Is Racism An Inherent Human Trait?

Something happened last night which really annoyed me. Something happened which confirmed what I already knew...that the problems in this world stem from the inability of most people to accept things which, to them, seem abnormal. Which to them seem strange. Which to them seem laughable. Is anyone in a position to laugh at the customs and traditions of other cultures? Are Western conventions so superior to others that the mere thought of anything that does not conform is enough to drive a grown man to sniggering? Last night, a group of us were discussing the fact that it looked like it might rain. In AD that's quite a big event. I asked one of the guys if he knew whether the people had prayed for rain yet. For those who don't know, in the UAE it's common for people to pray for rain during the year. Rain rarely falls, and in order to encourage rain, the people hold special prayers that ask God to grant forgiveness and send rain. Strangely enough, it usually rains very soon after such prayers. Whether or not this is as a result of the praying is up to you to decide.

Sure enough, a Belgian man in the group turned towards us and, trying unsuccessfully to restrain his laughter, asked us to repeat what we had been talking about. What? Pray for rain? What a stupid idea! They don't pray for rain in Belgium, therefore it's unbelievable for him to think that this may happen elsewhere in the world! Anyhow, needless to say a look from me shut him up. He annoyed me so much, it was the most I could do to restrain my reaction to a withering stare and the question "Do you find it hard to believe that people can influence events around them Christophe?" He mumbled something or other and went quiet, but it just pained me to think that a 28 year old 'man' (I use the term loosely here) could be so opposed to accepting the differences that come with different countries. Many people move countries and then complain when it's different than where they came from! What did they expect? If you are unable to accept that they may 'do things differently there', then you should never have gone!

I've been very lucky to grow up in a society where many nationalities and cultures live together. Being half Irish and half Jordanian, I had the advantage of being born into a family where there was no such thing as "this is the way it's done and that's it". A mix of religions, a mix of habits, a mix of languages, a mix of cultures. I grew up in the UAE, where the majority of people were expatriates. My friends were from all over the world, each with their own accents, their own backgrounds, their own religions and beliefs. Was it beneficial to me? Yes, it was, because from a young age I understood that there were many different people in the world, and that just because someone was different did not mean that they were in any way inferior or superior. I'm not saying that there is no such thing as racism or prejudices.

Personally, I believe that discrimination of some form or another is inherent to all human beings. I remember bringing up that point in a Jurisprudence class once. That racism is inherent, that just because anti-discrimination laws are in place that does not mean that discrimination will not exist. It's human nature to instinctively award a higher prestige to certain groups over others. I argued that nothing we could do would ever rid the world of racism, of prejudices, of discrimination. My professor asked me how we could use such a logic? Would that logic be satisfactory if for example you were to say that everyone is a pedophile and that nothing that could be done would stop people being pedophiles and therefore, it was an inherent human nature? I don't think I came up with an answer then, but I remember being annoyed with myself towards the end of the class because with all due respect to him, his argument was flawed.

I am not saying that all people are pedophiles, you must understand that was just a random example. But let's say that they are. Let's say that inherent in human nature is the desire to be a pedophile. Do you honestly think that the implementation of laws would rid the human race of this trait? No it would not. It would ensure that they never commited obvious acts of pedophilia, but it would not sway their desire to do so, and their belief that they were entitled to do so.

To bring into action anti-discriminatory laws does not rid the world of their generic prejudicial beliefs. Indeed, it does not have the effect of immediately cutting short their racist opinions. Instead, such laws ensure that they be prevented from acting in a way that would obviously point toward their inherent discriminatory views. Therefore, in the same way that pedophiles can be prevented from commiting pedophilic acts, inherent racism can be subdued by the enforcing of anti-racist legislation. Just because I am saying that racism is inherent, does not mean that I am saying that we cannot control it. What I am saying is that even though we can ensure that the public in general do not commit racist attacks or behave in a manner that betrays their lack of objectivity, we cannot control the fact that they may personally hold racist beliefs and ideas. We can control their actions, but we cannot control their thoughts. (although I should bring up in another post soon that the technology does exist with which our thoughts and feelings can be controlled. I know. I had the same reaction as you.)

The only way forward in this world is to change the way people react to their thoughts. There will always be some sort of prejudicial beliefs within the minds of humans the world over. On that point we can do nothing. What we can do is encourage people to be more open and accepting of others. To understand that the whole world cannot be the same, and to next time curb the laughter and take the time to appreciate and learn about the customs of others.