Racism - what is it? Broadly speaking, it is a collection of views that some human races overwhelmingly dominate others. In fact - at least by most people - this ideology was condemned from the beginning, but nowadays racism is already considered a phenomenon with a decidedly negative overtone. Read where racism came from, find out what caused the controversy about the origins of this ideology, and check the situation of racism in Poland.
Contents:
- Racism: definition
- Racism: history
- Racism in Poland
Racismis a set of views that is criticized especially often. Of course, there are also other different attitudes that are expressed by groups of selected people and considered to be extremely negative. There are countless examples, including anti-Semitism (related to discrimination against Jews), xenophobia (generally understood as fear of strangers) or homophobia (related to unacceptable behavior directed towards homosexuals).
Racism: definition
In fact, racism does not have one universal definition. Very generally, it can be said that it is a set of views focused on the fact that representatives of one human race (e.g. people with fair skin) are superior to people belonging to other races (e.g. over black people).
According to the assumptions of racism, "better" people should dominate the "worse" people, basically in every aspect of life, both in terms of exercising power and taking better positions in the professional environment. People of the "better" race - according to racists - should also simply have more rights than other people.
Racists believe that human appearance is related not only to the fact that different people simply present themselves - according to them, personality differences are also associated with it (e.g. a greater tendency to criminal behavior in black people) or differences intellectual (representatives of "inferior" races would be characterized by a significantly lowered intellect).
Generally speaking, it can be said that racism and its assumptions have undergone quite significant changes that still take place today - to understand them, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the history of racism.
Racism: history
Most often, the beginnings of racism date back to the second half of the 19th century - it was then, in the years 1853-1855, that the French political scientist Joseph Arthur de Gobineau wrote the "Essay on the inequality of human races". In this work he mentioned, inter alia, about the Aryan race, to which, in his opinion, representatives of the German and French high society belonged, and which race was to dominate over other races.
While this view might be worrying, it is even more frightening that Gobineau argued that white people should not interfere in any way with people of other races - it could be the first step in the fall of civilization.
In the following years, more and more voices of people professing racism appeared. One of such people was H. S. Chamberlain. In 1899 he published the work "Basics of the 19th century", in which he mentioned, inter alia, about the superiority of the "Teuton race" - in his opinion, it was shaped since the early Middle Ages, and highly people with fair hair and long heads had to belong to it.
Chamberlain's views essentially laid the foundations for the phenomena that took place during World War II - it is in his opinion that for the "Teuton race", later also referred to as the "master race", the Jews and Slavs posed the greatest threat.
So far, problems related to racism in Europe have been described, but this ideology was spreading not only within this continent. When analyzing historical data, it is not difficult to come across information about the manifestations of racism towards black people - especially in the United States, they were often commented on the fact that representatives of this race are less intelligent than others or that by nature, due to the color of their skin. , they have a significantly increased tendency to be aggressive or to commit various crimes.
It is worth mentioning here one of the most famous racist organizations that was founded in the USA - the Ku Klux Klan, whose efforts focused primarily on limiting the rights of representatives of inferior races, which, according to its members, were primarily African Americans and Jews.
The truth is, however, that it is impossible to say exactly when the first ideas about racism appeared. People analyzing this issue point out that yes - the first specific publications, calling a spade a spade, come from the nineteenth century, but in practice the earliest signs of discrimination against certain races may have occurred much earlier.
It is mentioned inin this case, for example, about how in the Middle Ages the figure of the devil was depicted in various writings or works of art - just as he sometimes took the form of an animal or an undefined existence, so in some publications he was already presented as a black creature.
So there were different views on racism, but today one can say for sure: views of this kind are stigmatized, and what's more - the manifestation of racist behavior may result in legal consequences (regulations on the manifestation of racism are included in the laws of most countries of the world , including in Poland).
Hejt, or hate speech on the Internet. Reasons and consequences of hating
Stalking: what is it and how to help someone who experiences it?
Phobia, or fear sometimes has too big eyes
Worth knowingDecember 1, 1955 is considered to be the turning point in the fight against racism in the United States. It was then that a seamstress returned from work, tired. She sat in the first free seat on the bus.
A man got into the vehicle a few stops away. The driver, upon seeing him, ordered the woman to give way to him. The passenger himself, however, did not expect it at all, but the driver insisted. The woman only said one word "no". For "disturbing the order" she was arrested and had to pay a $ 14 fine. Why did this happen to her? She was black and the passenger she was about to give way was white.
What was the name of the passenger - it is not known, the passenger is Rosa Parks, who, when asked later about her motivation for her behavior, replied that she was tired of giving up all the time.
The black community took up the defense, and a boycott of public transport began. He acted in this case, among others not so much known then Martin Luther King. Finally, in November 1956, the US Supreme Court ruled that the segregation law in Montgomery (where the bus ran) was unconstitutional.
Rosa Parks has emphasized the power of calmness in resistance throughout her life, and was a human rights activist.
"Racism" and he althIt turns out that sometimes distinguishing individual people has a really significant meaning. However, this is not about assuming that one race is better than others, but about analyzing the frequency of various diseases in individual human populations.
In medicine, it is noticeable that certain genetic diseases are more common in certain populations - e.g. Tay-Sachs disease more oftenoccurs in Ashkenazi Jews, while sickle cell anemia is more common in black people.
Here, however, some controversy also arises, because often the mere use of the word "race" is associated with the presentation of manifestations of racism - in medicine, however, analyzing the origins of different people is important only in determining what diseases can be expected in representatives of a given population.
Racism in Poland
Racism occurs - unfortunately - all over the world, its manifestations are also noticeable in our country. Basically, in Poland, racist behavior is most often displayed against three groups: we are talking about black people, Roma and people from Arab countries.
It would seem that the mentality of Polish citizens has changed significantly over the years, but in practice - which is surprising for many - it is still not difficult to come across graffiti on various buildings that offend other races or directly directed towards people with a skin color other than the average Pole.
It happens that black children, who go to kindergarten, hear from their peers that "they will not play with black people" - such a sentence is a manifestation of racism. It is also not difficult to come across the memories of black people, in which they recall encounters with other people's questions, such as "which of your parents was an ape: mother or father?"
Whether it is in Poland or in other countries of the world, you simply cannot agree to racism - this set of views, as proven by a number of scientists, is simply unfounded and it cannot really be said that whether it is intelligence, or whether other human behavior depends primarily on race.
Racism is a negative phenomenon and for this reason it is simply punishable by law. The Polish Penal Code includes provisions concerning, inter alia, incitement to hatred on the basis of racial differences (Article 256 of the Penal Code, for which a fine or the pen alty of restriction of liberty or imprisonment of up to two years), as well as insulting or violating physical integrity on the grounds of race (Article 257 of the Penal Code, for which violation is punishable by imprisonment up to three years).
Bow. Tomasz NęckiA graduate of the medical faculty at the Medical University of Poznań. An admirer of the Polish sea (most willingly strolling along its shores with headphones in his ears), cats and books. In working with patients, he focuses on always listening to them and spending as much time as they need.