Thursday, April 1, 2010

Racism Racism

Racism is a cliche problem. It's a cliche because it really just doesn't go away. But there is a misconception as to what it really is. Most believe that one group of people just automatically begins to hate another and that they are evil. Since things can turn violent then the people doing these actions must be very bad people.

But the reality is a little more complicated. Racism stems from fear. People who are racist are afraid of those people who are not like them. It's all fine when there is only one different person, it's like 'oh this person is from so and so'. Even if its just 10 people then its usually fine. But the problem begins to manifest when the numbers become significant, say when an entire population moves in.

Suddenly these strange people are a noticeable force and they moved in to your land. It's like some strange guy moving in to your house, the one you lived in with the people you know for the last 10 years. Suddenly this new guy comes and he's brought his friends. You're house is big but you can't say no because its a public house (example).

Now these guys need to eat. So they open your fridge and start to help themselves. You don't like that very much. After all they're not one of your kind. Then they might even begin to intermingle with the people you know and this makes you uncomfortable. One guy might want to marry your sister. There's nothing wrong with the guy but you get a strange uncomfortable feeling. You'd prefer it just didn't happen because it'd be much simpler and you'd rather just not go there.

You're not a bad person, but you just don't like these foreigners that much and worst of all they have no intention of leaving. At first it was ok, they didn't interfere, but now they're changing the decor to match their tastes and getting more and more vocal in the house. You don't like that at all after all its your house!

The funny thing is, the house always belonged to you in the past, and no matter how many generations of the newcomers live in it, you feel it still belongs to your people. After all... they were here first.

The feelings of resentment are there, like some baby brother you now have to share your toys with. But the worst part is having to share without someone you don't really know that well and you don't identify with.

Just imagine that I come to your house and stay there. You never invited me and now you have to share all your stuff with me. I have a job and I contribute fairly and all, but still I can help myself to things that you never really owned, but when others take them you feel jealousy. Worst of all I'm here to stay whether you like it or not. I dunno... I get the feeling you wouldn't like me very much.

4 comments:

  1. Nice analogy... I think you've captured the feeling of how people feel about immigrants very well, but racism isn't always just about immigrants is it? Like what we have here?

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  2. hmmm..interesting theory...but is this really racism...doesn't it come with hatred+ jealousy +anger....

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  3. well i guess this is a good analogy 4 the roots of the matter but with time i think its grows attaining a life of its own...prejudice+hate+envy....passed down from parents/elders to children

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  4. The crux of the matter is the statement "the house always belonged to you in the past." Your own family records say that there were several inhabitants of the house before your ancestor got in. Your ancestor was not a very nice kinda guy having been chased away from his own home by his father. He actually got a foothold in this strange house by marrying/promising to marry the daughter of one of the inhabitants, giving her 02 kids and then chasing her out into the wild in order to marry another woman from his own kind. He then occupied the house more or less by force. Rather a tenuous claim to ownership. Your ancestor was thus also a foreigner at one time just like all the rest. The house would then really belong to the group of long haired, ancient hunters who were probably the original inhabitants of the house.

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