RACISM AND BIGOTRY

Meaning/Definition and Examples of Racism/Racial Prejudice-What Exactly Is Discrimination/Bigotry Zeph Agayo

Racism is a belief that a race (or races) is supposedly superior whereas other races are inferior. Another valid definition is that it is an unreasonable regard for one's race or a particular race. Stereotypes are classic examples or products of racism. To believe that people differ in intellect, skills, abilities, capabilities, knowledge, wisdom, etc., because of racial differences is racism. To believe that a particular racial group is supposedly inferior or superior is racism

Racism and racial prejudice are synonyms. They are interchangeable but not in all cases. Though racism basically means racial prejudice, one doesn't necessarily need to be a racist to be racially prejudiced. Racial prejudice is sometimes a product of inconvenience, insecurity, a feeling of being threatened, etc. In some cases, a racially prejudiced person may not have unreasonable regard for any race but because he wants the race he belongs to to be dominant or powerful, he tries to deny other races of privileges and gives all privileges he can give to his own race. He is not a racist but he is racially prejudiced. Of course, this can develop to outright racism. Another scenario is that a person is afraid that a certain race may become dominant and assumes that his race might lost its privileges. His insecurity or feeling of being threatened might cause him to be prejudiced towards others

Bigotry and prejudices almost exactly have the same meaning. Religious bigotry can also be called religious prejudice. The only difference is that bigotry denotes intolerance while prejudice denotes prejudgment.

Discrimination does not necessarily mean prejudice. Originally, it meant judgment. To discriminate means to judge, to distinguish, to recognize, to perceive, to determine, etc. Sound judgment may mean sound discrimination. Discrimination has become more popularly known to mean prejudice or bias. Thus, racial prejudice can also be called racial discrimination

Does It Matter Whether One Is Black White Chinese Indian Asian etc

History never fails to show that human beings are always easily inflamed with vanity, pride, egotism, selfishness, vainglory, conceit, arrogance, haughtiness, hoity-toity and/or gasconade. I can say that these are the roots or causes of all types of prejudices, biases, bigotry, partiality and narrow-mindedness. Whenever an ethnic group or a race achieves excellence, it would proclaim that it's because of its race that it achieved excellence. Fools would believe it but people who are blessed with wisdom would not, like one Igorot who said the following:

There are no genes which can ensure excellence."

I absolutely agree with that Igorot. Throughout history, many have regarded themselves superior and regarded others as inferior. They were all proven wrong. History has always shown that any man can do what any man can do.

It's an irony that people would basically agree with me but actually, they would still have a sort of racial prejudice. They just can't let go of their ego, maybe not yet. I guess we will just call it "human nature."

Some concluded that racial prejudice would be quenched if there is only one race. I don't agree. Why do I say so? Let me ask a question. Would human nature change if there's only one race? Would pride and vanity be gone if there's only one race? I absolutely doubt it. Whether there's only one race or many races, if human nature exists, I'm sure there would still be prejudice, bias, bigotry, etc. If there's only one race, I'm sure that prejudice would still abound. How and why? Think about how we deal with those of our own race. We like to try to portray that we are better than others. One would say, "I'm more good-looking because I'm taller." Another would say, "I look better because I have a better built" or "My complexion is better than yours." I could go on and on and on. If the world would have only one race, I'm sure we would still have prejudice towards minorities and those who have peculiarities. I'll say it again. Even if the world would have one race, prejudice would not be quenched. It's just very easy for us to catch an I'm-better-than-you attitude.
For those who want to hear something from the Bible , the apostle Paul wrote the following to the Philippians:

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others (Philippians 2: 3-4)."

One thing we often forget, in my opinion is that people need each other, so, people need to take care of each other. Pride and vanity can easily blind us. We often choose to gratify our vanities and often ignore that we make enemies in the process. We often forget that it is wise to make friends instead. We often forget that friends can help us on our problems. We are fools because we often choose to multiply our problems. We only seek what we suppose as good for ourselves and we often forget to seek what's good for everyone.

If we encounter a man whom we suppose to be less fortunate than us, should we ridicule him, step on him and let our pride and vanity reign? By all principles and reasoning, that is not a wise thing to do. I'm sure you agree and I hope you won't forget that it's honorable and wise to help the unfortunate rather than make an enemy of him. What can a man possibly benefit from pride? Let king Solomon answer, he said:

"By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well-advised is wisdom (Proverbs 13: 10)."

I have proved to myself that scoffing at others would make me enemies. Having enemies is not a good thing. One reason why the Roman Empire fell is that it made a lot of enemies for itself and I can say the same thing about the former Axis power. One reason why the Anglo-Saxon empire (primary English speaking nations) is losing its power is that it's losing its friends (The EU and other contenders of world domination are wooing the world). To eat one's pride and vanities is a very difficult thing to do but it is surely the right thing to do. During times that I didn't forget to do the honorable thing, I discovered that people whom I suppose to be less fortunate than me can actually help me on many problems that I have. The more I helped them, the more that they helped me (basically, that is).

Sense of Superiority and Inferiority-Should We Look Down On Poor Unfortunate Souls/People

It's pathetic that some people really think they are inferior. They were depravedly brainwashed, apparently. From a very young age, they were unwittingly indoctrinated that some people are superior whereas others are inferior and that they are just unfortunate to have been born to belong to the inferior ones. I couldn't believe that such abject social plight really existed. It was quite difficult for me to believe that such problems really existed but when I learned about how suicide bombers were brainwashed, I had to believe that some people really consider themselves as nothing but inferior.

(I wrote this article not only for those who suppose that they are inferior but to people who assume that they are superior as well. Like people who think they are inferior, individuals who think they are superior were most probably brainwashed starting from a very young age.)

Why do some people think they are superior? It's simply because they are more fortunate than others that they think they are superior. They ask themselves why they have a better quality of life and they conclude that it must be because of their race. Too simple to be true? Well, it's a simple concept which causes many big problems.

Why do some people painfully assume that they are inferior (some unconsciously think so)? You guessed right. It's simply because they are less fortunate and they pinpoint their race as the root of their shortcomings.

So, do you think they are right? Do you believe that there really are whose who are superior and there are those who are inferior? If you want my opinion, here it is. No, I absolutely don't buy such deplorable and idiotic suppositions. Let me talk about how siblings grow to illustrate a point. Almost always, those who are born first would naturally reach maturity first. The older ones are usually stronger and more knowing than the younger ones but it doesn't mean that the older ones are superior, does it? Just as the older ones would grow and become well-rounded adults, so would the younger ones. Anything that the eldest achieved could be achieved by the younger ones or do you say otherwise? No doubt, anything that the eldest knows could be known by the younger ones.

A similar notion could be said about the races. What the pioneer race achieved could surely be achieved by the other races. There are three main races, the Caucasoids, the Negroids and the Mongoloids. According to a particular study, the Caucasoids are the descendants of Shem, the first son of Noah; the Negroids are the descendants of Ham, the second son of Noah; and the Mongoloids are the descendants of Japheth, the youngest son of Noah (There are also mixed races like the Arabians, Indians, Malays etc). For sure, Shem would reach adulthood and so would his younger brothers. As we can see now, Caucasoids seem to have reached excellence. I say to the Negroids and Mongoloids that they shouldn't be offended. Instead, they should be happy and thankful because it means they can achieve that too and that Shem will help them.

I always believed that no one was born inferior or superior, rather, someone has to be born first. We can't all be born at the same time, can we? Someone has to be there first to aid the next ones. I guess it's a privilege to be born first but it involves responsibility.

To close this article, I'd like to quote an Igorot. He said something which I'm sure would make people think:

"There are no genes which can ensure excellence."