If there is racism in the modern world?!
Tolerant world; without hatred, violence and aggression is only a dream and unfortunately, a dream which is far from fulfilled. One of the worst symptoms of everything what is wrong in the world is racism. Signs of all kinds of discriminations have existed since ages, but the twentieth century showed the most brutal face of an ideology based on intolerance and hatred. The Nazi doctrine revealed how dangerous can be the theorists of racism and how dramatic effects they can produce. Fortunately, after the II World War, this ideology lost the status of a scientific discipline. However, we cannot cherish illusions. Racism has changed its face, has evolved, but at the same time it exists. One of the most famous film stars, Halle Berry said: “To be honest, in the USA racism still exists and is doing well.”
Who thinks that racism does not exist anymore, that it is an ideology of the past, makes a giant mistake. Unfortunately, racism practices are still common and used. People come across them everywhere at any time, although these days the racism’s ideology is generally and officially condemned by every international organization. Ignoring those facts, in the second half of the twentieth century the theories of racism were adopted by extremist’s groups, such as: Skinheads, NSBM and White Supremacy or Neo-Nazism. The racism’s ideology has invaded into sport arenas and these days it is the biggest football’s fever which destroys the beauty of this sport.
Racism still exists everywhere; it is in Europe, in South Africa and North America. Everybody has heard about clashes in France between white citizens and the immigrants from Africa. Germany has serious problems with the immigrants from Turkey, who has been living in this country for many generations. Central and Eastern Europe are struggling with problems of the Gypsies, who live primarily in areas of Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary. And serious problems happen still in South Africa. The Apartheid policy, although officially ended, still makes itself feel. Racism is also not disappeared in North America. The fight between white people and the sons of slaves has not finished, at least not yet and not finally. In the USA all the time it comes to clashes between those two groups. Those encounters have often tragic consequences.
Racism can take three basic forms:
- stereotype and prejudice, what by itself is not very dangerous,
- discrimination; an unequal treatment of people based on e.g. culture, race, religious diversity,
- ideology
The face of racism has been changed
Nowadays, racism can take different faces. It is not only referred to the racial discrimination, but also to other kinds of discriminations. Racism has evolved and become more delicate and according with valid political correctness. This “old-new” theory took its beginning in the 80s and was named: “subtle racism.” According to this view, a racist is someone who does not openly express his/hers opinions. It is somebody who defends an equal treatment, but in practice feels fears for everything what is different. Pressure of the society makes that people do not have to deal, often, with direct expression of prejudices. However, they have not disappeared. They are only muffled.
Samuel L. Gaertner and John F. Dovidio created a theory about “Aversive Racism.” According to their opinion this term can be used in respect of people who allow a kind of discrimination, which is not based on the criteria of race. Aversive Racism discriminates, e.g. women, immigrants and homosexuals.
A mass immigration, which has started in the 80s, also caused an occurrence of a new racist theory, called: “cultural racism.” It is assumed, that there are biological differences between people. Culture racism is based on the intention to protect tradition, customs and life-style of a certain group of people. There are common opinions, according to which immigrants are linked together with an increase of crimes and the disintegration of traditional values or structures. That is why it is very often refused to grant them the same privileges and rights that have the native cultures.
The European Union Agency of Fundamental Rights has discovered that racism is still a part of our everyday life, especially the life of emigrants and minorities, such as: lesbians, gays and bisexual’s as well transgender people.