Race and Racism - YOU make it real

Race is a socio-cultural phenomenon. It is made up by humans who like to categorize everything, including themselves. Social animals, humans also like to get into groups, and when there is more than one group, there’s an inevitable “us” and “them” situation in which “them” is perceived as different, alien, mysterious, often abnormal, and, of course, potentially dangerous.

There is only one human species in existence today. Its name is Homo Sapiens Sapiens. There is no other human species living on our planet. Biologically, all human beings belong to one group, and biological differences between them are not significant enough to assign them to different biological categories.

What we perceive as “racial” differences today is merely a variety of phenotypes - visible characteristics of an individual which result from the interaction of this individual’s genes with the environment. Phenotypes form over long periods of time.

Our visible physical characteristics – the way our skin, eyes, hair, nose, body looks – don’t make us smart, stupid, spiritual, materialistic, violent, docile, more or less capable. Our physical characteristics result from our ancestors’ adaptation to the environments they lived in.

Racism is a socio-cultural thing, and not a biological reality.

However, it is very much real. Ask someone whose son got shot by cops because he was categorized as “black”. Ask someone who was perceived as an enemy because he looked “white”. Ask a Polish girl who was called contemptuous “gringa”. Ask a Mexican guy who was thought to be a thief when he was taking a stroll down the street.

Every time you speak of “us” and “them”, you make racism real. Every time you speak of a large group of people – whites, blacks, Asians, pacific islanders, whatever – as different animals with distinct characteristics, you make racism real. Every time you explain someone by saying, “Well, he is black (white, Asian, etc.), so…”,  you make racism real. Every time you say “our women” vs. “their women”, you make racism real. Every time you choose to sit next to someone who looks more like yourself in the crowded auditorium because subconsciously that person makes you feel more comfortable, you make racism real. Every time you type “Blacks be like” of “Whites be like”, you make racism real. 

Do you really want to end racism?

Wake up.