Racism

Racism has been defined in many different ways, most having to do with prejudice and discrimination based on race.

One example definition is:

"Racism refers to pejorative beliefs and/or harmful actions that are directed towards a person on the basis of that person's race because of the belief that racial characteristics have some sort of effect on the individual's character or abilities."

Often, racism takes the form of racial supremacism. Racial supremacists believe in the inherent superiority of their own "race", and usually hate all members of other races.

There is much critique on the simple "racism is discrimination based on race" definition. Almost all scientific researchers state that there is only one race of humans: homo sapiens sapiens. According to this view, racism is discrimination based on largely imaginary distinctions between people. Racists themselves usually do believe that humans are divided into different races.

The term racism is often used loosely to refer to almost every form of bigotry except sexism, including discrimination based on ethnic background, nationality, religion and cultural or socio-economic differences. Racism, then, is sometimes used as a synonym for discrimination, and this is indeed a usage common to several European researchers.

There is also a criticism of the above definition of racism implicit in the term reverse racism. "Reverse racism" refers to any racism directed at groups traditionally regarded as perpetrators rather than victims of racism. For example, the racism of a black man against a white man in the United States would generally be described as "reverse racism". Others counter that the concept of reverse racism is itself racist, since it suggests an automatic assumption that certain groups of people are more guilty of racism than others.

The "reverse racism" controversy illustrates one of the difficulties in defining racism objectively: almost no one will accept a definition of racism that would imply that he himself is racist.

"Hey, man, I'm not racist, but (that group of people) are all (insert stereotype here)."
"It's not racist to fight back against the oppressor."

Types of racism

There are many forms of racism; two infamous historic examples are South-African apartheid and the Anti-Semitism of Hitler's Germany. Racism could be divided in three major subcategories: individual racism, structural racism and ideological racism.

A loose list of categories of racism:

Racial prejudice is pre-formed personal opinions about individuals on the basis of their race. (e.g. John thinks that Mary will have bad attribute X solely because Mary is a member of race Y)
Racial discrimination is differences in treatment of people on the basis of n characteristics which may be classified as racial, including skin color, cultural heritage, and religion. (e.g. John refuses to hire Mary because she is of race Y)
Institutional or structural racial discrimination -- racial discrimination by governments, corporations, or other large organizations. (e.g. Mary cannot get a job, despite her qualifications, because she is of race Y.)
Cultural racial prejudices or discrimination refers to a state of affairs when the de facto inferiority of a race is considered normal by another race. (e.g. People expect Mary to work a poorly paying job because she is of race Y, or accept this state of affairs without objection)
Historical economic or social disparity is a form of discrimination which is caused by past racism, affecting the present through primarily unconscious racist attitudes and actions. (e.g. A member of Race Y, Mary, has her opportunities adversely affected (directly and/or indirectly) by the mistreatment of her ancestors of race Y)
Racialism is scientific or pseudo-scientific claims about differences in ability among races. (e.g. Dr. Smith writes a book claiming that members of race Y are, on average, less intelligent than members of race Z)

In addition to the basic types of discrimination above, racism can also be divided into two broader categories: racism against a minority (of a certain population) versus racism against a majority (of a certain population). Examples of the former include the enslavement of Africans and continued repression of their descendants in the United States. The existence of the latter is often controversial, but agreed upon examples include racial apartheid in South Africa, wherein whites (a minority) discriminated against blacks (a majority); this form of racism also occurred during the former colonial rule of such countries as Vietnam and India by France and the United Kingdom.

Reverse racism is a highly controversial form of racism against a majority that refers to several ideas. The current occurrence of reverse racism in the United States (where the term originated and is primarily used) is highly disputed.

In the United States, many people, largely conservative, criticize policies such as affirmative action as an example of reverse racism, and claim that it is systemic racially-based discrimination. Supporters argue that affirmative action policies counteract the systemic and cultural racism against minorities by providing a balancing force, and that affirmative action does not qualify as racist because the policies are enacted by politicians (who are mostly part of the white majority in the United States) and directed towards their own race.

Some Americans believe that reverse racism exists in the United States, but that it is cultural racism, and not primarily systemic. For example, some African-Americans discriminate against white people--this can be called reverse racism.

In addition, some white people believe that political correctness has led to a denigration of the white race, through percieved special attention paid towards minority races. For example, they consider the existence of Black History Month (February) but not a White History Month, Hispanic History Month or Asian History Month to be de facto racism directed at the majority and non-black minorities.

Racism is and has been official policy in many countries. In the 1970s, Uganda expelled tens of thousands of ethnic Indians. Malaysia currently enforces discriminatory laws limiting access to university education for Chinese students. Russia launched anti-Semitic pogroms against Jews in 1905 and after.

Racial profiling, or prejudicial treatment of minorities by law enforcement officials, in the United States is another highly controversial example of racism. Arguments on the subject tend to focus on whether it is cultural discrimination on the part of law enforcement officers, or an official policy of discrimination among law enforcement agencies. Supporters of racial profiling also believe it is a necessary tool for law enforcement, because, they claim, members of certain minorities are more likely to commit crimes. For example, most terrorists have been young Arab males, they claim, and so it is both logical and useful to have security officers at airports take special note of young Arab male fliers. Critics dispute the numbers of criminals of various races (such as the existence of Christian, Hindi, Israeli and Latino terrorists; see racial profiling for more information on this aspect of the dispute) as well as the usefulness of racial profiling. They claim, for example, that racially profiling young Arab male fliers at airports will only lead to increased recruitment of older, non-Arab and female terrorists. In addition, many critics of racial profiling claim that it is an unconstitutional practice because it amounts to detaining individuals on the basis of what crimes they might commit or could possibly commit, instead of what crimes they have actually committed.

Some examples of specific types of alleged racism

Afrocentrism - (not always considered racist); the belief that black African cultures were historically more powerful and influential than is widely believed
Anti-Semitism - usually, racism directed towards Jews, though Arabs are sometimes included as well
Apartheid - a system of racism, now abolished, that once existed in South Africa; some refer to current Israeli policies towards Palestinians as apartheid as well
Black supremacy - the belief that those of African descent are the superior race
Eurocentrism - the sometimes unconscious practice of historically and culturally focusing on white Europeans, to the exclusion of significant achievements of other cultures
Islamophobia - a form of racism and describes the manifestations of hatred and hostility towards Muslims and Arab people in general
Manifest Destiny - a historical form of racist belief, that white Americans have the right and duty to colonize the west and "civilize" the Native American inhabitants
Naziism - a historical form of national socialism, coupled with extreme racism, directed towards Gypsies, Jews, Poles, Russians and Slavs, among other groups; some adherents continue to exist
Racial segregation - (not always considered necessarily racist) the belief that the races should be kept separate, either geographically or culturally
White supremacy - the belief that those of European (or only northern/western European, and sometimes excluding Ireland) descent are the superior race, or 'master race'.

Some examples of alleged racist organisations

Aryan Nation - a group of militant white supremacists
Black Panthers - a group of African-Americans sometimes considered currently or historically racist
Kahane Chai - an Israeli organization that preaches Jewish supremacy, named after Meir Kahane
Ku Klux Klan - a group of American white supremacists, founded after the Civil War
Nation of Islam - a group of African-Americans sometimes considered currently or historically racist
White Australia Movement - a white supremacist organization in Australia

External links

What is Race? http://academic.udayton.edu/race/01race/race.htm