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Reflections: Racism

by Robert Randle

Created on: December 19, 2007

The interesting thing about the practice of "racism" is that it has absolutely nothing to do with race. The Anthropologists' documented research into the origins of humanity has concluded with irrefutable evidence that we [humans] belong to one, and only one race; namely, the "human race." Even the New Testament section of the Judeo-Christian Bible supports this conclusion by the passage: "[God] has made of one blood' all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation." (Acts 17:26)

Before delving into the subject matter much further, it is prudent to have a working definition from which to draw necessary inferences or contemplative introspection. According to social activist and poet Kalamu ya Salaam, "Racism" is an ideology that asserts that a certain 'race' is inherently [by birth] superior or inferior to others, and/or that those individuals should be treated differently based on that reasoning or belief. Racism, therefore, is a system of selective oppression (either through beliefs, practices, organizations, and social institutions) that combine to discriminate against and marginalize a class of people who share a common racial designation.

The term 'racism' has no real basis in objective reality because how can one practice it against a "race" where the individual is just one among its many members? It therefore stands to reason that there is a mental disconnect as well as irrationality counterintuitive to scientific scrutiny and philosophical reasoning. Race or racism as such, is a social experience that is culturally-driven by a predetermined set of rules ("social scripts"). Physical differences and variations are rated as desirable or undesirable by those who control the factors of production or possess and have acquired the things that are highly valued in society.

In this politically-correct American society, it is curious how heads will turn and people will attempt to distance themselves, at least overtly, from someone accused of being racist. The person who is the perpetrator is almost, always White, and the victim a person of color [Black, Asian or Spanish-speaking, mostly]; although with the advent of 9-1-1, the scales may be tipping in the other direction when it comes to the profiling of Arabs and Muslims. Surprisingly, what makes this practice so insidious is that it is has nothing to do with skin color but with a mentality that perpetuates the survival of

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