How to 'cure' racism?

That's quite true. I have met many people who have racist tendencies but are lovely people otherwise.

The likelihood is that they are racist through ignorance, and would more than likely be very hurt if you accused them of having racist tendencies. Their racist tendencies are usually based on things they believe are true due to their ignorance. I've also noticed that these people tend to be a bit simple too, and let the TV and newspaper tell them what their own opinions are. It's the sort of people Britain First has in mind when coming up with the things they post on their Facebook page.
 
I wouldn't disagree with that. Bar one they are exactly as you describe. The one left is a professor of maths at a rather well known uni. In their own words "I know it's wrong and I can't justify it but I am prone to pre-judge people solely on their skin colour. Thankfully I'm wrong most of the time."

However to admit that they're wrong on the majority and to still habour such thoughts implies ignorance regardless of their IQ.
 
Unfortunately the basis you're working on is because they're "x" they must be "y". While it may work in small samples if you expand it to the entire of x then the assumption will be wrong(well 9/10). The likelihood is within a small enough sample you can attribute Y to any X.
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Unfortunately I think the problem (and hence my racism) is caused by not being able to expand the sample size beyond my own perception of the world. Furthermore, I do not think there is any statistical proof that what you say is correct i.e that all races tend to demonstrate identical behavior given a large enough sample size. I know it is nice to believe such things but is it really true? Perhaps you are trying to say that all races are (given a large sample size) equally (lets say) annoying and it is merely my perception of what I deem to be annoying that is biased (which it undoubtedly is)... That is fine and I understand it but it logically does not seem to alter my ill sentiment towards racial undertones.

What can I do to 'cure' my mindset of such horrible thought? I am trying, I really am.
 
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So... one of the causes of racism is commonly quoted as being ignorance and/or a lack of education... So what exactly is best cure for a racist? Lets say someone knows they are a racist and want to rectify the situation; what would be their best course of action?

never ever let them into the Asian regions of most cities.

cause that would confirm nearly every negative racist thought they had...
 
However to admit that they're wrong on the majority and to still habour such thoughts implies ignorance regardless of their IQ.

Every dog i have ever met in my adult life has not bit me.

I am still weary when i meet dogs for the first time, by your logic this means i am ignorant, but like the person in your example i choose to be cautious because the outcome of not being on guard is much much worse than the outcome of being proved wrong.
 
Ok lets take the Y of knife crime and the abundance of media reports suggesting that men of black(X) decent are the biggest perpetrators. If you were to take the sample from a low income predominantly black area it could easily suggest that the medias representation is correct. However to then suggest that in all areas the same trend would continue would be flawed.

That is where I believe the racist mindset is started. The real racist will happily take their subset of data and apply it to an entire race. Once you realise that it's only your small sample that has caused this view and that it doesn't represent the entire race then you've "cured" yourself.

I hope that makes sense. I'm rather tired currently :(.

Every dog i have ever met in my adult life has not bit me.

I am still weary when i meet dogs for the first time, by your logic this means i am ignorant, but like the person in your example i choose to be cautious because the outcome of not being on guard is much much worse than the outcome of being proved wrong.

That's a very good point. Hmm I can only admit to being mistaken in that regard.
 
cause that would confirm nearly every negative racist thought they had...

Interesting... one would assume the opposite would be true ie. the more time they spent with other races the more it would confirm we are 'all the same' and any percieved differences would evaporate over time... You seem to think the opposite however?
 
Interesting... one would assume the opposite would be true ie. the more time they spent with other races the more it would confirm we are 'all the same' and any percieved differences would evaporate over time... You seem to think the opposite however?

try living there.

it much like being the black family that moves into a neighborhood where the neighbors all wear these funny pointy hatted ghost costumes all the time....
 
Ok lets take the Y of knife crime and the abundance of media reports suggesting that men of black(X) decent are the biggest perpetrators. If you were to take the sample from a low income predominantly black area it could easily suggest that the medias representation is correct. However to then suggest that in all areas the same trend would continue would be flawed.

That is where I believe the racist mindset is started. The real racist will happily take their subset of data and apply it to an entire race. Once you realise that it's only your small sample that has caused this view and that it doesn't represent the entire race then you've "cured" yourself.


but the statistics show that black men commit crime at a rate that is massively disproportionate to the segment of the population they make up.

and thats not from a small sample, thats from looking at everyone who passes through the courts.
 
but the statistics show that black men commit crime at a rate that is massively disproportionate to the segment of the population they make up.

and thats not from a small sample, thats from looking at everyone who passes through the courts.

I suspect that they are also disproportionately subject to stop and search, arrest etc, have a lower economic and social status, have less access to education and support and so on...all of which would account for the disproportionate nature of the statistic you mention.

To attribute it to their skin colour is simply racism in its basic form.
 
You can't cure it, it's not a disease.

Racism will never disappear, it's just one more thing people will have to live with.
 
Racism is a human construct both in definition and cause when the real problem lies in a rather sensible notion to not trust non-self. What we can do is address the behaviour that is associated with it. It also pays to accept that some so called 'racist' views are actually true and that just because someone holds such views does not mean they are racist.
 
I suspect that they are also disproportionately subject to stop and search, arrest etc, have a lower economic and social status, have less access to education and support and so on...all of which would account for the disproportionate nature of the statistic you mention.

To attribute it to their skin colour is simply racism in its basic form.

You are correct on all assumptions there, however, I would argue it is attributed to their skin colour. Not because black men as people are more likely to be criminals or have lower social status, but because the institutional racism in this country has created a culture in which they are marginalised thus leading to the aforementioned behaviour being accepted as the norm.

Take police stop and searches for example, it's a perpetuating cycle of racism. Yes black men are disproportionately stopped, but they also have a disproportionate amount of drugs and weapons. Racism has created a culture of lesser opportunites which naturally, in large part, leads to crime. So while black men might be more likely to commit a crime, it's not because of them as people but a result of racism in the first place. Thus leading to a perpetuating cycle of racism, police stopping black men, who then resent the police and the state more and do things which mean they are more likely to be stopped.

This isn't to say that all police are racist as many aren't, but the The Macpherson report for example clearly highlights the extent of institutional racism in the Police. What this means is that ever time police stop a black youth for being out late they're branded racist, but everytime that youth has a weapon or drugs they are branded a deliquent criminal. Neither of which is true in its entirety.

It's an escalating pattern that only serves to foster racism in society and one which, if you want to 'cure' racism, will need to be addressed.
 
No cure for it but education helps and an electric shock on the testicles for those that are lost causes.
 
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