racism or is it culturalism??....

first this has nothing to do with the election. this has been a thought bouncing around in my head for awhile now.

okay, is racism as rampant as everyone thinks it is or is it really better called something like culturalism? of course there are racists. like the kkk, the aryan nation, the skinheads of america...whatever else they are called. btw, i made up the skin heads of america as i don't follow these groups so i don't really know their names. anyways, there is no doubt racism is alive and well...but is it as widespread as allot of americans think?

well i am of the belief that it isn't racism, but rather more based on culture. people as a general rule tend to surround themselves with like minded people. meaning a yuppie tends to like other yuppies around them. i have noticed in the last 15-20 years or so that race isn't so much a factor. it's more of what the indivdual likes, how they think, and what they participate in. i see lots of yuppie/preppie looking golfers with black, spanish, asians in the group. when observing the whole group they tend to dress alike somewhat. they tend to get each other's humor. other social things seem to fall in line. it seems to me that race isn't the barrier to being part of their group, it's more based on who one is and likes, and how they think and dress, etc. that was one example. i also see this trend quite a bit in business, social events, theme parks, you name it. like minded people seem to get along with each other. race seems to not be an issue. culture does.

so i wonder if someone who tries to enter a group that is not like minded with them and a minority(meaning the one different race in the group, whether the white person in a black group or the black person in a white group, etc.) would consider the shunning as a racist action...rather than a cultural outcasting. my bet is it would be percieved as a racism..not they there were outcasted because they dressed different, talked different, and liked different things.

of course there are exceptions to every rule. sometimes i do see a minority outsider who dresses differently, and the like comapred with the group. i think this type of exception is more of that the outsider is so unique and confident that the differences get overlooked or ignored. meaning like a great sense of humor or a fun attitude on life and event, type of personality, or some other trait(s) that overpower the stick to your own kind human nature drive. everyone likes to be around those who always have a good time and are just fun to be around, even if the event sucks.

i know me writing about this is a touchy subject and i have to walk a fine line. i'm doing my best to speak freely and openly without having my words come across as an excuse for something horrible like racism...which as i stated we know does exist. this is only on how rampant is it really versus people shunning others based on culture.

well i have thought about me, myself. i tend to surround myself with some like minded but also some that are very different from not only me but the others i know. i like lots of outside views as i feel it helps give you a better overall picture of topic and issues. i've always been that way. my only demand is that someone is honest and decent. those traits themselves are the hardest and rarest to find. so i myself might be a "racist" when it comes to character traits? well race has never been an issue to me. i tend to hate people for who they are, not what they are. i learned long ago, to judge each person individually. not an easy task as i find myself lumping people into preconceived groups quite often. i really believe that racism and culturism is something that has to be worked on constantly. the human brain is setup for survival. survival would force us to identify like objects as dangerous if they were. for example a multi colored snake. back when man was in the jungle...i imagine when a snake bit and killed a member of the tribe and you saw it, you would record in your mind, subconciously, that all snakes are bad. i think it also applies back to when tribes would battle one another and commit horrible things to each other. the characteristics of the opposite tribe i would bet would be locked in your mind as "bad."

i know this is somewhat true as i work with a bosnian who was in the war in the 1990's. he was a christian...but he was captured in his own city while in a traditionaly muslim occupied area and put in prison. i asked him why? he said because the muslims and christians have been around so long they can't tell each other apart from looks...really only by names. he didn't have proper i.d., so they considered him a muslim. he convinced a guard that he was a christian and so that guard let him go. so he fled to america. so even in modern times we still think very animalish. both sides of that war suffered. i wont go into who did what worst...cause it's not the point of my article..but i will say to this day he is very racist/culturalist against those who have a bosnian muslim name. ironically he likes one guy who is a muslim bosnian that works at another location . he met and they had allot in common, later he learned this guys name and relaized he was a muslim bosnian. well long story short they get along becuase of the cultural similarities...but that battle betwene the two groups has long and deep bitter roots and so they don't hangout, but are friendly to each other. point here is.....similarities beat racial perceptions.

i am convinced for the bulk of america what seperates us is cultural differences. less about race itself.