Racism:
Is it a
mental
lllness? © 2015
America is becoming much more diverse than it used to be. There are more Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Arabs, and East Indians. It is still an overwhelmingly white country, but that’s no solace to the bigoted mind.
On the positive side, diversity is bringing new skills, talents, foods, and cultural variety to our country. On the negative side, a small number of people are not coming to this country to be an asset; they’re coming to “get over,” and they are liabilities. Bigots, however, only see the negative side.
In his lifetime, the bigot has seen the fall of segregation laws in housing, employment, and public accommodations. They’ve seen the fall of laws against mixed marriage as well as resistance against interracial dating. Sports teams are now more diverse. Throw in the election of a black president, and a bigot is likely to “lose it.”
His world has changed so much, he can no longer deal with this new reality. Some racists hide their racist views and become police officers where they can act out their bigotry under cover. Or, suicide becomes a way out of a world he can no longer relate to.
But if he “goes out,” he often wants to take as many of those he despises with him. Without some type of psychological intervention, that’s how it normally ends for the extreme racist.
The Louisiana killer and the South Carolina killer are the latest to harbor extreme bigoted views and to act them out. This is what happens when hate has consumed a person for much of his life, but life has moved on.
When a person's hatred for a group is so intense he or she is motivated to lash out violently, that’s not normal. In truth, it is a mental illness. And when like-minded people set up laws to do support that kind of hatred, that also is a form of mental illness. Both racial bigots and religious bigots have a lot in common. Both are consumed with hatred.
Is it a
mental
lllness? © 2015
America is becoming much more diverse than it used to be. There are more Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Arabs, and East Indians. It is still an overwhelmingly white country, but that’s no solace to the bigoted mind.
On the positive side, diversity is bringing new skills, talents, foods, and cultural variety to our country. On the negative side, a small number of people are not coming to this country to be an asset; they’re coming to “get over,” and they are liabilities. Bigots, however, only see the negative side.
In his lifetime, the bigot has seen the fall of segregation laws in housing, employment, and public accommodations. They’ve seen the fall of laws against mixed marriage as well as resistance against interracial dating. Sports teams are now more diverse. Throw in the election of a black president, and a bigot is likely to “lose it.”
His world has changed so much, he can no longer deal with this new reality. Some racists hide their racist views and become police officers where they can act out their bigotry under cover. Or, suicide becomes a way out of a world he can no longer relate to.
But if he “goes out,” he often wants to take as many of those he despises with him. Without some type of psychological intervention, that’s how it normally ends for the extreme racist.
The Louisiana killer and the South Carolina killer are the latest to harbor extreme bigoted views and to act them out. This is what happens when hate has consumed a person for much of his life, but life has moved on.
When a person's hatred for a group is so intense he or she is motivated to lash out violently, that’s not normal. In truth, it is a mental illness. And when like-minded people set up laws to do support that kind of hatred, that also is a form of mental illness. Both racial bigots and religious bigots have a lot in common. Both are consumed with hatred.