Why are people so racist?

Question

I am an indian 13 year old girl...not picking sides...but i have been ridiculed for up 2 2years just for bieng indian...i thought i had it bad and that when i read the story of harriet tubman! she became an inspiration 2 me! at the time whites were allowed 2 beat people 4 bieng of darker color...anyway i learned 2 stand up 4 myself after hearing harriet's story...what makes ppl think they r superior 2 others because thier skin tone is lighter...why r there so many curses 4 pplof a diferent race...and most importantly...4 what reason did harriet tubman rosa parks matin luther king(etc.) work so hard if we are still going 2 b so racist...

by the way i was wondering who is ur hero from history///like mine harriet tubman and y? just a side question!

thanks 4 ur time!

Answer 1

People are racist people they are taught hate and they are allowed to act on the hate they now have. They are not taught about differences but yet superiority. There is a difference between pride in your heritage and racism.

My hero from history is also Harriet Tubman. She has been since I fist studied her when I was 9 or 10..which is about 15 years ago!

Answer 2

I think it is just the way people are brought up,

My inspiration is my mum, we grew up in a small town in south australia and when mum first moved there no-one would talk or acknowledge the aboriginals and mum used to work in a supermarket and would always be friendly to them, one of the elders made her an honorary blood sister of their tribe and now almost thirty years later she still has desendants of that tribe give her respect if they see her in the street, they will walk up to her and introduce themselves

Answer 3

When you are a child, you sometimes get teased for anything that apparently bugs you.  That is typical behavior for most groups.  The views you are reading about don't apply much in modern societies.  Don't let the little boys or less often little girls who like to taunt know they bother you.  They will be impressed if you aren't bothered by their silly insults.  The goal is to make you mad so don't give them the satisfaction.  Most of them will mostly grow out of it in time.

Answer 4

People are racist because they're afraid and they have low self-esteem.  They don't understand different people, they don't want to, and it's easy to make yourself feel better by putting other people down.  I'm so sorry that you have to put up with such @sshats.  It is better than it was in Tubman's time, or even King's.  We're slowly working on it, with lots of backtracking.  It's hard.

You should also check out Sojourner Truth.  I think she's freakin' awesome.  She did a great speech, "Ain't I a Woman", which is a classic, and she did it on the fly.  It's a wonderful indictment of racism and sexism.

Answer 5

My favorite hero in history is Ernesto Che, for a buncha reasons....

Oh and if they keep picking on you , Research on some stereotypes and hit them back . Besides Indians have positive stereotypes , assuming unlike your classmates that pick on you.

Answer 6

I have a friend that is Indian.  A few jokes get tossed around but he is always there and in on it.  

The bottom line is there will always be racists, from now until the ending of the world.  

But, there are good people out there.

Answer 7

People are racist when they lack self-confidence; by banding together and criticizing another group, they make themselves feel superior even though they are not.

My hero from history, in this context, is Jim Thorpe who had his Olympic medals taken away.

In 1913, Thorpe was stripped of his two gold medals after the Amateur Athletic Union found out that he played for a minor-league baseball team from 1909–10. Plenty of amateur athletes played professional ball in those days, but did so under assumed names. Thorpe's mistake was owning up to it and ironically, it would come out years later that Thorpe and his teammates at Carlisle were paid more for playing college football than for professional baseball. Not until 1982, almost 30 years after his death, was Thorpe given back his standing as a two-time Olympic gold medallist.

Answer 8

Because as long as my people (whites) control most everything in this country (U.S.) then I don't ever have to feel like you do. Isn't that wonderful (for me)?!!!!! By the way I am THE ALL AMERICAN!!!!

Answer 9

I dont know why people are so racist.  To me those people don't have a life, if they have the timeto say racist things, because that is just plain evil.  I don't like when I see other people being made fun of because of where they come from.  I really dont have a hero from history.

Answer 10

So you are hurt that they made fun of your color? Does that mean you do feel inferior? The only time you are hurt by comments like these are when you do believe them.

Be proud of who you are and nothing can hurt you.

Also carrry a big stick.

Answer 11

Well I'm Indian too but I've never received racist comments to my face. My friends sometimes joke around but overall its not bad. If u still get mocked just shake it off and be proud to be Indian...we've got the best food!!

Answer 12

people are probably racist because they are so use to their culture and the way they live, and the other ppl who are from different cultures live differently and sometimes act differently, and so the "racists" aren't use to the way they live so they think it's stupid or bad or something, but they don't even know the story or why. so they just say it is. they make fun of them and stuff. but its really sad. what's the point of war. it's not like we're gonna be living everywhere at once!! just stay where you are or move where you think you'll be happy! sheesh!! these ppl!! lol!! i went to a totally different subject sorry... well try to make my answer make sense. i can't really explain it.

Answer 13

Maybe you could stop trying to separate yourself from the White race and try to integrate? What did people do, make a joke about your culture?

Wow, 2 thumbs down for the one guy who says to get over it because she thinks she's like Harriet Tubman? Were you ever a slave lincypanickerqt? No? Then you're completely different. If someone tells an off-color joke about your race that you don't like, don't laugh and get over it. Or make a joke about their race.

I don't hate anyone because of their race. I hate people who do as much as they can to separate themselves and make them selves as "Un-White" as they can simply to "rebel" or annoy people. Instead of complaining, try and make some friends, especially White friends, and integrate yourself with people of other races.

To the communists or whatever you ares who gave me a thumbs down for telling her to integrate with people from other races and American culture. You're pathetic. I'm betting you're the kind who have foreign parents who moved here and you've been here your whole life. You've had your whole life to integrate yet you choose the opposite and separate yourself from others as much as possible. Instead of sitting here giving thumb downs to answers with good advice, go out and make some friends.

Answer 14

I think the bottom line for racism is upbringing. People will argue with me that they have their own choice, but its like religion. If you were born and raised christian, then making a transition to a new religion would be harder for you than the kid who was raised agnostic. I'm just saying the seed is planted by the parents.  That and ignorance. I actually can say that aside from my father and his wife, there is no-one of my race that particularly inspires me. But I can name people of all different races that do inspire me. Like Shaq. He is trying to rid the world of childhood obesity. How cool is that?  Or the Dali llama doing humanitarian work all over the world.  Or Clay Aiken for using his new found stardom for helping others! well... now that I think about it, he's the same race as I am.That's just a couple off the top of my head. The people who deserve the most credit are those who commit truly selfless acts of charity.

Answer 15

Mostly 'cause they're ignorant.  Sometimes 'cause they feel threatened, but even that's mostly 'cause they're ignorant.

Answer 16

Racism is wrong...

But it's not always white on black... I have happened along a TON of black on white racism!!! I have seen a lot of it in the corporate world too...black owners hiring only blacks, etc.

Answer 17

cuz there stupid idiots

Answer 18

It's just ignorance, some  ppl are racist b/c the way they were raised and for older ppl there just stuck in the old times and haven't realized its the 21 century and time to stop being so d**n immature and ignorant. Color(race) shouldn't matter we all are people and were made the same way its just a color of someones skin , big deal they just need to get the f**k over it. Well i guess mine would be Harriet Tubman too or Martin Luther they played great roles in society trying to make the world a better and more acceptable place. Especially Martin Luther b/c he fought for his ppl just to be accepted and he died while doing that and im sure he died w/ pride and he made a huge impact on todays society.

Answer 19

Well they were fighting for there to be laws against legal racism, invetiablly u can change peoples mind neccesarly if its ingrained in there mind,  Racism is to a certain extent unavaidable, were all a little bit racist, not to say everone hates people of a different race, but there is at least one sterotype about another race ingrained in everyones supconsoius, I however know how you feel, Im half Hebrew, and many poeple both in a light hearted  and in a just plain mean way have made jokes, lik dont be such a Jew or look thweres a penny on the ground, and things of that nature, my advice, ignore it unless its an insult derectly aimed at your family, if there just petty little racist jokes just ignore them thell go away eventually, and enivetaibly take it with a light heart, lifes to short to give jerks like that anything to work with.

My hero is Ghandi, he (if u mean by Indian of India not Native American he might be of interest to u, there are many books about him) He taught peacefull, protest and liberated two natoins from the hands of the English without even firing a bullet! i think thats amazing

Answer 20

We have a tendency to be afraid of the unknown. Races and cultures that are different to ours, ones that we do not understand or know much about, can be daunting. People that taunt and ridicule others because of race or other inherent features, are just acting out their fear. They are actually afraid of you or afraid of what you represent to them.

Your dark features also highlight a "darkness" within them that they are afraid to look at. If they are taunting or ridiculing then their own "darkness" or inner shadow is vey big.

Answer 21

People are racist because they are brought up that way or because they simply are uneducated.  People need to realize that no one asks to be born the color they are.  I tell everyone who is racist that maybe I shouldn't talk to them because they have different colored eyes or hair than I do and they usually say that's ridiculous, they had no control over that and I say that's right just like people didn't pick their skin color.

Answer 22

I'm white American and personally i think Indian girls are very attractive

Answer 23

Some people have a notion that their race is [insert postive adjectives], as this was what they were taught.

If you are NOT of that race then your are [insert negative adjectives and throw in a perjorative comment or two], for they were taught this as well

Answer 24

Well, racism originally started as nationalism, where, back in ancient times, different nations had different skin colors. So it was a form of patriotism, especially at a time where a lot of war was going on. People are still threatened not by different color, but under the assumption of a different culture. Some of these are valid, but very few. For example, many Arabs are peaceful people. Very few Muslums are terrorists, but the great majority (my guess is between 90-95%) of terrorists are Muslum. People just get their facts wrong. With the mainstream media feeding us with left-wing lies, it's not hard to get confused. I research just about everything online, and read A LOT of books. Gotta tell you, it opens my eyes to all the propaganda modern society is spewing at us. But I'm off topic.

Discrimination is even older. An observation of a crow that is black, we assume that all crows are black (which they naturally are). Of course, this does not apply to personalities. Many people hear "Democrat" or "Republican" and think "Liberal" or Conservative." Which is not necessarily true.

My hero of racism is, without a doubt, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He worked all his life to give freedom and equal rights to all of mankind. I hate how NAACP is saying that he would support affirmative action. I recently read King's speech, and it says "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." It's obvious that affirmative action does the exact opposite. It is the most racist act addressed by Congress today. King was not only a civil rights activist. He did not represent Black Americans. He represented Men and Women Everywhere.

Oh, and by the way, don't let anybody tell you that racism is worse in America today than ever. That is a load of c**p. It's much better today. When was the last time you saw a Spanish Priest stick a Turk in an iron maiden? When was the last time you saw the police stick a hose in a fire hydrant and shoot it, full blast, at a black? Not since the 60s. Or 1500s for the first example. By the way, an iron maiden is a coffin, standing up, with large spikes in the door, so that when you close it, it stabs you with about 12 of them, and it has blood drain from the bottom. The only time I heard about that in the past 10 years is when Uday Hussein (Saddam's Son) shoved an Olympic Athelete in the iron maiden for not winning the event. Ahh, remember when Bush did that?

Answer 25

the main reason people thought they were superior to the blacks of africa was the idea that they could buy and sell them like goods.  this idea of posession has lingered into todays thoughts and has had a lasting affect on racism in our country, it also takes a few generations to expel the original notions of racial superiority of whites.  those civil rights leaders worked so hard not so that they could have better, more equal lives, but so their children and childrens children could have better lives, there work is still seen today.

Alexander the Great--accomplished so much in so little time--and fearless

Answer 26

I don't know why people are racist but I do knwo that not everyone is like that. There are just as many people out there that are "color blind" as there are racists.

I'm sorry your experiences have been so bad and I hope that you will meet people in the future that can somewhat restore your faith in humanity.

Hmmm.......a hero from history?....Maybe Ghandi...At least his message was one of love and peace.

Answer 27

ppl arent superior just because their skin is lighter... sadly, nowadays racism goes in every direction... it is unfortunate that in our fervor to promote the individual importance of different cultures that we are in fact strengthening racist tendencies in society... America, for example, is no "melting pot", but is instead a "stew bowl", with ingredients (races/cultures/religions/etc) that dont mix.... ignorance, organized politics, formalized religions, and other asstd. propaganda are to blame...

cheers!

Answer 28

From an anthropological perspective racism is a response to group identity.  Protection of yourself and your group was a huge impetus to exclude others and be wary of those different from you.  This is simply an explanation for the origin and the ingrained nature of xenophobia (fear of outsiders).  This makes racism a part of human nature but there are lots of things that are part of our nature that we suppress or do away with altogether and racism should be one too.  

My hero from history related to racism would be Genghis Khan.  He did not care about race, it mattered not if you were Mongol, Han, Persian, Russian, etc.  He conquered and treated those he conquered in the same manner (dignity if they submitted) regardless of color, race, creed or religion.