What is Racism all about?

If it were possible to be a true outsider looking into this world and in particular this country, one couldn’t help but notice some peculiar social dynamics going on within our society. We would see males and females dividing responsibilities according to their defined genders.

Then one would have noticed groups of people of different colors and speaking in different tongues not easily understood therefore living homogeneously within their own respective groups. However, over time the groups became closer in proximity and would eventually interact, intermingling socially, economically, culturally and eventually falling into conflict.

These conflicts became wars and as the saying goes, to the victor so goes the spoils. The stronger subjugated the weaker and this practice may have set the tone for how race would eventually be used to determine one’s value within a social structure. One could potentially argue that when Nazi Germany had the most advanced scientist in the world, that they developed the most advanced military weapons in the world. Therefore, their military superiority morphed into their inherent belief that their military superiority also translated into the social ideology that they were the master race and that everyone else were inferior. This belief no doubt contributed at least in part to their attempted conquest of the world. The belief in racial superiority often contributes to the desire to exercise one’s dominance over another.

The outside observer would have seen the practice of this dynamic taking place all over this planet, and quite prolifically over time throughout the generations. Today in the 21st century, there is an interesting dynamic going on within this country regarding racism. There are some who say that racism no longer exists because anyone from any race can achieve whatever their dreams are, and they will point to the fact that America had elected an African American President, we have Supreme Court Justices, Congress persons, Corporate heads, and officials in virtually every segment of our society who represent racially diverse minority groups.

Then there are others who in spite of the achievements see racism in the hearts of the individuals and are being practiced on the grassroots level. Some police officers and security guards profiling, the processing of minority juveniles differently within the system, job candidates being processed and hired at different salaries, teachers treating students differently, customers being charged different prices for the same product or services, and so forth. These are areas that are more difficult to measure though they are likely still being practiced.

Nevertheless, in this new age of self-enlightenment, are we seeing a difference in what we consider racism or is it simply being disguised as something else? There’s an age old question, “if a tree falls in the forest and if there is no one around to hear it does it make a noise?” The answer is yes, if all of the principles of science are still functioning it does make a noise regardless if someone is around to hear it. My point being that unless one’s heart has changed then no matter how you try to cover up hatred you will still have the same results. Racism fueled by intention is result oriented. “If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, walks like a duck…it’s a duck!”

Today we do not see the practice of racism as openly as we had years ago, so does that mean that our hearts have changed? Have we defeated the beast? Or has it simply become more subtle and that maybe we should look for something else? If our outside observer were still watching over time, they couldn’t help but notice the open attention that many on the Democratic Left is now giving to racism. It appears to be the platform of their talking point. The observer couldn’t help but notice the prolific labeling of everyone and everything as “racist” that do not agree with their positions. That would then beg the question, “because the Left accuses everyone and anyone else as being racist, does that mean that they are by default non-racist?” If you’re calling the kettle black does that automatically mean that you must not be black? Furthermore, does that mean that your position by default is also correct and non-racist?

Let me say parenthetically that this practice is just as inappropriate for anyone on the Right, the Center or the Left, that would include Libertarians. This political mud slinging has been done by all sides. It just appears that the Left has now turned it into a true art form.

We’ve been talking about the word “racism,” but in order to understand the subject more clearly, we need to clearly define the word thereby setting a foundation. “What is racism?” So let us start with addressing the root meaning of the word so that we are all on the same page. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary racism is:

Definition of racism

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 2a: a doctrine or political program based on the assumption of racism and designed to execute its principles b: a political or social system founded on racism 3: racial prejudice or discrimination.

In other words for example, it’s like believing that members of the “X” race are inherently prone to criminal behavior so we don’t want them in our neighborhood; and that those of the “Y” race are more prone to be alcoholics because they are known to drink so we don’t want any of them coming to work drunk so we won’t hire them. We also know that anyone of the “Z” race aren’t as intelligent as we are so then we won’t promote any of them to run the important aspects of our organization. These are all principles that many of us still have within our hearts most likely because we’ve been socialized to think this way, but unless we’ve openly practiced it, it becomes very difficult to prove evidentially that one is racist.

It’s difficult to know where racism as we know and understand it all started, besides the fact that we as humans may normally have certain biases for or against those who look, speak, and live differently. Nevertheless, the next three You Tube videos can give us some useful insights into the etiology of this subject:

Slavery originally started out as being an economically motivated need to maintain the economy, and it wasn’t based upon race but simply those who lost the war or battle became the slaves of the winners. However, as time went on those who economically benefited from it needed to justify the need to maintain the population that it was enslaving.

True racism is a very ugly subject and its practices are abhorrent and detestable. As stated previously, it starts with some base presuppositions that (according to Webster’s definition) a race of people is inherently superior to another race because of whom and what they are. Therefore, because of this assumption, decisions are made based solely upon race and not demonstrated abilities. Nevertheless, what we’ve been seeing here by some on the Political Left is the recreational use of this term in such a way that it takes it out of its original base context.

In this You Tube Video, Dr. Ben Carson addressed an apparent subject giving his opinion that no one of any sexual orientation has the right to change the definition of marriage. He was apparently criticized because of it and called a “racist,” because of his statement. There is no relevant connection here between the two subjects but yet that was the issue he was addressing when he stated that all Liberals are racist. [Editor’s Note: Because it’s difficult to know ALL Liberals, it is likely a stretch to claim that all Liberals are racist.] Nevertheless, we understand Dr. Carson’s point. Instead of having an open dialogue regarding the subject of Marriage equality and have an equal exchange of ideas, even to respectfully agree to disagree, one is called a racist by some members of the Left if you disagree regardless of the subject. This can also include being called a Xenophobe if you don’t agree with open borders. Therefore, being called a racist by anyone on the Left or the Right doesn’t particularly make you a racist.

Another example of racism by some members of the Left has to do with voter registration. With the growing number of illegal immigrants coming into the country and settling within the sanctuary cities and states, this writer has witnessed Democratic volunteers going through the community and registering anyone and everyone who was willing to say that they would register Democrat. There was no mention or requirement for a real ID or a stable living address in order to register. When the time came to vote, this writer has witnessed no official photo ID being requested. When the Republicans insisted on all voters being required to show a real ID when voting, some members of the Democratic Left called it racism. By doing so, they are telling the minority community that, “You are too stupid and ignorant to know how to get real identification for yourself.”

Now regarding true racism, we’ve seen examples in history such as the formulation of the Jim Crow laws where segregation was based solely on races because the social supposition was that one race was not equal to another. The practice of racism was institutional and a part the fabric that effected every single American citizen. One’s race overall predetermined where you lived, where you worked, how much you could make, and so forth.

In other words, racism is a mindset that influences and therefore translates into discriminatory practices of one group over another. Therefore, the root word “race” whether or not one believes race exists, is not the problem, its how we view it and therefore, how we respond to it. Most people will claim that they are not racist and they will justify their statement for a number of various reasons, “I’ve never done anything racist; I’ve married or used to date someone from the other race; my faith prohibits me from being racist; my child is mixed, etc.” However, usually if you pursued the subject further with them, you would likely find some bias tendencies which may not be full blown racism.

This link will take you to a somewhat standard evaluative test to assess a possible likelihood of racism. It is the Project Implicit test. There are some arguments against the reliability of this test as you can see from Vox.com but you can see for yourself.

When we think of racism of course we do think of slavery and the residual effects from it over the years. The following You Tube videos will present what we normally classify as blatant racism.

Racism is not something that one is born with, instead, its concept are a learned behavior and often reinforced through social pressure. Some who embrace the hared of other racial and ethnic groups can be so intense that it can divide families. In this YouTube video, we see a father who is a white supremacist and tried to raise his daughter to believe as he does. However, she became pregnant by a man of color and now he is denying his grandchild.

[Start at 1:18 in the video] This Blaze TV discussion group critiques Rep. Ilhan Omar’s patterns of perceived Anti-Semitism. They also touch on the subject of inherited social sin; does it make sense for present day Whites or Jews to inherit the sins of their ancestors?


In the interest to try to present some semblance of balance here, I am presenting a You Tube video of an attorney who represents the Left and she defends the Left wing’s political and social practices. She is a very intelligent attorney type that is very good at presenting her cogent views.

David Pakman on his You Tube broadcast is on the “Left” and calls out the Left wing practice of Identity Politics, racism and sexism. He presents a solid argument to consider and he asks good questions.

CONCLUSION: So therefore, to answer the relevant question, “What is racism and what is it all about?” The Answer is that racism is an ideology that is put into practice for the purpose of gaining or maintaining power and authority over others. So how do we fix it? The late Dr. Albert Einstein once said, “The level of intelligence that is needed to fix a problem needs to be higher than the level of intelligence that created it.” So I guess it will take the Creator of the Universe to fix this problem for us.

IMHO!!! This is my opinion and commentary, what do you think? Write your comments below.

NOTE: This post is not to be considered all-inclusive regarding this subject, (and reflects the views of the writer), but was constructed to simply propose some issues for your consideration and further study for discussion. Your disagreements are also welcomed.

[Cover photo taken at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia]