by Shirl Whitfield

Created on: January 07, 2011   Last Updated: January 09, 2011

Racism is born out of one human emotion and that is fear.  One mans fear of another mans differences.  That element of racism is simple. 

The complexity of racism is that this one simple, yet powerful emotion has fostered man to possess a fear that results in fear’s close cousins, hate, anger and jealousy to take control of man.  Hate, anger and jealousy have a way of taking control and wreaking havoc on human relationships.  This synergistic combination of emotions has created a dynamic that has thrived and prospered for thousands of years. 

When fear is left alone to grow and fester, it becomes a power unto itself, consuming man’s beliefs and actions. Fear, when operating through hate, anger and jealousy, becomes an important element in the character of a man.  Once born into the fabric of someone’s character, it is a natural process to pass it down from generation to generation.  Fear, hate and anger for another race becomes stubbornly ingrained into man’s culture, a legacy handed down from father to son to grandson, repeatedly and unquestionably, over and over throughout time.   

Fear, when ruled by hate, anger and jealousy, is a simple and safe emotion in that once man learns to live with it, he has no desire to change it, much less distance himself from it.  It’s a simple relationship where the four elements operate in sync with each other and as far as man is concerned, requires no reason for the relationship to change.  It’s a path of least resistance that offers a safe haven for these destructive deep rooted emotions.  

As long as man can experience the deceptive power that creates the feeling of superiority over another race, he sees no reason to be anything other than what he is.  He is deluded into believing he is superior, and he believes within his mind he holds power over another.   He jealously guards and protects his perceived superiority as if it adds value to his life.  He blindly teaches his sons their sons this behavior with no regard to breaking a cycle or realizing there may be, in fact, a better way.   

In conclusion, the cause of racism; fear, has held man greedily in its grasp, controlling him, virtually since the beginning of time.  Where man feels he has been in power, truthfully it is fear and its deceptive cohorts, hate, anger and jealousy that have reined supreme over man.  

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