Explaining Racism

As with all things in science, proper solutions and answers can only be found if the underlying foundation of the original problem is properly understood. For example, an unconscious man is brought quickly into the emergency room of a hospital with clear, severe ankle trauma. The ankle is swollen and is turning black and blue. At this juncture it would be absolutely critical for the attending doctor to know which of these two scenarios played out prior to the ankle problem.

1) He was hiking though nearby backwoods (which are known to be ridden with rattlesnakes), when a sudden sharp pain hit his ankle preceded shortly by a rattling, hissing noise.

2) He was playing a football game after doing too many shots of tequila and was tackled by three drunken friends at once, which resulted in a cracking noise in the ankle area.

All too often, societal ills are diagnosed by people with far too little understanding of the history behind such problems, and therefore do not truly understand the problems and cannot come up with coherent solutions to them.

Take Astronomy for example. Prior to the realization that the earth actually orbits the sun along with the other planets, Astronomers took great pains to construct mathematical models and calculations that explained the movements of the other planets. In their worldview the other planets revolved around the earth, so this was the basis upon which they began their calculations and explanations. It should come as no surprise that the orbits of the planets seemed very, very odd and elaborate models were developed that charted their orbits complete with mini-orbits, twists, loops, and other strange behaviors. All of this was necessary to show why they did not seem to be making a direct path across the sky as one would logically expect. Of course, once Galileo pulled back the curtains to reveal our true place in the universe, everything fell into place mathematically, and scientists were able to move forward with the correct understanding of how the solar system works. Sure, it took a lot of time, patience, and blood to get there, but we got there. Well, almost.

Now consider that we humans are descendants of a common ancestor to all living things. More recently, our ancestors spawned the bipedal great apes. Move further forward in time and you have societal evolution of human beings.

Anthropologists and evolutionary biologists estimate that humans banded together into tribes at some point, with the estimated maximum number of tribe members at about 150 - 200. Once a tribe got too large, it would split into two tribes, each going their own way. Critics of evolution will argue that people have benevolent instincts, and that Darwin claimed that only the most bloodthirsty, aggressive killers would be favored by natural selection. This is simply not true. Evolution favors those with the best ability to survive and reproduce. It doesn't strain the intellect to understand the survival advantage given to societies vs. individuals. Working and playing well with others conveyed a huge advantage, and the aggressive sociopaths were weeded out by organized groups. There is strength in numbers, and people with the best ability to work well in groups gained huge evolutionary advantages from those numbers.

So, you are living within a tribe in ancient Northern Africa, and you suddenly see a group of individuals who are not a part of your group. First off, how do you know they aren't a part of your group? Well, the 150 - 200 maximum limit insured that everybody knew everybody. You thought your hometown was small? In addition, the members of the other groups probably looked a bit different, spoke differently, acted differently, and wore different clothing, if any. So, here we have new visitors who are difficult to understand and do not fit in with your group. What do you do? Well, at the very least, you treat them with severe caution in defense of your own group. You watch them like a hawk, and potentially even kill them just to be on the safe side. At the very least, you let them know under no uncertain terms that they are simply not wanted.

Treating these intruders with compassion would have given no evolutionary advantage. In fact, it would have exposed your own group to an unnecessary and potential threat. Over time, the groups that excluded outsiders gained an advantage over those who did not. The instinct to be wary of those who speak differently, look different and act different was born and reinforced over many millennia.

Do I condone racism? Absolutely not. But I do understand where it comes from, and why it is so pervasive in our world. We have intellectually evolved well beyond the days of small, traveling bands. We have NOT emotionally evolved past this point though, and it is important to realize this. Desires and emotions evolved with the intent of helping our 150 person in-group gain an advantage over any out-groups. Understanding that racist feelings have a natural basis can help us to laugh them off and realize how useless and outdated they are.

I can almost hear the religious folks now pointing out that I am justifying racism. Hopefully they'll lose interest quickly and go back to reading their bible verses. You know, like Genesis 17: 12-13?