By Ko Weng Nie
Factors Cause Racism
Quick judgement
People are eager to pass judgement on others based on their look, dress, speech patterns, and other physical characteristics. It's very simple to label entire groups of people as "lazy," "aggressive," "loud," and so on, due to how the media portrays race and the continuance of racist views. (10 root causes of racism. Human Rights Careers, 2020).
Social media
It has great impact on how the society views races from how media represent race such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and others platform. While the social media reflects a larger culture, it maintains racial prejudices and hence feeds bigotry. Racism in the social media is frequently understated and without intention, yet it has devastating consequences.
Discriminatory policies
Racist views are reinforced by policies that discriminate based on race and keep people in poverty. The example of housing laws is a good one. For example, when society sees this, it thinks it confirms the assumption that Black people only live in low-income, crime-ridden communities because it's a choice.
Scientific racism
While some may argue that ignorance promotes racism, racist ideologies were endorsed by some of history's greatest intellectual thinkers. Science took the role of religion and superstition as the intellectual authority around the end of the 18th century. Many racist ideas, such as that mixed-race offspring had greater health issues and had shorter lives, were justified by "science" at the time.
Living at an echo chamber
Individuals who only engage with people who share their opinions are at risk of becoming racist. If someone isn't part of a diverse group, even "positive" stereotypes about race can be detrimental and difficult to confront. For example, a large amount of research shows that people, including adults and children, are more likely to feel and act positively toward those who are similar to them and in their "ingroup." This means they are more prone to regard persons who are not in their social circles with disdain. (University, 2020)
