Why Do So Many Black People Say Whites are racist Without Questioning If They Re

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   vveaseyposted 11 years ago

   Why Do So Many Black People Say Whites are racist Without Questioning If They Really Are Racist?
   
   

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   retief2000posted 11 years ago

   You mean we aren't racist?  How is that possible?  It has been said so many times that good people without a single neuron that holds a racist thought think that they must have some deeply ingrained racism because they are white and whites are racist, right.  White guilt over non-existent racist thoughts pollutes the discussion.  I reject white guilt.  I rebuff all accusations of racism when aimed at me with the strongest terms.
   
   I have cast people from my life who are racist and would do the same to any one accusing me of racism.

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      vveaseyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Of course all white people aren't racist, some are some aren't therefore the question.

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      retief2000posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Apparently our whole society is racist and since it is a white society, read the hubs that address this, QED whites are racists.

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      Ericdierkerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      People with not racial acknowledgment sure do miss a lot of cool stuff that comes from race/culture differences. I mean I like Indians for what they are and I like those Native American Indians for what they are. Not knowing the difference ????

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      vveaseyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I have read those kind of hubs doesn't change the reality of my previous comment. When people are angry they make all kinds of assertions.
      all white people aren't racist,all black people aren't racist some are and some aren't.

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   Ericdierkerposted 11 years ago

   Neena Irving asked me to be her "chapperone" to the Miss Arizona pageant back in 75 or so. Her brother broke my nose the year before because I treated her wrong in his eyes. She is/was as black-- no almost purple a girl I ever did love. She moved on to stardom and I went on to college. Met an English/Walsh debutante American gal and married and had 3 wonderful children. But she left me.
   Fell in love with a Vietnamese gal. We have a boy who I reckon is Amerasian. I am Black Irish adopted into a German American family. And I live 4 stones from the border of Mexico and lived there and in France and New England.
   This thing called racism is just the understanding of diversity. If it is negative it is in the heart. That heart needs to be cleansed. Hate is not a racist issue it is a personal mental defect like anger.
   I am a bigot and a racist. But I do not have anger or hate --- I just see differences. And boyo boyo I am sure glad I do. Someone called someone a "wetback" the other day. Well I went up and bought him a six pack. How tough is he??? Dog gonnit he shared it with me.
   
   We are so blessed to be different. Oh my!!

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      retief2000posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Brother, if we didn't have our sins we wouldn't require salvation.  We sure are lucky.

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      Ericdierkerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That is a big Roger and Truth to dat bro.

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   LandmarkWealthposted 11 years ago

   Because it works and it's an easy escape from a rational discussion. If I call you a racist over an over, enough people will believe it to make it worth my while if I want to take you down.  And it's one thing that people are afraid to be called, especially in a very litigious society.  It's a form of political and intellectual extortion.

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   vlogan25posted 11 years ago

   Racism is about power. As a subculture blacks don't possess the power to be racist. With that said. Some of the worst bigots you will ever encounter are among black Americans. It appears impossible to have an intelligent discussion about race in this country. Blacks are angry about our awful and embarrassing past, while whites range from indifferent to guilty. 
   
   White Americans want to be free of any guilt associated with what their ancestors did on this continent. They want no responsibility associated with the obvious white supremacy associated with the founding of this nation. White Americans want no stain of racism to taint them, if we should discuss the Civil War, Reconstruction or the Civil rights movement of the 1960's. White Americans would like to believe that the genocide of the Native Americans associated with manifest destiny had not the slightest hint of racism involved with it
   Racism is systemic. I realize that many people do not wish to accept this as factual. to do so would be to move white Americans from half-consciousness state they are presently in to consciousness. It requires a conscious mind to understand how ones actions affect other people.
   
   White Americans have constructed a society built upon the fallacy of personal separation, superficial observation, traditional race thought and an erroneous theory of will. Which have led modern White Americans to believe that nothing is their fault. That everyone starts out life in America with a clean slate and the opportunity to climb the rungs of the ladder as high as their intellect and energy can take them.
   
   Yet, they seem to forget that the constitution was a document written by 50 or so privileged white slave holders, that it took an act of congress for  a small minority of black citizens to have the right to vote, That, since the end of reconstruction in this country until 1965 black Americans were 2nd class citizens. 
   
   White Americans seem unable to comprehend that the actions of their grandfathers in their time affected the lives of thousands of unborn black children. For many white Americans the only thing that they had going for them in this country was the fact that they looked white.  Yes, black Americans understand they are bigots and some would say rightfully so. What they don't understand is why white America will not own her strong racist tendencies?

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      retief2000posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Bull S***, it is indeed about power, the power to make white people who had absolutely nothing to do with slavery what so ever to feel guilty. Aren't 600,000 war dead sufficient penance for slavery?What about post slavery immigrants?

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      vlogan25posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It would be foolish  to expect whites to feel guilt over slavery, however I do expect that you take responsibility for where you are at and how you got here. You were not born in a vacuum. Your ancestors handed you your reality so own it.

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      Ericdierkerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I do feel guilty over slavery and Native American genocide. I just plain do. My birth parents came here in the 1950's to escape their persecution. So it makes no sense that I would feel guilty. But I do. What are you going to do?

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      retief2000posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I own nothing regarding slavery or how angry any contemporary black feels.My family has been here less than 100 years.Stop living in the past.Tell the black punk who wanted to beat me because I was white that he wasn't a racist.

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      Ericdierkerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes. I need to get over it.

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      vveaseyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      vlogan25 I assume you mean political power. The only power you need to be racist is that point of view, You may not have the power to enact your racism politically, but you can act it out in your attitudes and actions towards the objects of your raci

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      vlogan25posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Vveasey, yes, you understand my meaning. I am in now way calling all whites racist. Blacks have very little choice in inheriting the past of their ancestors. Why is it that whites will not at least face theirs?

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      vveaseyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      vlogan25
      That's a good question and probably has varying answers depending who answers it. Would you agree that those who don't hold the racist attitudes of their ancestors, presently, have no reason to feel guilty about that today?

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      retief2000posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I have no racist past. I am not a group. When I see a man a see A MAN, not his skin. Too man people look and see color, they look no further. Show me the scars of shackles on your wrists. Where is there racial purity. This is all a racist fantasy.

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       vlogan25posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I realize that critical thinking is not common in this country. What does the word systemic mean to you? Does historical have any meaning to you? can you identify relationships between the past and the present?

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       Ericdierkerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       No we do not hate a man for what his father did. We do no longer wipe out our enemies. America has faults like you do. You speak in ivory tower nonsense.

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       vlogan25posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I certainly don't believe that any present day American should feel guilty over slavery. I do believe that they should reflect on and understand the history. and attempt to understand the racial history of this nation.

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       msgingerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I wonder, who do you consider to be "White Americans" and "Black Americans" in this present time?

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       vlogan25posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Msginger you are thinking!!  Someone who knows how to use the brain god gave them.

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       Vicki Gosleeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Aren't we all just..Americans?  I might be wrong, but I've never heard of Black British and White British.  They had slavery too.  Why can't we be more like them and forgive forget move on.  Well not forget, but you know what I mean.

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       vlogan25posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Vicki, that is a very good question and the answer is that Europeans lack race consciousness. I lived in Europe for 24 years and suffered culture shock when I returned here. Americans are very race conscious.

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       Norine Williamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       If you would look at the history of Black Americans, you'd understand why they feel as they do!  Society especially the news media won't move on and Whites certainly are not apologizing for anything they've done historically!  So, on and on we go!

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   ParadigmEnactedposted 11 years ago

   Racism is a systematic, long-term pattern of discrimination, it has nothing to do with politically correct language or things done in the heat of the moment. At one time their was a major racial discrepancy where minority groups were being oppressed by the system. Those battles were fought by people much better than any of us. Today, people feel jaded without the types of conflicts that other generations had to contend with and so they manufacture race issues where there are none.
   
   In the old days, burning crosses or the N word spray painted on the walls of an integrated school would be tell-tale signs that race was a factor. These days people just take trivial things out of context to keep fanning the flames.

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      Ericdierkerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Some of us here did fight those battles. "Old days"??? Here we are talking about racism and someone seems to be bashing us older folk.I guess you cannot be a bigot against a race but being one against old age is now acceptable. How old?

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      ParadigmEnactedposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It was directed at younger people who didn't live through those times, but you've always been a jumpy one. Happy to spell things out for you.

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      Ericdierkerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      hihihihi -- Just thought I would put a plug in for age. Your original comment sounded too much like me. Life is good. "jumpy", is pretty accurate.LOL

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      vlogan25posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Your comments are well thought, and I think correct. Americans today have a difficult time pulling together relationships between events. Due to a deficient education system that does not teach them how to think.

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   Toytastingposted 11 years ago

   Hi Weasey,
   I agree with you that all White people are not racists. But, then I guess concepts like "Apartheid" have a long history behind it. It has become the perception that all whites are racists. We can't blame the Blacks for that, their ancestors have faced a lot because of racism.
   Honestly, speaking though not everyone can be categorized as a racist, yet there is a lot of racism around. Even today Blacks go through the same humiliation like their ancestors went through. So, it has become a general mindset.
   Hope this answers your question.

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      Norine Williamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Agree!  Society won't let it rest!

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   mattheosposted 11 years ago

   A better question is when did racism come to mean white people oppressing black people? Racism occurs in all races and people groups!
   
   Sudan was Arab against Black
   Rwanda was one race of Blacks against another race of Blacks
   Very real racism still exists between Chinese and Japanese - both considered Asian.
   Racism was white on white during the Bosnian war.
   Even in America, white on white racism occurs often - just look at how many Manhattan Elites view southern "rednecks" with contempt!
   
   Racism can and does exist among EVERY ethnic group around the world. This was true of slavery (Slavery was very common place among all races throughout history - including many African tribes) and it's still true of racial discrimination. As long as mankind is operating in its fallen nature, racism will exist.
   
   The answer to racism is in Galatians 3:28 - "There is no longer Jew or Gentile (no more ethnic division), slave or free (no more economic division), male and female (no more division based on gender). For you are all one in Christ Jesus." The answer is in Jesus!

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      vveaseyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      What you say is true.
      But to answer your question "when did racism come to mean white people oppressing black people?"
      It's because we're dealing with the history of the American experience of white supremacy, racism and slavery not the world

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      Norine Williamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      But society won't let it rest!

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   Adept2012posted 11 years ago

   It may be because of their exposure but many blacks do not think like that

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    micjo830posted 11 years ago

    Black people feel that they have the right to call racism because of America's past.  However, no one has the right to hate based on color.  Most blacks, if they are honest, are racist themselves.  They forget when they point the finger, it travels right back to them.  Blacks don't see themselves as racists, but many are.
    
    It can also go back to the fact that as human beings, we really cannot accept who we are as God made us.  We are not satisfied with what we see in the mirror.  Consequently, when we see ourselves, we look at our hair, our face, nose, mouth, etc.  The ideal is straight hair--not kinky.  The ideal is light skin--not dark.  Blacks may hates whites, but deeply they want to be white.  We have perpetuated this ideal, and we can't seem to move away from it.
    
    On the other hand, white have held down blacks for too long.  Slaves were freed in the 1800s, but one hundred years later, blacks still had very little rights.  Now, blacks feel that they are entitled to call it, but not to see it in themselves.  The black leaders have done very little to help alleviate the ills of the black community.  They would rather keep the dust going on racism.
    
    I am thankful to have a very objective view of this problem.  I am a black woman myself.  I have generally been very satisfied with how I looked, thought, or reacted.  Needless to say, I am lone ranger in my ideas.  I attend a church where I am the only black member--and it is very gratifying to be loved on by Christians of any race.  If I see racism, I must see it blantantly before I can call it racism.  I wish that blacks could do the same, but as long as there is evil in the world, whites will hate who they hate, and blacks will hate who they hate.

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       Norine Williamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       If we were ALL black,  prejudice would exist!  If we were ALL white, prejudice would exist!  It's a POWER thing!  Evil!  Sinful!

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    TXSasquatchposted 11 years ago

    Why do so many people think that racism can be reduced to a simple either-or dichotomy?  Everyone is racist--and, yes, I do mean EVERYone.  It's an innate human trait.  Thus, the question isn't whether or not someone is racist; the question is HOW racist a person is.  The answer falls somewhere on a continuum between two extremes, and most folks fall somewhere in the middle third.  Frankly, no one can answer your question--and we as a society cannot adequately address the problem of racism--until we quit trying to reduce it to a simple either-or.  Dichotomies are a myth.

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       vveaseyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       That's quite a statement to say that everyone is racist without knowing them, which makes your statement prejudicial at the least.. Just so I can understand where you're coming from, define what identifies someone as a racist in your way of thinking?

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       TXSasquatchposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       There is no academic consensus on the definition of racism, but in general, it is the belief that inherent differences between the races make them inferior or superior to others.  It's present in all people to some degree.

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       vveaseyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       TXSasquatch
       Toddlers of all kinds will play with one another and know nothing about race until their parents or others tell them they can't play with those who aren't like them. So I say racism is learned not innate.

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       TXSasquatchposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I'll let you split that hair if you wish.  Regardless of the source or cause, everyone is racist to some degree.  It may be a little; it may be a lot, but it's never wholly absent.

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       vveaseyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I'm not racist. I used hate white people not because i was racist but because of how blacks were treated during the fight for civil rights. I was prejudiced because i prejudged them as all being the same. But I had no innate racial hatred toward them

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       TXSasquatchposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I would like to think that I'm not racist.  I'm very open-minded, and certainly I'm a flaming liberal by anyone's standard.  I fight racism and intolerance whenever I see it, but I still don't think it's a dichotomy.  It's a question of degree.

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       vveaseyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I appreciate your honesty
       Maybe because you seem to have doubts about whether you have any racist feelings or not,  it's hard for you to believe that everybody doesn't harbor some racist feelings.

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    Kylyssaposted 9 years ago

    I've never met a black person who says ALL white people are racist. I suspect they and I say that some white people are racists because we've seen racism in action and in the present day.
    
    I've been in a car driven by an elderly black war Veteran when the car was pulled over with no reason stated and the cop was screaming profanity at this polite old man. No reason for the stop was ever stated. He was driving me to a doctor appointment.
    
    I've seen the applications of black job seekers go immediately into the trash at two places of business that I left as soon as I possibly could.
    
    I've seen straight-laced looking middle-aged and upper-middle-class looking biracial couples get stopped and talked to by cops in stern and loud tones questioning their activities for no good reason whatsoever.
    
    My black male friends sometimes can't even make a trip to the grocery store without getting followed and harassed by security.
    
    I recovered my girlfriend from the security office at a major chain store because they felt they had to search her for stolen merchandise because we were trying on clothing. WE were both trying on clothing and no one bothered me. 
    
    You could do a Google search for police shootings. Pay special attention to entries that include the words "no-knock warrant" and count the number of dead, innocent people killed (including children and ministers and grandmas) when police bashed in their doors dressed all in black, carrying automatic weapons and screaming things like get all the men. Or read a newspaper.
    
    If people could stop all of that stuff that looks exactly like racism that even white people can see even though they are not being subjected to it themselves, people who are black as well as everyone else will stop saying racists still exist.

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       Norine Williamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Society won't let it rest!

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    peter565posted 9 years ago

    (1) Generalization
    
    (2) The racism come into existence due to an era where European believe one should create us v.s. them distinguish base on race.  Therefore, the term white became associated with people whom believe in racial segregation and racist.  Therefore, some people believe all white people are racist
    
    (3) Despite we are in a post racist era, racist value, still have some influence.  For example, during that time, the white supremacists that ruled Europe wrote up a lot of fake history, to sustain the idea of white people been the superior race, it is only today, historians are restoring history to what it is and are starting to talk about making change to the history book (e.g. during the mid 18th century, China helped to retrain British navy. Before that European navy, [except ancient rome and greek], is just any person whom have a ship and a crew, he can be given the title of captain (frequently pirates) in the navy, if he sign himself and his crew up and the King sometime appoint one of the captain to be Admiral. The first formal navy in Europe, was the British navy, which was in fact trained by the Chinese, during the mid to late18th century.  This was traditionally been wiped from western history record, intentionally, it is only within the past 5 years, British historians are starting to point it out and want to reinstated it in British history text book, due to its historical importance)

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    wingedcentaurposted 8 years ago

    Hi vveasey! How's it going?
    
    First of all, has it been established that "so many Black People say Whites are racist Without Questioning If They Really Are Racist"?
    
    I am seriously asking is this has been established in some way?
    
    Secondly, I should say that anti-racism, social activists and academic critical race theorists use the word "racist" and "racism" in a very particular way. They do not -- and I can't stress this enough -- mean "bigoted."
    
    Let's take the case of the United States of America. Here's how activists and critical race theorists (that is actually an academic field) use the term "racist."
    
    1. Black people can be bigoted. White people can be bigoted. But again, this is most emphatically not what activists and critical race theorists are talking about.
    
    2. Again, in the United States of America, for example, whites can be "racist," but black people cannot be racist.
    
    Why?
    
    Because the power structure of the United States of America, at all levels, local, state, and national, are, for the most part, in the hands of Euro-Americans --- a Euro-American elite, to be sure, but Euro-American (or "white") nevertheless.
    
    Because this is so, where there is white racial bigotry (say, against blacks, for example), this is readily translatable into black hardship (in the form of all kinds of discriminatory victimization: disproportionate imprisonment, job discrimination, housing discrimination, and so forth).
    
    The American power structure is, for the most part, not in the hands of people of color (say, black people, for example). Therefore, where there is black racial bigotry against white people, this cannot translate into practical hardship for white Americans.
    
    Therefore, an utterance of racial bigotry, by a white American against a black American, is racist because the sentiment is translatable (and has been translated) into practical hardship for black Americans.
    
    And so, an utterance of racial bigotry by a black American against a white American, cannot be racist because the sentiment can proceed no further than a voiced assertion; and cannot be translated into practical hardship for white Americans.

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       vveaseyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       I'm good!. I've heard this theory before. But the question is can one be racist, without having the means to enforce that ideology?. I say yes you can. Can someone hate you, even if they don't have the means to kill you? Yes they can!

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       wingedcentaurposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       I would respectfully maintain that what you are talking about is bigotry, not racism, per se. The general example you are citing functions on an individual, not systemic level, as racism is understood to function.

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       vveaseyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       Racism is an attitude/belief, It's the belief of groups of individuals It's an offshoot the royal blood belief even If you were an idiot, you were superior by blood/birth to commoners. Racism "groups think they're superior etc, because of their race"

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