text: Racism exists throughout the world : Racism
  Racism exists throughout the world
  by Edmond » Tue Nov 15, 2011 9:18 am Race definitely plays a role in the discord between peoples around the world. But, race is far more complex than just Black and White. Let's limit ourselves to the US, which is complicated enough. Assemble a roomful of "Blacks". Some may be descendants of African slaves violently extracted from their homes and shipped and sold to European settlers in America. Others may be descendants of slaves and slave owners. Yet others may be recent African immigrants--from Ghana or Kenya or any number of other African nations. And, yet others, like our President, may be descended from the intermarriage of Africans and other peoples. I am sure I am oversimplifying what it means racially to be "Black" in the US. What is "White"? Is White someone who descends from early English, Dutch, or other European settlers in America? Are East Asian immigrants Whites? Are South Asian immigrants Blacks? Are Hispanics Whites? We could go on almost indefinitely. Perhaps this is exactly what you are noting--that Black-White racism is way too simplistic. However, let us not use the racial complexity of our nation to deny the existence of strong prejudices against persons of different skin color (and other physical characteristics). Jews are both of a religion and of a distinct people of Near Eastern origin. Is anti-Semitism a form of racism or religious bias? Are Jews White? European Jews seem to be. But, what of Jews of African and Asian descent? I'll pick on Jews to discuss tribalism. Jews have been highly tribalistic since biblical times. Often times, the only unity amongst Jews has been in their collective persecution. If you are knowledgable about Jews and Judaism, you will know of what I speak. Litvaks hate Galizianer Jews. The Mitnagdim are diametrically opposed to the Hasidim. Ashkenazi Jews often will not permit their children to marry Sephardi Jews, and vice versa. German Jews used to look down their noses at Polish Jews. And, many Polish Jews looked down their noses at their fellow Polish Jews from Chelm...the intra-Jewish prejudices are robust. Much of this has gone away in the US. But, let's not kid ourselves. There are dozens and dozens of sects of "Orthodox" Jews. Many of these sects view the other sects with extreme disdain--trumped only by their attitudes towards Reform Jews, who often aren't even considered Jews by the Orthodox. I could go on, but it would be extremely boring to non-Jews, so I will stop. This tribalism is matched everywhere else around the globe. Muslims share a common faith. They unite under persecution, just as do the much smaller Jewish population. But, they are anything but united. Sunni and Shia Islam are the source of tremendous fighting and seemingly senseless killing. Many Muslims are Arabs, especially in the Middle East and in Northern Africa. But, then there are the Turks; and, there are the Iranians of Persian descent. And, there are the Afghani Pashtuns. There are hundreds of millions of Muslims in India and Pakistan. There are hundreds of millions of Muslims in Indonesia, Malaysia, and in other Southeast Asian nations. You will find talk of brotherhood in Muslim Scripture, just as you will find similar verses in Christian or Jewish Scripture. But, South Asian Muslim attitudes towards Arabs are arguably more negative than those of Europeans. Some of these differences are racial. Others are tribal. Tribalism dates back to ancient Arabia. Many tribal definitions continue today. Some of these tribal allegiances are arguably stronger than national ties in places like Gaza which is largely Arab or Afghanistan which is largely non-Arab. I could go on. But, I won't. So, in sum, I maintain that both racism and tribalism explain a lot of societal friction today, some of which is militant in nature. But, these two dimensions alone do not explain all of the tension around the world. There are many other factors, including those I enumerated above.racism will never be eradicated from the world.... Edmond
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  Facebook Twitter Orkut Digg MySpace Racism exists throughout the world
  by hiddles » Thu May 31, 2012 6:50 am Racism will still exist ten years down the road. It's just something that's ingrained in humanity. Not trying to be pessimistic but it is what it is. Of course, there is always hope that racism will gradually lessen over time. It just won't disappear completely.
  Re: Racism exists throughout the world
  by edu » Thu May 31, 2012 7:39 am i hope on day this thing about racism will end when all of us intermarry one another. however, i know it won't be any time soon.