We are all racists

That said, I'm a bit of a bully and have no intention of cutting him any slack in recognition of his age and will argue my point as forcibly as I would with anyone else! Next I would like to accept, without any quibbling, my opponent's definitions of the word "racism" but also refer to Merriam-Webster's definition: "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 " . http://www.merriam-webster.com... What I am about to demonstrate is that "racism" directly equates to "racial stereotyping", but this is not about semantics, it's about the reality of human behaviour. Now, my opponent wrote: "Look to John Locke's social contract, where he says that people are social by nature, and tend to form groups. " This is true, humans are social animals and naturally form groups - in other words we identify ourselves with our kith and kin and instinctively believe ourselves to be of superior stock to that of our neighbours, even though we may admire many aspects of their culture. Sports fans are a good illustration of this: A soccer fan from North Tyneside in North East England is likely to support Newcastle United F. C. while fans from the South Tyneside are likely to support Sunderland A. F. C. Now even though they come from the same metropolitan area, they are fierce rivals and will defend their respective teams to the hilt, whether they are right or wrong. That is until they meet some soccer fans from the North West. Then it is North East clubs versus North West clubs. That is until they meet some fans from London. Then it is Northerners against Southerners. That is until some Scottish fans come along. Then it is England versus Scotland. That is until they meet some Italian fans. Then it is British clubs versus Italian clubs. That is until they meet some fans from Africa. Then it is European clubs against African clubs. The point is that, even though a someone from South Tyneside may have friends from near and far, I have never heard one say: "I wish I was from North Tyneside", or: "I wish I was from North West England", or: "I wish I was from Scotland", or: "I wish I was from Italy", or: "I wish I was from Africa. .. " ". .. because those people are far superior to me and my kind". Further on, my opponent also wrote: "Seeing as you and I have never met, you know almost nothing about my life nor my habits, you cannot possibly accuse me of being racist. " Of course we have never met and I know nothing of his life but I can legitimately accuse him of being a racist because I of two facts that I know are certainly true: 1 - My opponent is a human, and: 2 - Humans are by nature tribal. That is why prejudices against other tribes go beyond recognising stereotypes and constitute racism, whether it be latent or blatant, admitted or denied. Further proof of the validity of my argument can be provided by examining the exercise in my first argument a little more closely. I notice that my opponent is American and he wrote that he was able to match the racial groups with their character traits. However, if he were asked would he describe himself and his fellow countrymen as "loud and vulgar" or would he happy with this description or would he more likely describe these same traits more positively, for example by identify Americans as typically "self-confident and vibrant"? As an Englishmen I had to think hard to think of negative terms to describe my own race that everyone would recognise, and I finally settled on "old-fashioned and arrogant", though I would prefer "deeply appreciative of their national heritage and assertive" which means, essentially, the same thing. People don't see their own race in a negative light. Arch con-merchant, Bernard Madoff is a Jew and many Jewish people invested their money with him because they consider fellow Jews to be "sophisticated brokers and financially astute" rather than "treacherous businessmen and careful with money", which is their stereotype. . http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk... Between them, his victims lost $50 billion but, even though Madoff was offering far higher than average returns than the rest of the market, many people avoided entrusting him with their money. Why? They may not have openly declared that it was because they wouldn't trust a Jew with their money but instead have said that "something that seems to good to be true, probably is" proves nothing. Prior to WWII, Hitler openly called for a boycott of Jewish businesses and still today people avoid Jewish businesses on the basis of the exact same racial prejudices. Just because they may not admit their motives to others, or even to themselves, doesn't make it them any less racist than the Fuehrer - the net result is that Jewish businesses lose out as the result of racial stereotyping. In the final analysis, we may not all be prejudiced against every other group to the same extent, we are all, openly, secretly, or even subconsciously, subject to our own negative perceptions of people from "other tribes" and act accordingly, which makes us all racists. Thank you.