What does the word "Racism" really mean?
What does the word "Racism" really mean?
Lately, the word "Racism" has featured a number of times in the news. Anything uttered by a "foriegner" ie, foriegn to the country that the individual may be visiting, is being construed as "Racist" remarks! What does the word "Racism" really mean? Are we becoming overly sensitive and exaggerating the actual circumstances of the incident?
According to Wikipedia :- "Racism is a belief system or doctrine which postulates a hierarchy among various human races or ethnic groups. It may be based on an assumption of inherent biological differences between different ethnic groups that purport to determine cultural or individual behaviour."
Now, keeping this definition in mind, let's look again at the whole "Symonds vs Harbhajan" racism episode. Harbhajan Singh probably uttered a few expletives or called Symonds a "Monkey" in a fit of rage or frustration, whatever the case may be. Now, we as kids have done it a number of times too. I remember calling out to any number of kids to tease them that they are "monkeys and donkey". These two words are quite commonly uttered by each and every individual in our country right from our childhood! Does that mean that we were "Racist"? We were not even aware of the existence of such a word! So, What exactly is so "Racist" about the word "Monkey" may I ask? Will somebody please clarify! Besides the fact that Andrew Symonds does indeed look like a monkey on the field with the white colored cream that he applies on his lips! If, he had asked me the question in his dressing room in the morning, "How do I look?" I would have answered, " You look like a monkey!" That would be an honest opinion. Now, would you call that "Racist"? Now, if somebody in his own team called him a monkey, would that also qualify as a "Racist" comment?
Indians, on the other hand have been used to being the victims of racism for centuries at the hands of the British and other such Foriegn rulers who came to our country and forced their "white" skin upon us! I find this whole episode of tagging the word "racism" to Indians, very ironic and out of sync! Indians have been quietly suffering all the insults and humiliation for centuries, We Don't Need To Do So Anymore!The Indian Cricket Team should stop playing any further matches and return to India, till the Australians learn to play a fair game, in the true sportsman spirit.
Submitted by - Countries & Cultures |
- country |
- foriegn |
- Harbhajan Singh |
- human races |
- monkey |
- racism |
- racist |
- Symonds |
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Rawnak, I think we all have
Rawnak, I think we all have given this thing a big high. There's racism everywhere and more so in our own country. We very conveniently ignore that. Media hype!! What else is all this. The authoritarians in this very Bharat Desh are much more oppressive than the British were.
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pooh
there is racism everywhere in our country so we know "monkey" is NOT a racist word. he looks like a monkey, MONKEY...Ian Chappel had said that Australians serve honest comments for breakfast so ganguly should learn to accept it. Symmonds behaves (and looks) like a money so he should accept being called it. In fact Ricky Ponting is a bigger monkey...now is THAT racist????
let's preserve the world for our children, thats the least they deserve...
Racism
The word has been invented by some sadist bigot who knew that it would create trouble and he/she sure succeeded.
As long as one knows for a fact that he or she is a human being, no one else can take it away from him/her. If some one is getting affected that could only mean he/she is not sure of where they come from.
Words have been manipulated and meanings have been changed
It's been going on for centuries--nothing new there. In its purist form, racism means simply the belief in race or that there are differences between the races. A racist, by extension, is someone who believes in race or the differences between the races.
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The technical definition of
The technical definition of the term racism - and this is mostly confirmed by the definition you presented in the article from wikipedia - is, generally speaking: "a belief that one race, or some races are by nature superior to others."
Too many people today use this term when they should actually be using the terms, bigot, prejudice, discriminate, or perhaps "mean-spirited". Calling someone a "monkey" is not racist...especially if they are behaving like a monkey. Now, if one was to go around and say that "All black people are monkies," it may be more accurate to label them as racist because it would appear that the comment is a result of how they perceive black people in general...and that they are somehow inferior.
People who participate in "white supremacist" groups and rallies are also racist based on their belief that white people are superior to everyone else. These are clear beliefs that these people hold and calling them racist would be quite accurate.
I don't know who these people are that you're referring to in your article, but based on what you've written about the situation, it would appear that there isn't much racism involved...just poor judgment or unnecessary comments. And of course, lots of media hype.