Racism: Ingrained into Our Psyche

Racism at its purest and most simplistic level, unlike sexism, ageism, or any other discriminatory practice is inherently ingrained into the human psyche whereas other prejudiced practices are the repercussions of the mentalities of the inhabitants of our societies. Racism in its truest form is as an evolutionarily attained survival technique genetically carried down through the generations from our initial, primordial hunter gatherer ancestors all the way to our current technologically advanced generation. All people of all colors are racist to a certain extent, some more than others. I feel as if it is only natural for humans like all animals to feel a sense of caution and unease when engaging someone or something that is perceptually dissimilar in physical attributes as themselves as change or differentiation from the norm throws up a subconscious flag of impending danger. I believe that it was this primitive safety mechanism that allowed our earliest human ancestors to thrive and continue their species by differentiating between other tribes and groups when our species was still foraging for food and using this knowledge of difference as a danger assessment implementation as hostility was rampant.

Unfortunately as we progressed as a species, this genetic imprint continued to be passed along and eventually reached a level of antiquated ideas. Once humans freed themselves of the majority of their animalistic instincts and became civilized, racism should have died off but it didn't, it evolved as we did. No longer was it a survival tool, it was now an inherent evil present in all people. It is my opinion that although racism exists in us all to certain extents, we have the choice whether or not to let it exist on a visible level or let it be a determinate factor in the way we live our lives or conduct ourselves. It is the accompaniment of external influences that brings racism to the severity in which it can exist. People can have very few racist beliefs but allow one isolated incident to determine their belief system in relation to equality among the races. It is our individually unique environments, upbringings and most importantly our individual mentalities that cause racism to continue to exist and rear its ugly head. Hatred on the other hand is taught and experienced; it isn't something people are born with. People can choose whether or not to give in to their animalistic impulses of survival and superiority and that is why there is such a variance in people's views on other races. It is up to us to realize that in actuality, race is little more than differentiation of pigmentation levels. Deep down inside, people aren't afraid of other races, they are afraid of different cultures- certain cultures just happen to be accompanied by specific skin tones. It is okay to be curious about other races; we just cannot look down upon other races because of their differences. Instead we need to embrace other cultures, immersing ourselves in them until we have a thorough understanding of them. This will allow for us as a species to eradicate racism as a whole. It was our fore fathers ill advised decision to separate people of races in this country and although that wrong has recently been righted, the ramifications of that separation are still present. We as a country, as a people and as a species need to realize that only by communication between other races, cultures and creeds will we be able to eradicate racism in its entirety.