Oh No... I Have Turned Into a Racist!

[Sentinel]

Ever since I was a kid, I have always heard some nasty remarks made against acertain race but my upbringing and my education has always told me that it was wrong to just listen to such remarks and proverbs and be nice to everybody... except just to be a little careful..

When I was a Second Class Boy Scout in Form 3, I loaned my RM60 second-hand racing bike, which I saved for like almost a year to buy, to a senior Boy Scout who had a First Class badge, to use for a Scout Jamboree held in Port Dickson (I was then in a school in Seremban). He came back from the Jamboree crying he had lost my bike, I was heartbroken but forgave him.

The folliwng year when I obtained my First Class badge, I too attended the Jamboree. It was then I saw my old bike which was stolen the year before. I walloped the guy who "stole" my bike but was later told this boy scout bought the bike the year before from the senior I loaned the bike to.

It was then I was reminded about this racial thinghy never to trust this group. But I told myself, its the individual, nothing to do with the colour of the skin.

Over the years of my job career, I also had many experiences, most of the time I get hoodwinked by the same group of people. I steadfastly refused to recognise the fact and continued telling myself its the individual, not the colour of the skin.

And recently, I too had another run-in. I have a partner who had "financial problems" from Day 1! Son's tuition lah, this lah that lah, need RM27K by such a such a date... It was difficult time, we had the money but it was against our professional principles so we resisted. We gave a few thousands here and there for advance expenses etc but that was it.

Then, during a business trip, some money was taken from the principal, I had them repaid. Then, recently a customer told me he paid for expenses and hotel for a recent visit including for my partner, I tried to repay but the customer was kind enough to treat it as a write-off. It was really embarassing and I can't tell this partner because he was supposedly a senior retired government officer, so we just decided lets split the partnership and go on our own.

Then recently, a customer asked him about why a certain investment outlay kept changing, instead of explaining, he told the customer "what to do, some people want to have a happy CNY!". That, I blew my top!

And now he is claiming all my customers are his except he doesn't have the balls. He used another old retired man to disturb my business and reputation. I am now beginning to feel, after 50 years, the statement about this group of people might be true and I can't resist the thought anymore.

I am turning into a racist.... tell me I am not! And I am blardy mad a shell too...

[birdy]

I see that is more of individual encounters rather than racist thing. Don't assume the whole box of apples are bad just because there is 1 apple rotten.

[mykern]

The reason whe want to be racist is bcos it is convenient to do so.
I have had many good friends of each race ...the reason we see so many from a particular race is because they form a larger % of the Msian society.
Still .... a certain characteristic predominates a certain race .. I was told this from a friend of 'that' certain race itself.
Jealousy is the greatest weakness of a certain race ....
Likewise you hear that the only thing "straight" about this race is his hair!
Then another "lies" like an .....
Dangerous to generalise but a that certain 'characteristic' dominates whether we like it or not .... It is the so called trait ......
So ... the only remedy is to take another human one at a time ... not as part of a general trend ... and test accordingly to general good values ... we shall reap what we have also ourselves sown ....

Khap!~

[Hopefull]

If you are not a Racist you are one big liar and a fake. I must admit i am a bloody a racist too.

[gary yap]

It's a defence mechanism. All of us are at some point a racist or at least the thought of it is there, just have to control it.

[xinrong]

It's a defence mechanism. All of us are at some point a racist or at least the thought of it is there, just have to control it.

Agreed. Most of us are racists in one way or another as it is a norm for most to feel that their race is the best. If I remember correctly, that's how the Holocaust and Ku Klux Klan came to be? However, knowing this as a fact, we therefore need to be very mindful of our thoughts so that we do not, each time something unpleasant happens, we blame it on the race. There are people in each race who have the traits of those in another race.

[currymee]

For me, all my phobias and prejudice happen with Arabs and Middle Eastern people esp male - from my university days until now .... somehow, being double-dealing, outfoxing the other when TRUST is the order of the day is an ALIEN concept to them especially when you are supposed to be on the same team or JV ... maybe it is the environment of the area ... NO TRUST !! But Arab ladies ... ah ... different story leh

[burntan]

Actually it is ok to be racist....... just don't give excuse to justify yourself.

Like I used to buy pirated DVD, but I will never say I am not stealing and give excuse to "right" my action.

[burntan]

Sometime when we trying to remind ourself not to be a racist and choose to trust the dangerous group of people, we are actually confused. I am NOT saying that skin colour really have anything to do with this, but the upbringing environment, the culture they practice do play a very important role in someone believe system and behaviour. Just like someone ask you to beware of Nigerian, doesn't automatically classify him as racist, you know?

[currymee]

I guess it all boils down to our individual experience of interaction ...

[Rhiga]

Because of different culture and family upbringing, and life exposure, everyone is "racist" … just different in magnitude.

The racist perception developed in an individual came from life experience, repeated bad experience and eventually become a self-defence/self-alert mechanism when encounter with this same group of people.

Whites in Australia (generally) have their own perception of South Asian. Try to observe how the immigration personnel at European airports treated the Asian and Middle East people, look at their facial expression when dealing with non-whites.

I try to avoid sitting next to Africans in subway train or city bus in Europe. Is this is a racist behaviour? I think yes but this is how I think and feel more comfortable.

[in]

This song by AVENUE Q - 'Everybody's a Little Racist'...........sums it all up!

[kkearthling]

Be angry with a person if you are indeed angry at that person, get over it, but be nice to the next person before he angers you.

We grow up as children who do not have the word ‘racist’ in our dictionary. It’s the politician, the media and adult’s fault if they replace the ‘e’ with ‘ist’ & we get caught in this phenomenon. As an adult, we will be pointing the fingers at ourselves as it’s our own doing if we still allow ourselves to linger in this island of thought.

Woman gives birth to an individual, not a race. Have you ever heard of the nurses or doctors in the delivery room saying: Congratulations! it’s a (replace this space with any race)?

A race is not born but individuals, but when they begin to idolize the same thing aka money money money, then do expect some twist & turn of events and behavior.

[Justme123]

Racism, (aka tribalism, enthnocentrism) is an evolutionary human trait that has survival value for the individual and tribe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribali..._and_evolution

Since primitive times, greater numbers and unity in tribe meant strenght and power, thus greater survival value.

The above racist program is wired in our brains, endowed from since millions of years to facilitate survival of individual groups.

We are now in 2010 and progressing and as such, the above tribalistic program may need to be modified to suit current time. But it is not easy to rewire a million-of-years-old organic program.

One effective way to counter the negative and exploit the positive of our tribalistic tendency is to be very aware and mindful of it at all times.
Humanity need to increase the strenght of the relevant inhibitors in our brain to put a 'dam' on this natural impulse to do away with its negative impacts.

As for specific behaviours of individuals, it has more to do with human nature which is applicable to human generally not per race or group.

Take for example, stealing, theft and kleptomania.
Appropriately such a behaviour should be viewed from the perspective of all human beings on Earth rather than by race or groups.
Why some human beings has a tendency to steal is because of their brain wirings and inhibitors. This is human issue and should not a race issue.

If a person happened to note that there is a greater number of theft from one race at any one period, that is secondary.
To focus on it could lead to other dangerous generalizations.

I think at present, the negative impact from evolved racism (Nazism, apatheid, Bolehland, etc.) has outweighed any of its positives, and thus should be slowly weaned off from the pyche of humanity.

[Justme123]

From the perspective of logical and critical thinking:

I think many would like to regard themselves as logical, rational and critical thinker.

The argument for racism is bad logic and reflect badly on the individual.
This bad logic is due to the usage of the fallacy of hasty generalization.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacy...generalization

"
Hasty generalization is a logical fallacy of faulty generalization by reaching an inductive generalization based on insufficient evidence.
Hasty generalization is also the basis for racist beliefs and prejudices - a person will infer an attribute to be common to all members of a group based on knowledge of only a small sample size of that group.
For example, the belief that a given person who is Jewish will be a greedy and nit-picky, the belief because a person is black, (s)he will be loud, poor, and criminal, or the belief that because a person is white, (s)he is lazy, overweight, arrogant, lack style, and have unearned or unwarranted wealth. This includes positive racist ideologies as well, such as the belief that Asians are better off academically than other racial sectors.
" wiki

Thus if one were to regard oneself as a 'mature' thinker, one should avoid resorting to the fallacy of hasty generalization.