Do you think the only reason why people are racist is because they think they are superior?

Question

Or are there other reasons...

Answer 1

thats basically the main reason..that, and theyre stupid.

Answer 2

alot of racism comes from there upbringing, and society saying "this person is this or this person is that!" Some people on matter how you treat them or act toward them will never change there mode of thinking. take me for example i am a guy that wears skirts, when i wear skirts i do so as a man. now mind you i have never had any negative remarks, but i know how people think they see a man in a skirt and they start in with the g*y stuff. I know this for a fact because where i used to work someone seen me in a skirt and went right up to my dad and the first words out of there mouth is "is your son g*y?" my dad asked why? they said "I seen him wearing a skirt!" It's all about peoples narrow minded to what they see going on around them!

Answer 3

Of course there are other reasons.  When minorities think they're superior, for example.

Answer 4

I think it is a survival mechanism.  Back when mankind was nothing more than roving bands of hunter gatherers, we had to view any person who was not a member of the immediate family unit or tribe, as  potential competition for limited resources and therefor an enemy.

Answer 5

No.  Putting down others makes them feel better.

Answer 6

the main reason people are racist is because what there country or race has done in the past for example people choose to be racist to the germans because of the war.

also people are racist to people with different colour skin because they are different to white people so they find it amusing to do this.

Answer 7

some do. but not all. there are lots of reasons for that.

Answer 8

I think racism is a potent mix of fear and ignorance.

They are ignorant about other cultures and with people who are not very bright the prospect of a new experience is very frightening. Like small children when first confronting a large dog many of them feel instant fear. They lash out as a form of self defense - thinking that the stranger must be dangerous.

This is the fear the politicians manipulate. Politicians on all sides in the current conflict have made it their business to foment disharmony between cultures. It suits their purposes to have us all at each other's throats.

For whilever  the ordinary people of the world are busy hating one another and fearing what the other may wish to take from them, rich politicians on all sides are making out like bandits!

EDIT: To David - in most of the world white people are the minority group.

Answer 9

This is a hard question to answer since different people are racist for different reasons. Some people have had a bad run in with someone of a different race and consider everyone of that race to be a bad person, others are racist because of the view of their peers and family. Racism is a very widespread problem so there must be many more reasons for it than the average person can fathom. I hope you find the answer you are looking for. Just remember not all questions have an answer.  

Answer 10

They feel threatened by others that are different from themselves, so they put up a front of affirmation telling themselves they're better than the supposed other..They try desperately believe it too. I think many racists have this fear of being inferior to the projected other as well as having personal feelings of inadequacy, and outward personal failures to match..They thus project their own inferiority complex onto a targeted group and gain a warped sense of empowerment which in the end is nothing more than an illusion.

Socially constructed ideas about groups of peoplee do exist, races don't

Answer 11

I think it is a product of your up bringing and is the result of the people you were around in youth, like your parents ,friends, and such. It is really a give away sign of ignorance but since the government practices it daily it will never go away.

Answer 12

I think there's some other factors:

A lack of understanding of people different from themeselves

A society that brought them up saying that rascism is OK... which it is NOT.

Answer 13

Nope. It's how they are treated by a certain race. Say I was black and all white people did was steal my things in my house then i wouldn't like them especially if no one of another race did it to me. Let's say I am white and all African Americans did was steal from me and my parents. Like stealing gas or vandalizing my house by spray painting the bricks and windows and breaking in the house. Think about it, it's not because they think they are superior. most people do it for the reasons I gave you, and maybe some do it for superiority.  

Answer 14

It is either they think they are superior or they are threatened because somebody else is actually more superior. It is more like jealousy.

Answer 15

Yes. That's practically the definition. Racism itself is bread from a mixture of either ignorance or your parents teaching you that.