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Tue 4 Oct, 2005 12:34 pm
Todays it seems as if racism is a natural piece of the human identity. To separate oneself from the "other" and to associate with groups of those with perceived likenesses is most obviously a characteristic of man that predates written word. But that is not racism. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines racism as:
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2 : racial prejudice or discrimination
To dislike someone based on race is the general gist of the concept. Well then... We have to ask the question, What is race?
1: an actually or potentially interbreeding group within a species; also : a taxonomic category (as a subspecies) representing such a group
2: a division of mankind possessing traits that are transmissible by descent and sufficient to characterize it as a distinct human type.
To elaborate on Websters' definitions, racism is the presumed inherent inferiority of a subdivision of the human race characterized by genetic distinctions. When did this first appear in the world?
When the Ug tribe noticed that the Og tribe, who lived just over the next hill, were slightly different.
Racism began With Colonialism
Before the Protestant Reformation, and Spain and Portugal's novel inception of modern colonialism, (shortly inspiring England, France, ect...) The concept of race was not prevalent in any society. That is to say, the idea that genetic physiological traits did not define a persons place in society. As observed in in artwork from the predating era's, empires were largely comprised of multiethnic cities populated by physically diverse peoples often sharing a common regional cultural identity. You may observe black people in prominent social positions in roman, french, catholic, ect... artwork in the pre colonial world.
Racism began With Colonialism
Before the Protestant Reformation, and Spain and Portugal's novel inception of modern colonialism, (shortly inspiring England, France, ect...) The concept of race was not prevalent in any society. That is to say, the idea that genetic physiological traits did not define a persons place in society. As observed in in artwork from the predating era's, empires were largely comprised of multiethnic cities populated by physically diverse peoples often sharing a common regional cultural identity. You may observe black people in prominent social positions in roman, french, catholic, ect... artwork in the pre colonial world.
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