Is Bigotry Taught?

Seil · 02-23-2010, 12:50 PM

In this thread, I was wondering about psychopathic behavior. Now I'm wondering about social bigotry, like racism, sexism and homophobia. Looking at the reasons that it survived in the mainstream population as long as it did, and why it's still going on elsewhere. There are some debates right now out there about the subject.

The idea that I have right now is that discrimination like racism is taught, that it's passed along from one generation to the next. For example, I looked up to my older brothers and my parents, and was taught a lot of different things from all of them - some less noteworthy than others, some more illegal than others, but I learned... I don't know how to phrase it - I guess "behavior?" I learned behavior from them, whether it was my dad's reservedness, my mom's quick temper, my oldest brother's toying nature, or my other brother's excuses. I have to say that I did learn from them, but I also can say that as I grew older, it was less about what I learned from them and more about applying what I have learned over my life.

There's a documentary called "The California Reich," in which it shows children being raised in a racially intolerant environment, and learning negatively about a wide variety of people and orientation. This school is trying to teach younger generations tolerance of homosexuality, and more about sexuality in general.

I guess this goes hand in hand with the debate as to whether or not people are born evil, or are made evil through situations and experiences in their life - and in that I'm still of the belief that ignorance and hatred is something you learn. Thinking of the amount of discrimination present in society fifty years ago to the discrimination now, I genuinely believe that to be because it wasn't because people we born to hate, it's that we were taught to by people who already weren't very nice folks.

So there's one side of an argument - anyone of a different opinion?

02-23-2010, 12:50 PM	#1
Seil Super stressed! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: British Columbia Posts: 8,081	Is Bigotry Taught? In this thread, I was wondering about psychopathic behavior. Now I'm wondering about social bigotry, like racism, sexism and homophobia. Looking at the reasons that it survived in the mainstream population as long as it did, and why it's still going on elsewhere. There are some debates right now out there about the subject. The idea that I have right now is that discrimination like racism is taught, that it's passed along from one generation to the next. For example, I looked up to my older brothers and my parents, and was taught a lot of different things from all of them - some less noteworthy than others, some more illegal than others, but I learned... I don't know how to phrase it - I guess "behavior?" I learned behavior from them, whether it was my dad's reservedness, my mom's quick temper, my oldest brother's toying nature, or my other brother's excuses. I have to say that I did learn from them, but I also can say that as I grew older, it was less about what I learned from them and more about applying what I have learned over my life. There's a documentary called "The California Reich," in which it shows children being raised in a racially intolerant environment, and learning negatively about a wide variety of people and orientation. This school is trying to teach younger generations tolerance of homosexuality, and more about sexuality in general. I guess this goes hand in hand with the debate as to whether or not people are born evil, or are made evil through situations and experiences in their life - and in that I'm still of the belief that ignorance and hatred is something you learn. Thinking of the amount of discrimination present in society fifty years ago to the discrimination now, I genuinely believe that to be because it wasn't because people we born to hate, it's that we were taught to by people who already weren't very nice folks. So there's one side of an argument - anyone of a different opinion?