origins of racism?

Are you Japanese?

Well what do you expect when a nation has spent much of its history with little contact with outsiders (I know that's a generalisation), and then gets two nuclear bombs dropped on it?

Nope.avi but i can speak japanese.[/quote:2nm5e1uf]

Then I assume you know the meaning of the term gaijin, which seems to be bandied about a lot?

The Japanese aren't the only racist ones. The Chinese were basically where it started in Asia and we have more people. The Japanese will take Chinese for immigrant workers before some others in the world, simply because they both know where they stand. Hating each other.
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/249/publics ... ne-another
We are all one big unhappy family! :lol: :lol: :lol:
The Chinese are so known for it that it is mentioned as a decisive factor in many history books, notably the AP World History [6th edition I think]. For more info, check out my first post on this thread.

Strictly speaking: The governments of the Far East [with the notable exceptions of N. and S. Korea], get along pretty well because of the massive amount of trade they do. The people could hardly care less about the other races though.

Fun Fact: It is incredibly difficult to become a citizen of any Far Eastern country, most famously [presumably because it is the most desired] Japan.

Lol.
Gweilo.

Maybe the few Japanese people i meet just didn't like me then, then again when your friend where a Emperor Tojo shirt and wants to glory of the Empire return that happens alot.

Like I said, I would probably like to meet this friend of yours.

There are multiple causes of racism, but I think the biggest might involve the same kind of thinking and self-deception as the just-world fallacy.

The just-world fallacy explains why some people choose to blame victims for things that aren't their fault. They try to rationalise away human suffering in order to make themselves feel less vulnerable, wrapping themselves in a fantasy world that soothes their anxiety. You know the type: people who think the unemployed are lazy, the sick and disabled are fakers, and all muslims are terrorists. They think they don't have to worry about personal disaster because - as superior people - they haven't done anything to deserve it.

In the same way I think racism is an attempt to rationalise the abuse or suffering of entire racial groups. That's why the racist would point to the disproportionate number of black people in prison and suggest that black people are just more criminally-minded, while the rational thinker would understand that the cause is the disproportionate number of black people experiencing poverty.

That kind of casual racism is allowed to fester when society isn't seen to be doing anything about it, because to those people the lack of objection is proof that the victim deserves it. Those delusions are shattered only when the victim makes a stand and forces the racist to question themselves and look at the situation objectively. The same applies to all sorts of oppressed people of course.

Sometimes (most of the time?) the victims don't object or speak up, and I suspect the reason is that they're trying to rationalise their own suffering to themselves. Some may end up self-hating or feeling that they've done something wrong even if they don't know what it is. The search for that non-existent wrongdoing can consume people and destroy their confidence and mental health. The vulnerable are generally not very good at standing up for themselves.

The flip-side of course, is that members of minorities can be racist too. Perhaps that's because they find it hard to understand why the supposedly non-racist members of the larger ethnic group do not object to the blatant discrimination directed against the minority.

Intense racism and hatred is another matter and I can't say I've spent too much time thinking about that. There could be numerous other factors, but it's also possible that the most fervent racists are simply the most angry and frightened of all, and that their extreme actions are the cause of their intense desperation to delude themselves.

Off-topic, I see the same behaviour happening among faith groups, and I think some kinds of faith are a variation on the just-world fallacy, replacing the just-world with god's plan. Religious extremism will then mirror racism and often be directed against groups that are already persecuted and suffering, such as homosexuals. And as with the minority-racist, hated people can then become hateful, leading to indiscriminate attacks against other groups. But that's a seperate discussion.

Racism began when small tribes hated each other at the beginning of civilisation but developed as certain races were subdued by the stronger tribes.