Fandango’s provocative question # 81

Do you believe that racism is an inherent human trait or is it learned? Either way, are there actions that society can take to eliminate, or at least diminish, racism? Or will racism always exist no matter what we do?

The question is seemly a sensitive one given what is going on within today’s society. True_George has weighed in on the matter and has come up with the following answer.

First off as human being we have the inherent trait to discriminate; and that the tendency to discriminate is actually mentally healthy.

 The second thing that True_George wants to point out is that before the rise of the age of European domination and the Atlantic slave trade; that human beings used to be categorized by the type of language they spoke and not based on skin color or shade. Until the 1600’s there were no legal distention of a person based on race. So the distention is just a recent development in human history. The only exception to this would be the Indian caste system.

There you have it; the answer to the first half of the question. That racism is not an inherent human trait. It is a learned behavior. We can see that by observing children.

Can society take actions to eliminate or at least diminish racism?

There are certainly actions that can be taken; in fact some of it has already been taken. The dismantling of the legal policy of segregation; that’s for starters; however what really needs to be removed is the idea all together. In theory quotas based on balancing the racial make-up of institutional organizations will need to be eliminated. One of our largest and important institutions the military, which eliminated segregation, has proven that the qualifications for the position and ability to get the job done transcends race.

But legal desegregation and integration won’t be enough. Something would have to be done to influence the mind and hearts of the future generation. Otherwise the older generation will just teach the same old lessons and hand down the same old attitudes to the younger generation.

The solution to this is a good and consistent campaign of propaganda and techniques of mind control; similar to the program (minus the bullying) that the gay lobby is using to influence the minds and hearts of today’s population into accepting the gay behavior and life style. The same type of propaganda campaign can be used to discourage racism. The inception of such program would have to be done from pre-K.

Will racism exist no matter what we do?

There will always be some type of discrimination; after all it is the basic of human traits that is mentally sound.

But one thing for sure; if racism did not exist, there would be something else in its place.

I can only pick a country where the majority of the people is of one dominate race. You’ll find that people will separate themselves based on social economic class; based on sexuality; based on profession..etc.

This is True_George’s philosophy and opinion. Not as great as Marcus Garvey, but valid nevertheless. True_George welcomes your opinion and philosophy pro or con.    

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