Racism vs Racist
What is the difference between these two and does one lead to the other? Has the meaning/definition of these two changed thru time or has times changed the meaning of these two words? Are people today so sensitive about how people perceive them or how they represent themselves that they can’t take any criticism about their own “ISM”.
It seems that when someone uses a slang word to describe another person, they are called a racist. But is the word they use to refer or describe that person make them a racist. Could it be the actions or the character of what that person does or do to make the other person use that word to describe them? Could it be the way they are raised up and their life experience’s is how they look at other people, is this how and where racism gets taught and learned. It seems that if you compliment someone that is okay, but if you say a word that describe them in a negative way, you are the racist, a-hole, bigot and others. Has society in whole got so far out of sync that it can not see who we really are.
Let’s take the word “nigger” that people use to describe someone or call them. I am not going into the history of that word and where it came from. I, myself do not use the word but I have said it. To me the word is not about a reference of race or color, but rather a reference of attitude of that person. To me, it is about a person attitude, there character, it is someone who put themselves first and above the system and everyone else. A person is not born a “N”, but they make themselves one by not have respect for themselves, others and the system. This is the part where I said earlier that we learn this thru life in many ways. I do believe that discrimination to a point can lead to racism, but discrimination is also the survival of the fittest. But it is the people with close minds that lets it grow into racism that’s leads to other people to becoming a racist. Life is not fair, but it is also not mean or discriminatory.
When we learn to respect other people, cultures and animals, then we can look into the mirror and see who we really are. Just like all the creatures in nature, one is no more important than the others. They all learn to live in within their eco system and each other eco system. There is no racism in nature, just survival of the fittest. But when we all learn to work, respect and live with each other, we can do so much good for all. But when one group or race take advantage of other ones, that is when all good will get destroyed. With this all being said, I hope we all can come away from reading this with a more open mind and the desire to learn to respect each other with an open mind and heart.
R. Fleharty
Words mean things… and if we allow culture to redefine terms, the casualty becomes our ability to effectively communicate with one another… leading to conflict and ultimately violence over nothing but a failure to communicate.
The ” IST ” of “Racist” refers to the person. The “ISM” of “Racism” refers to the belief.
A racIST is someone who BELIEVES in racISM. If you do not “LIKE” someone because of their skin color, that does not necessarily make you a racist. It makes you prejudicial. There’s a big difference, and it’s not necessarily evil in nature or intent, but it IS wrong… and can lead to worse things such as racism if it is not corrected. If your history of interaction with others who are different than you (not just skin color) is negative, you are naturally going to develop a prejudice against others who share the same traits… but that is NOT racism.
Racism is simply the belief that YOUR OWN ethnicity is superior to all others, relegating ALL those who are not in your genetic background as INFERIOR… or SUBHUMAN… and/or LESS WORTHY of God’s love and forgiveness.
Hitler was a prime example of what it means to be a racist, because it was his desire and intent to ELIMINATE all races that were inferior to his own. His favorite author was Charles Darwin himself who dismissed the existence of God in favor of a theory that suggests that race is a product of different evolutionary paths… and thereby concluding that some are superior to others.
If you do not believe in God who created ALL MEN EQUAL, you are subject to OTHER beliefs that oppose God such as racism… because God’s ultimate enemy is the enemy of all mankind, as we were ALL created in God’s image.