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The Pros And Cons Of Racism

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When it comes to the topic of racism, most of us will readily agree that it is the result of racial stereotyping and ignorance. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of just how deep racism runs in society. On the one hand, some are convinced that racism is a shallow concept built on the separation of different appearances, or the fear of the unknown. This ideology is also seen in alien stories, where other-world creatures are immediately believed to be lethal due to their distinct appearances. Fredric Brown demonstrates the rivalry between humankind and unearthly creatures in his short story “Arena,” where hatred makes it impossible for the two species to coexist. On the other hand, others maintain that discrimination is the foundation society is built upon. In Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates writes about how American schooling is more focused on compliance to a predetermined set of beliefs, rather than creative thought, which in turn leads to the creation of concrete definitions for subjective ideals such as morality.
Although ignorance is a major factor in the creation of racial biases and stereotypes, I claim that racism is not due to a lack of knowledge, but rather concrete ideas of right and wrong being ingrained into our minds at a young age, causing our worldviews to come from what society has taught us to be acceptable. I say that because our grade school curriculum tends to provide such concrete definitions of right and wrong,

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