What Makes Someone Become Racist?
Chapter 20 of Estranged Americans: Fallacies of Freedom, Citizenship, and Racism
“No individual is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously, solely by the virtue of his or her race or sex,”-Manny Diaz- Florida Commissioner of Education
How does someone become racist? I agree with Florida’s Commissioner of Education that nobody is born that way. Children from families with the most racist views don’t exhibit those traits early on, some having solid friendships with those they later come to hate. Racism is a state one has to arrive at. So how does that occur? I submit there’s nature, nurture, and the systemic bombardment of propaganda that instills false beliefs and shapes behavior.
Nature
“Nature refers to the hereditary factors or the genes of a child, which not only defines a child’s physical appearance but also helps in building a child’s personality traits.”-Dr. Anshu Sethi
Nature suggests certain traits are predetermined by heredity. A child might have their hair color or the shape of their eyes or nose determined by nature. Some behavioral traits might be influenced by nature; how a child…
