I can definitely see how environment can influence, but in terms of shaping, doesn’t this primarily happen in the early childhood stages? Can a grown 40+ year old all of a sudden become racist? And if so, would this be racism or socioeconomic issues? Meaning that if a bunch of people lost their jobs to overseas, they might just all of a sudden start hating that subset of people. This is what is really confusing about racism. When a minority group starts to thrive in any society, the majority suddenly gets a bit crazier. But wouldn’t the same be true for any minority group, a subset of the same race with a different point of view, wouldn’t the hate still exist? If so, couldn’t we just label racism as a socioeconomic issue not birthed, nor acquired via environment, but as a cause and effect? I’m a bit scatterbrain with these thoughts, but the general notion is if we teach our kids not to be racist in the traditional sense, would society improve, or will the next educated, and sensitive generation still fall into the same trap of misunderstanding why racism exists? Maybe it’s not really about race/skin color at all? Thanks.
