Ar White People Genetically Racist? Is Racism in White Peoples' Genes?

1. 59

   TMMasonposted 13 years ago

   So I came across this the other day. Appearently Racism is genetic, along with alchoholism gays etc... and white people are the only ones to have ever had slaves.
   
   Okay...
   
   This man is just absurd and a great example of the education of Americans in this day.
   
   http://www.theblaze.com/stories/new-aud … interview/
   
   Does this man really not know that Africans sold Africans to the Arab Slave traders and others? Does he really not see the state of Africa today?
   
   Absurd! this man is so far gone it isn't funny... just sad actualy.

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      Texasbetaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Obviously a ridiculous thought...and it is cute how it is framed as a Tea Party opponent. Do you want a video of a Tea Party member explaining how blacks are not human? I can give you one of those too if you want. Idiocy isn't just on one side.

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      Paul Wingertposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yep

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      Obscure_Treasuresposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      the quality of whiteness is a genetic inadequacy or a relative genetic deficiency state, based on the genetic inability to produce the skin pigments of melanin (which is responsible for all skin color) . . . Color always annihilates (phenotypically and genetically speaking) the non-color, white. Black people possess the greatest color potential.”
      On the basis of this genetic “fact” Welsing develops the theory that the needs of genetic survival cause white people to develop an “uncontrollable sense of hostility and aggression” against non-whites. Thus for Welsing:
      
      “The genocide of non-whites must be understood as a necessary tactic of a people (white) that is a minority of the world’s population . . . the global white minority must act genocidally against people of color for the purpose of white genetic survival.”

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   Cagsilposted 13 years ago

   To answer you titled question. No.

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3. 61

   knolyourselfposted 13 years ago

   "This man is just absurd and a great example of the education of Americans in this day." The Blaze was founded by Beck. 'The Blaze' is good example of the kind of education Americans get.

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      uncorrectedvisionposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      You mean this Beck http://www.beck.com/

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4. 59

   TMMasonposted 13 years ago

   Been trying to find the first video they are talking about but it has been taken down from everywhere I go... so...
   
   I just do not see how anyone can think racism is genetic.
   
   Here he is again in what I think is the first video... 2nd one down... he starts ranting about 3:25...
   
   http://www.theblaze.com/stories/alleged … e-racists/
   
   And I have not heard anything he says is being spoken there, being said in the background... so... but he insists that racism is a gene the white people have and no others.
   
   And knol... the story is the story... nothing to do with Beck. Get over it man.

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5. 0

   DoorMattnomoreposted 13 years ago

   "and white people are the only ones to have ever had slaves."
   
   but...isn't that a racist thing to say? makes my head hurt, kind of like trying to figure out time travel....

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      uncorrectedvisionposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Slavery is an ancient institution transcending races( a purely convenient construct, that) cultures and ages.
      
      I actually find the whole notion of races repugnant.  I like to think that Halle Barry and I should be much closer.

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6. 0

   Sherlock221bposted 13 years ago

   To claim that only white people are racist is in itself racist.  Making generalisations about any race, that are based not on evidence but on prejudice is I would suggest evidence of his own racist views.

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      DoorMattnomoreposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      elementary.

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7. 59

   Evan G Rogersposted 13 years ago

   I hate to say this, but racism IS genetic - in a strange sort of way. However, it is not specific to one race, or even specie.
   
   Most animals tend to learn by doing, and if that animal has limited contact with one set of specie/race, then broad generalizations are bound to be created. Thus racism is simply a symptom of how animals learn.
   
   The same reason why, if you entered a room and saw a tiger on the couch, you would leave, is the same reason why some are blatantly racist -- you've had limited interaction with tigers, and they've likely had limited interaction with the race in question.

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      DoorMattnomoreposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Racism is indeed learned. It is taught to children by racist parents. But fearing a tiger is more of an instinct, I would think. I dont care how many times I was face to face with a wild tiger, I would KNOW that it could kill me, and walk out of the room.

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         Sherlock221bposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I don't think racism is genetic.  If someone has grown up in a family which is not racist, then it is unlikely that they will be, unless they take on the views of their peers, rather than of their family. 
         
         The fact that racism has become less over the past few decades would suggest that it doesn't have a genetic cause, because evolution doesn't work that quickly.  50 years ago racism in the West was part of the culture.  From segregation in the US to apartheid in South Africa.  Society has evolved so quickly during that time, and the standard racist views then are now viewed as unacceptable.  If racism was genetic, then society could not have changed so much so quickly.

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         Evan G Rogersposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I'm not sure I can agree with that. Surely much racism can be passed down from a very open racist parent to a young child, but it is incorrect to say that racism can't be generated separately from a racist mentor.
         
         Racism is just bound to exist. It's a symptom of how humans learn. 25 people will see an event happen, and they will each attempt to "assimilate" what they have seen and try to "equilibrate" it with pre-existing "schemata".
         
         (These terms are used a lot when discussing education - Google "Piaget and Vygotsky " for more info).
         
         When 25 people hear about a black person killing a white person, (perhaps) 10 people will say "it's because he was black", 10 more might say "it's because he was white" and 5 people might say "I need to learn more about what happened before I jump to a conclusion".
         
         Then those people will go on to see more experiences, and things might pan out to bolster these assumptions. Some might have to give up their assumptions.
         
         That's how humans learn. Racism will not be "ended". If we somehow could make all the humans alive right now to not be racist, then the next generation will begin being racist just because that's how people learn.

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      3. 59

         Evan G Rogersposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Now we need to address what an "instinct" is.
         
         An instinct is, basically, genetically modified discrimination. Through natural selection, those humans who "ran the hell away from spiders/big cats/ wolves/ snakes on sight" tended to pass on genetic information.
         
         The same can be said for many phobias. Heights, Falling, etc.
         
         Humans (in general) have simply developed prejudice into their natural thinking about certain animals and situations, and thus prejudice sort of gets interlaced with our genetics.
         
         Thus, you can show a child a picture of a snake, and their hair will stand on end as a simple instinct. They are immediately able to identify "one freaky and strange animal". http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 … 121840.htm
         
         Instincts are, basically, just hardcore learned prejudice passed on genetically from one generation to another.

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8. 61

   knolyourselfposted 13 years ago

   Race is a psychology of inequality created to justify exploitation.

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9. 0

   Home Girlposted 13 years ago

   I think I have to agree with Evan. We have it in our blood to be scared, to mistrust, even to hate somebody who is so not like us. To overcome it we need experience and education. It can be relearned though, not to hate other people of different color, shape and form. That's why civilised people are different from savages (in theory at least...).

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      Sherlock221bposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      There are those who would describe the word "savages" as racist.  This was once a word used by Europeans to describe anyone who wasn't white or Christian, as an excuse to invade their land and expand their empires.  It hasn't really been used since the 1950s though, because of the understanding that such terms are prejudiced.

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      I am DB Cooperposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      "To overcome it we need experience and education. "
      Absolutely. Ever notice how some dogs are hostile toward people of a skin color they aren't familiar with? This racism isn't generally something they've been taught. It's not like white people are in their backyards training their dog to attack dark-colored dummies. People can be the same way, acting hostile toward people they don't regularly encounter.

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10. 60

    cooldadposted 13 years ago

    It comes down to kids in a sandbox.  If you put young children of different races together in a sandbox and let them play, they will play.  They may argue, they may laugh, they may cry, they may even hug each other.  They won't care much about their skin color until someone older tells them, "hey, you are white, you are black, you are yellow."
    
    We don't know any different until a parent or older sibling tells us we are different.  Unfortunately, many parents teach there children to hate and that will never end. 
    
    It probably won't happen while I'm alive, but one day everyone will just be a shade of brown from years of breeding across cultures.  That will be a fun day.

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       Sherlock221bposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I am running through the words in my mind of that song from South Pacific, which goes -
       
       You've got to be taught
       To hate and fear,
       You've got to be taught
       From year to year,
       It's got to be drummed
       In your dear little ear
       You've got to be carefully taught.
       
       You've got to be taught to be afraid
       Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
       And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
       You've got to be carefully taught.
       
       You've got to be taught before it's too late,
       Before you are six or seven or eight,
       To hate all the people your relatives hate,
       You've got to be carefully taught!

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    2. 59

       TLMinutposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I certainly hope children are more observant than THAT! The people who proudly proclaim that their children never mention a friend's skin color when asked to describe them aren't doing their children any favors IMHO. 
       
       
       
       That's the epitome of racism. Make sure we eradicate all differences, we must all look exactly the same. My white skin isn't acceptable to you, better get rid of it! My son's best friend's black skin isn't acceptable either, better get rid of that too! We must all be one acceptable shade? Kind of like Adolph's idea of all blond and blue-eyed? No individualism allowed?

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11. 61

    uncorrectedvisionposted 13 years ago

    I would say that fear of the other - those who are different, present a difference, come from a different place, speak, dress or act differently - is an evolutionary adaptation.  We come from tribes, even today, tribes - like their closest analog, wolf packs - are parochial and closed.  To be adopted into the tribe one must offer something to it, loyalty being paramount.  This loyalty to tribe ameliorates, to a degree, the old differentness.  When someone appears different than the tribe and acts in ways that could be harmful to the tribe hostility is guaranteed... and so on.
    
    It isn't that racism is natural it is tribalism that is.  I have black members in my tribe and whites who will never be part of my tribe.

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       recommend1posted 13 years agoin reply to this

       This is about correct - and racism comes in many forms that come from different basic fears and 'prejucices' - here in China darker skins are 'looked down on' generally which is a form of colour or racial or class prejudice quite different to the kind of racism that originates in the black white American divide.

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12. 81

    Wayne Brownposted 13 years ago

    I don't think so....racism seems to be associated with the white race through historical events, etc. and it is looked at in that manner unconsciously by definition. I am not defending those who have committed racist acts.  At the same time, the sheer understanding of the term within our society suggests that it is something which is generated by the white race.  In truth, there are many, many black, oriental, and hispanic people who have racist tendencies but they go unnoticed or unlabeled.  Racism can orginate from any group and any group can be a victim of it just as is the case in terms of descrimination.  We have come to a point in America today at which the white race is probably more discriminated against than any race but there are no voices raised to stop it.  Examples that cross both the lines of discrimination and racism are:  It is okay to be a member of Congress and suggest that a caucus be formed and called "The Young Black Democrats" or "Hispanics For Democracy" conversely, it is politically incorrect and frowned upon for ten white men to form a group called "White Men For America".  The later suggests (by reference to the definition cited above) that something sinister and occulsive is going on in such a group when in fact ten white men have just as much in common for reasons of a club as do ten black men.  The sheer make up of an organization or club should not represent a threat...the intent is the threat pure and simple.  The day that a white man files and wins a discrimination law suit or effectively plays the "race card" in obtaining what he desires will be the day that the system finally truly reaches some equilibrium.  In that respect, I hope that people of all races can work toward that goal sincerely and effectively. WB

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13. 75

    Wesman Todd Shawposted 13 years ago

    I think this thread just lowered the IQ of all races. . . . .

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14. 59

    TLMinutposted 13 years ago

    It's a lie that a child has to be taught racism by family, especially that it has to be deliberate. Experience made me racist, I actually learn from my experiences in life, what a shock! I've never sat blankly waiting for someone to tell me what and how I'm allowed to think of my experiences.
    
    Time passing and different experiences are what toned it down. Being told that I'm racist because I was taught to be by evil bigots is nonsense. I was racist because blacks around where I lived, when I lived there, were warring against whites, assaulting and killing several in MY DIRECT EXPERIENCE. That's where I learned racism. When I went back to that area (DC/Balto) area many years later, got a job with many blacks who were professional, courteous, intelligent, and kind, I changed my views.
    
    Besides, it IS a normal biological function to find others like oneself to be the home base, then you venture out from there to explore the different experiences available.

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    Written in Ashesposted 13 years ago

    I think how someone was raised can play a big role in racism.
    Children can be very attentive towards their parents, and if they are always beating into your brain that there is something wrong with black people, soon you will probably take up their views.
    
    Also, experience influences opinion but your opinions can also be generalizations. For instance, if your dog loves to have it's belly scratched, you might infer that all dogs like to have their belly scratched. Not true. In TLMinut's case, because blacks were always warring against the whites, they became racist until they met blacks were different.

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    niquanettwilsonposted 13 years ago

    huh

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