RACISM IS A PROBLEM OF THE SOCIETY

Racism Is a Problem of the Society Randy Formaran De La Salle University

March 14, 2012

RACISM IS A PROBLEM OF THE SOCIETY

Racism is an uprising problem in the society that the people need to deal with. Racism is the belief that a particular race is superior or inferior to another, that a persons social and moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics. (Anti-Defamation League, 2001) There is no such thing as a higher race. We are all born as equal human beings, no matter what your skin color is. There are many outcomes of this problem. Racism is the cause of some suicides and even murders.

According to reports of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, 22,552 Americans died of homicide in 1995, while 31,284 died of suicide and some of these are caused by racism. This statistic says that racism is an aspect of violence and suicides in the United States. Bullying, criticism and inequality are some of the outcomes of racism. These outcomes may greatly affect the mental health of the victim causing violence such as suicide and murder.

There are many solutions for the problem to be solved. The first solution is the implementation of anti-racism laws. When the anti-racism laws are strictly implemented, the citizens will have to think twice before they discriminate another citizen. Laws are always the main solution to a societal problem but it still depends on the actions of the citizens. Because of racism, some citizens commit suicides and homicides so racism should be considered as a grave offense just like physical abuse. The court of the United Kingdom states that the Race Relations Act 1976 and all of its amendments and extensions protect individuals from being discriminated against in

RACISM IS A PROBLEM OF THE SOCIETY

employment on the grounds of colour, race, nationality, religious beliefs or ethnicity. This Act does not distinguish between whether racist practices were done on purpose or not, it is concerned only with the fact that racial discrimination occurred. This law should also be implemented in other countries especially in third world countries due to the high possibilities of racism cases in these countries.

Making an anti-racism law is the main solution to the problem but according to Chris Karwowski, The passage of anti-racism laws in recent decades may have caused racism to mutate into newer, stronger forms, undermining federal efforts to control the spread of the disease by spawning new strains of "super-racism" impervious to traditional treatment methods.(Karwowski, 2005) Super-racism or more aggressive racism is often difficult or impossible for anti-racist legislation to detect. This is because these new strains adapt quickly to legislative antibodies, they become stronger. The more they are attacked, the more they absorb the anti-racist measures and mutates into a greater form of racism.

The second solution is by avoiding the labelling of countries based on their economic standings. Racism is the belief that a particular race is superior or inferior to another, that a persons social and moral traits are predetermined by his or her inborn biological characteristics. Racial separatism is the belief, most of the time based on racism, that different races should remain segregated and apart from one another. (AntiDefamation League, 2001) The segregation of races is perceived as a barrier between people of different races. Due to this, international unity is just a goal that

RACISM IS A PROBLEM OF THE SOCIETY

will be almost impossible to achieve. Avoiding racial separatism will cause the equality of all countries and racism will not exist if there are no superior or inferior races.

There is a downside to the second solution. According to William James, "The hunting and the fighting instinct continue in many manifestations. They both support the emotion of anger; they combine in the fascination which stories of atrocities have for most minds ... the pleasure of disinterested cruelty has been thought a paradox and writers have sought to show that is no primitive attribute of our nature, but rather a resultant of the subtle or other less malignant elements of mind. This is a hopeless task. If evolution and the survival of the fittest be true at all, the destruction of prey and of human rivals must have been among the most important. ... It is just because human bloodthirstiness is such a primitive part of us that it is so hard to eradicate, especially when a fight or a hunt is promised as part of the fun."(James, 1890) It is the nature of man to be competitive. Everyone wants to be a step further than other competitors. Charles Darwins theory of Natural Selection explains it all. Natural Selection in other terms is the phrase survival of the fittest. Man is born to survive, in order to survive; man must compete with other competitors for the resources that are used for survival. When all countries are equal, there will be actors that will make a step from equality and gain power. This country will now be a hegemonic country due to its advancement from the competing countries.

RACISM IS A PROBLEM OF THE SOCIETY

The last solution is by promoting international unity. When there is unity, racism and other international problems will not exist. This solution is the outcome and at the same time the support to the second solution. With unity, racism will be obliterated and cooperation between countries will be visible. Global cooperation is a dream that we are all waiting for. Striving for global unity does not mean that people have to compromise their identities to merge into a convergent global culture. (Chu, Nd) It just means that we must promote the cooperation of countries to solve international related problems.

How uplifting international unity may sound it still has a downfall. There are countries that will oppose to being united with other countries such as South Korea with North Korea. We cannot interfere with the rivalry of certain countries. Each country has their own decision to unite with other countries or not. Interfering with the rivalry of countries will result in being a part of the rivalry. This will create a three-way rivalry. When one of these countries declares war, the war will be bigger due to the number of participating countries.

Each solution has a positive and a negative effect. But the advantage is the solutions support each other. Anti-racism laws create equality, equality creates unity and unity abolishes racism and without racism, homicides and suicides will decrease. It is a domino effect, one solution makes the next solution possible. It is now concluded that homicides and suicides is an uprising problem of the society and it is

RACISM IS A PROBLEM OF THE SOCIETY

somehow caused by racism. Stop racism and this problem of the society is now solved.

RACISM IS A PROBLEM OF THE SOCIETY

References:

Karwowski, C. (2005), Anti-Racism Laws Mutate Racism Into Newer, Stronger Form. Retrieved: March 8, 2012 From: http://www.theonion.com/articles/antiracism-laws-mutate-racism-into-newerstronger,659/

Anti-Defamation League, (2001), Racism. Retrieved: March 8, 2012 From: http://www.adl.org/hate-patrol/racism.asp

Chu, V. (Nd), Teaching Global Unity. Retrieved: March 13, 2012 From: http://www.globalunityed.com/global_unity.htm

Morrisey, B. (2012), Racism and the Law. Retrieved: March 13, 2012 From: http://www.aboutequalopportunities.co.uk/racism-and-the-law.html