just so happened to be rotten, or not ripe enough? Somebody who had eaten the fruit many times would know the difference, but not somebody who got a bad pick for their first time. That person might even keep their children from eating any of the fruit, just because their only experience with it was bad. This same kind of thinking is often applied to people, where a person might group people by their most obvious traits, and assume that other things about them are the same, too.

In all likelihood, both of the above explanations might just be factors in an inter-connected complex system.

 

[Whia]

I think humans are inherently tribalistic, and racism is one of the ways it manifests itself. Due in part, perhaps, to how racially segregated the entire human population was for the overwhelming majority of our history. In other words, for most of human history, our tribes (so to speak) were racially homogenus and that racial homogenity has maintained simply via a necessary consequence of genetics. As we globally grow more connected and diverse, we'll collectively stop "othering" those of different races - those we otherwise haven't had significant contact or interaction with - as we slowly, naturally integrate into each other's social networks. And racism will then, for the most part, become an artifact of our stupid, checkered past.

Or maybe that's an absurd pipe dream and I'm dumb as hell and humans are in fact inherently racist.

 

[Androobie]

EDIT: I no longer agree with what I said in this post. Please ignore and move on.

 

[Gallowglass]

I don't think human are naturally racist but we have natural instincts that can make us prejudice.

In psychology it is known as "Out Group Homogeneity Bias" This is the view that we see people who are different from us as similar to groups that we associate ourselves with. This is the essential foundation of stereotypes and if we see that group of people for only the labeled stereotype and we become resentful of those traits then that will cause prejudices. That's my opinion in a nutshell.

 

[VodkaHaze]

One thing I am aware is that humans possess an "in-group bias" in which they will favour people who belong to the same group or identity. Note that this isn't exclusive to race, and can be seen for things like religion, politics or even what sort of music you like.

Whilst in-group bias can manifest itself in disgusting behaviour towards out-groups, we evolved it because it would have been advantageous to our survival. Humans are a tribal species, and when we are around our in-group, we release oxytocin within the brain, which allows for greater cooperation. If there's greater social trust and cooperation within the tribe, then that means that the tribe is more likely to work together, and therefore survive.

 

[Deleted member]

I'd say no. Are humans naturally prejudice? Perhaps. But racist, in the sense of judging by skin color alone? Nah. I'm going to sound cliché, but racism as we know it today spawned largely due to colonialism. Not that their weren't divides nationally before.

Natural is also a tricky word to play around with, especially when its within the same context of culture. Even then what is natural isn't really all or nothing, especially when it comes to humans. And you definitely wouldn't want to appeal to natural fallacy. What's natural isn't inherently good.

 

[Slugma128]

Depends on your definition of racism. Humans always want to create groups where they belong. Smart people want to stick together with other smart people, Smash Bros fans want to stick together with other Smash Bros fans etc. And there are obvious differences between people and people, otherwise all the countries in the world would be a lot more similar to each other, as people create cultures based on their mentality, and cultures shape the countries.

 

[MisterDom]

Humans are inherently prejudiced, not racist. Prejudices can evolve to racism, or can subside by experience/education. Luckily the latter is more widespread than the former.

 

[RepStar]

Racism isnt inherently. Its bound to happen when you live in a world where people are clearly different from another and people hate to acknowledge that reality because its just too much for them to handle. The whole idea of a perfect world was brought about by the imagination and wishful thinking of people but, thats not how it really is. Racism has been around since the beginning of mankind and the fact that its still prominent in 2019 should tell you something. Really. Its a shame people still havent learned how to handle the differences of eachother so, ppl force and shoe-horn diversity in peoples faces as if thats the reason racism exist in the first place , lol.

 

[YoshiandToad]

This is a very personal account, so take it with a pinch of salt.

When I was a kid, my best friend was a black kid. We didn't really think of skin colour in a different way to hair colour. I learnt about racism in school later that year.

Ironically it taught me racial division was a thing and even gave examples of racial slurs. I'd never even thought of race as a dividing point until I was taught it.

I asked my friend if he'd been called any of those names out of concern for him and was given detention for 'being racist'. D'oh!

 

[Luigifan18]

This is a very personal account, so take it with a pinch of salt.

When I was a kid, my best friend was a black kid. We didn't really think of skin colour in a different way to hair colour. I learnt about racism in school later that year.

Ironically it taught me racial division was a thing and even gave examples of racial slurs. I'd never even thought of race as a dividing point until I was taught it.

I asked my friend if he'd been called any of those names out of concern for him and was given detention for 'being racist'. D'oh!

Lucky you, I have trouble not flinching around black people. I think I've heard too many lurid tales about black hoodlums...

 

[#HBC | Red Ryu]

Racist? Nah but prejudice to those who are different? Absolutely.

A lot of other people said it and I mirror those same thoughts.