Will Race Always Be An Issue?

Hello dear reader! Thank you for joining me for me last post! Today's post will be a mix of final thoughts, with a full response in a Question 3 style essay. I hope you enjoy!

Throughout reading this book, Aronson has listed historical event after event of the formation of race as a topic, and then the prejudices, discrimination, and violence that has stemmed out of it. After reading each event chronologically, it creates a sense that 'race' and its effects are never-ending. So, to challenge this thought, I have chosen to write this issue surrounding this main question: Will race always be an issue? 

Painting of three women by South African artist Juanita Mulder.

Mudler, Juanita. Painting of Three Women. Pixabay, pixabay.com/illustrations/african-art-creativity-colorful-1732247/. Accessed 29 Mar. 2021.

        We can try to progress and change as much as we want, but at the end of the day, we are human. As humans, we have evolved to protect our tribe and to fear those who are different. We've seen it all throughout history, our human tendency to protect those similar to us, and fight those who we fear. This trend is not just defined between two races, it is an ongoing pattern between all races. Indeed, we have been making necessary efforts to move towards being more racially equal. However, we cannot change the behavioral tendencies so ingrained in our species. Therefore, race, in some shape or form, will always be an issue. As humans, we fear differences, we gravitate to those who are similar to us, and these trends are never ending. Race will always be an issue. 

        It is human nature to notice differences. When you first look at a person, you immediately notice differences and similarities: their race, gender, wealth, age, etc. Evolution has trained us to notice these differences, to be weary of different tribes, and to see their differences as a threat. Sadly, while we have greatly evolved since then, we are still haunted by this fairly objective behavior.  As Aronson writes, "Race is difference: That is not hard to accept." (263). All throughout history, different groups have been persecuted simply because of their differences. People in power were afraid of them, and then decided to quell their fears by attacking them. Clearly this is not right, however it is a trend that has occurred for centuries. According to Aronson, "Blacks and whites [grew] up going to school together. But the newspaper reporters found that young people really mix only until fifth or sixth grade." (260). As these students grew up, they began to be more aware of their personal identity, and the identities of those around them. This caused them to become in-tune to difference, and therefore segregating themselves naturally. Our differences rule us, and they are ultimately what separate us. 

        Alternatively, we gravitate to our similarities. While we may walk into a room and single out those who are different from us as 'potential threats,' we also notice those who are part of our 'tribe.' People who share certain characteristics, the easiest to identify of them being race. "I believe that human beings are prejudiced. From the nightmares we have as children, to the patterns of fear and flight we inherited from our most ancient ancestors, we are imprinted with a deep need to separate "us" and "them."" (267). As Aronson so clearly states, it is a deeply ingrained human tendency to protect ourselves, and within that, categorize ourselves into "us" and "them." If you look at your group of friends, for example, they probably share certain characteristics with you: race, gender, ethnicity, interests, social status, job, etc. These similarities make us feel safe and supported; they are our 'tribe.' This separation between similar and different is a large part of why we so easily become racially polarized, pitting certain races against each other. Our similarities may comfort us, but in the end they too separate us.

        Furthermore, because these trends are part of human nature, they are never-ending. Throughout Marc Aronson's book, countless events regarding racial prejudice and inequality were laid out in a comprehensive timeline. From the Ancient Greeks, to Protestant villages in Medieval Europe, to Asian and Black discrimination in the USA, to the Holocaust, Aronson details the never-ending racially charged climate that we live in. This global tendency to victimize entire races has never been subjected to a certain country or continent. This has happened world wide, and continues to happen. Even once conflicts are over, people still hold these stereotypes and prejudices that aren't erased the second laws are changed. "Beneath the idea of "acting black" or "acting white" there is still the hidden and lingering sense that they are two distinct races. So distinct they can never change." (261). And even if we were to fully overcome all prejudices against a certain race, the never-ending cycle of the superiority complex will find a new group to persecute. As depressing as it may sound, and as hard as it may be to accept, this is the truth. Our similarities and our differences perpetuate a never-ending pattern of prejudice.

        While we look to the future, we are continually striving to create the world that we want our kids to live in. Ideally, that is a world in which our similarities and differences are celebrated and understood, versus used to create division. "Dr. Morning suggests that one step would be to stop even using the term "race." If we said "population" in some part of Africa has certain genetic traits, it would sound different from saying Africans as a race have those traits. A population is a constantly changing group. "Race" sounds more permanent and confining. That is a start." (266) How will you start? How will you challenge this cycle of racial injustice? Can we end it?