logic behind racism?

Question:Racism is the assignment of characteristics that vary with each individual to a person or group of people based upon their race. For example, the following statements are racist:

White men can't jump.
Black football players don't make good quarterbacks.
Asians are hard-working.
Hispanics are lazy.
Jews are miserly.

I note that none of the above are true. I am personally aware of a white person who jumps well, a great black quarterback, a lazy Asian, a hard-working Hispanic and a Jew who is a very generous man. (And I don't even know that many people.)

Racism is based on generalities and prejudices and the tendency to employ these generalities rather than to properly evaluate an individual or group of people on his/their own merits. Understanding any sort fo reasoning behind racism is best done through an example, so let me pick one that is referred to often in the media.

One of the more appalling examples of racism involves the young black male, a man seen by many racists as violent, disrespectful to authority and inclined to commit crime. The young black male suffers from the stereotype that, since some young black males are shown on the evening news as the perpetrators of violent offenses, he must somehow have a propensity to crime and violence. But why? Why not simply get to know this specific young black male?

I think the reason why people generalize in many instances is because being specific demands more effort than they desire to exert. I think another reason people generalize is because they perceive that the effort to be more specific will lead them down an uncomfortable path. In other words, emotional concerns like fear, hate, envy or disgust prevent people from logically evaluating their neighbors as individuals.

The logic of racism varies, but it may look something like this in the instance I just cited.

1) Young black males are statistically more likely to commit crimes than males of other ethnicities or females of any ethnicity.

Note: I have not done the research on this, but my understanding is that there is data to support this statement. If I am mistaken, I apologize, but in the end it is irrelevant. You can insert the ethnic group of your choice as the group most likely to commit crimes, and the analysis still holds.

2) Here is person A, a young black male.

3) Person A is more likely to commit crimes than the average person because he is young and black.

Note: This is an erroneous piece of logic based on a variation of the post hoc ergo proper hoc fallacy.

4) I will watch my step around person A because I suspect he is likely predisposed to criminal conduct.

One can almost sense the fear or aversion that would be necessary to make such an unwarranted leap of logic like this. Plainly, the logic is flawed, but it is so obviously flawed, that only a dangerous emotionalism can explain this line of reasoning.

Racism (like many forms of discrimination) is impossible to justify logically. It is the product of fallacious reasoning that result when emotional aversions take over an analysis. And it's a shame.

Thanks for the question.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Racism is the assignment of characteristics that vary with each individual to a person or group of people based upon their race. For example, the following statements are racist:

White men can't jump.
Black football players don't make good quarterbacks.
Asians are hard-working.
Hispanics are lazy.
Jews are miserly.

I note that none of the above are true. I am personally aware of a white person who jumps well, a great black quarterback, a lazy Asian, a hard-working Hispanic and a Jew who is a very generous man. (And I don't even know that many people.)

Racism is based on generalities and prejudices and the tendency to employ these generalities rather than to properly evaluate an individual or group of people on his/their own merits. Understanding any sort fo reasoning behind racism is best done through an example, so let me pick one that is referred to often in the media.

One of the more appalling examples of racism involves the young black male, a man seen by many racists as violent, disrespectful to authority and inclined to commit crime. The young black male suffers from the stereotype that, since some young black males are shown on the evening news as the perpetrators of violent offenses, he must somehow have a propensity to crime and violence. But why? Why not simply get to know this specific young black male?

I think the reason why people generalize in many instances is because being specific demands more effort than they desire to exert. I think another reason people generalize is because they perceive that the effort to be more specific will lead them down an uncomfortable path. In other words, emotional concerns like fear, hate, envy or disgust prevent people from logically evaluating their neighbors as individuals.

The logic of racism varies, but it may look something like this in the instance I just cited.

1) Young black males are statistically more likely to commit crimes than males of other ethnicities or females of any ethnicity.

Note: I have not done the research on this, but my understanding is that there is data to support this statement. If I am mistaken, I apologize, but in the end it is irrelevant. You can insert the ethnic group of your choice as the group most likely to commit crimes, and the analysis still holds.

2) Here is person A, a young black male.

3) Person A is more likely to commit crimes than the average person because he is young and black.

Note: This is an erroneous piece of logic based on a variation of the post hoc ergo proper hoc fallacy.

4) I will watch my step around person A because I suspect he is likely predisposed to criminal conduct.

One can almost sense the fear or aversion that would be necessary to make such an unwarranted leap of logic like this. Plainly, the logic is flawed, but it is so obviously flawed, that only a dangerous emotionalism can explain this line of reasoning.

Racism (like many forms of discrimination) is impossible to justify logically. It is the product of fallacious reasoning that result when emotional aversions take over an analysis. And it's a shame.

Thanks for the question.

Racism is an exaggerated racial consciousness that may end in hatred. Behind this thinking there is no rational logic;
it's more a kind of illogic behavior.
Whether racists like it or not, the future of mankind is in a kind of mixture of different races which will undoubtedly improve human qualities.

There isn't any. Its entirely based upon personal prejudice (which usually comes from a feeling of inadequacy.) Its the old "bring myself up by cutting them down" routine.

I feel that anything that doesn't make sense tends to point toward money. If a society can successfully keep one group of people at a disadvantage, then that gives the other group more opportunity.

The easier it is to point somebody out, the easier it is to discriminate against them. Its sick, unfair, and ignorant. I also believe it is a form of mind control.

There is no logic behind it, only pseudo-logic and fear.
Cultural differences, however, are real and can cause not only confusion and misinterpretation of people's motives but also repulsion. People in China eat dogs and cats. If you had survived as many famines as the Chinese people have, you might be willing to eat dogs and cats too. And food taboos are only one source of conflict. Sexual taboos are another - in many places in the world homosexuality is accepted, in others it is a major crime. It can be hard work to try to understand people from wholly different cultures. I went to India having read quite a bit of its history and literature, and still experienced culture shock.
I hope this helps a little.

There is no rationale or logic. Racism is an inherent prejudice that recognizes differences. It is when these prejudices are used in a negative way that they become destructive.

Prejudices in and of themselves are not a bad thing.

no logic just some human are born to be like that
too pity

It is always logical at first, if my group survival depends on taking another groups resources or enslaving the other. It is easier to do if I can say they are wicked.stupid,or inferior. It you read Jacobs book To Serve the Devil you will learn the difference justifications used on difference racial groups to justify exploitation.

Although currently illogical, i believe it stems from our xenophobic past.

Speaking for myself. It went back to when i was younger.
In my example or my experience, i grew up around a race or people who were predominantly another "color" and who did not like or i guess you could say tolerate me and were very harsh to me.
Even the school system at that time seemingly supported their habits and behaviors towards me.
After a time i grew angry and bitter and i guess i felt there was a racial or cultural thing attached to it because i couldn't understand any other reason why.. perhaps it was because i was called "white girl" alot?
I suppose that was the logic for me.. i had to make some sort of logic out of it and when you are in junior high school and making "rational" decisions you can only imagine the types of things that go through one's mind.
At home my family was not racist.. they just simply did not talk about it at all.
They saw no "colors" and my parents talked to everyone equally.
I don't think they saw that this was ever a problem and they simply had told us at the time "treat everyone the same and with respect" however they never specifically said "race" or "racism" so i knew not what that was.

We ended up moving out of the State and i ended up meeting a diverse culture in CA.. it was many of the same races but the race i came to despise behaved and treated me differently so therefore i had a new feeling and understanding which confused me.
Later i then learned about racism and what it was and what it meant as well.

Of course now i am an adult and have been educated far from those younger years.

I hope that you can kind of understand now the logic behind racism and that there truly is logic in it. The logic being environment and it goes back to psychology i suppose and the ol' nature vs. nurture.
The one TRUE thing i did learn in Psychology that really did make sense.
The way we are raised vs. the things around us;society and literally nature and the environment itself.
That is the logic we most often carry with us into life