According to the news this morning, South Africa is planning to formally protest President Trump\u2019s (reported) remarks referring to El Salvador, Haiti and some African nations in a derogatory manner. South Africa\u2019s government is expected to issue a diplomatic protest to the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria. A number of lawmakers, both republicans and democrats, have criticized Trump\u2019s comments, some accusing him of racism.<\/p>\n
Well, that got me to wondering about racism. We hear the term all the time and I suspect that it\u2019s used often when what\u2019s being described or discussed actually isn\u2019t racism. My extensive research on the subject started with the dictionary. According to Merriam-Webster, racism is: 1) a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race; 2) racial prejudice or discrimination.<\/p>\n
Actually, reading the definition didn\u2019t help me much, but I think 2) in the definition above comes closer to what we usually think of as racism. If you talk to most people, they\u2019ll say, \u201cI\u2019m not racist,\u201d or \u201cthere\u2019s not a racist bone in my body.\u201d<\/p>\n
I think a lot of people, including myself, equate racism to hate. The dictionary definition above mentions racial prejudice \u2014 prejudice is defined a preconceived\u00a0 opinion that isn\u2019t based on reason or actual experience\u2026 so basically that implies that one feels superior to another without any test results or logical reason to demonstrate that anyone is superior to anyone else \u2014 it really doesn\u2019t have anything to do with \u201cdislike.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hate, on the other hand, is\u2026. well, just hate. If you hate someone because of their race, that probably makes you a racist. If you hate people in general, because of other reasons, you\u2019re probably not a racist \u2014 you just don\u2019t like people.<\/p>\n
The further I get into this topic, I\u2019m more and more convinced that there\u2019s nothing simple about it; it\u2019s a very complex subject. \u201cRacism\u201d has been around for a long, long time and probably won\u2019t go away any time soon. Racism is bad \u2014 hate is worse. Maybe we should concentrate more effort toward getting rid of hate\u2026 and maybe the race issue would fade away. When you stop to think about it, there really is only one race \u2014 the human race\u2026.
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n
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According to the news this morning, South Africa is planning to formally protest President Trump\u2019s (reported) remarks referring to El Salvador, Haiti and some African nations in a derogatory manner. South Africa\u2019s government is expected to issue a diplomatic protest … Continue reading