EDITORIAL

Against Racism And Discrimination.


In front of social and single behaviors that appear irrational we have always to wonder what are the reasons behind which gave them rise, look for the root causes to correct, eradicate them. From the sociological point of view, racist behaviors, apparently generally rejected, are largely widespread in all societies although in different forms and manifestations. What we generally term as racism is not just a sort of racial exclusion because within the same ethnic group there can be different forms of discriminations by gender and social class.  Scientific research in the field of psychology and sociology indicates that racism and prejudices are still among the major problems our society faces. Though racism has deep psychological motives and processes involved, a number of published studies have demonstrated that people use prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behaviors to boast their own self esteem. Humans are social creatures that feel safer being part of a group and like to see their group as important and significant, so if someone is noticeably different they hold negative attitudes.

It has also been argued that prejudice and racism in particular may be driven, in part, by basic survival motives. Humans evolved as a species that thrives in groups, and groups compete over scarce resources.  We do not have to look back at our ancestors to see this in practice. Even today, nations and groups within nations fight over access to limited resources.  Therefore, one cause of racism may be an innate proclivity towards group conflict in the service of resource acquisition. Of course, this is extremely problematic in a modern interconnected world. However, we must strive to have belief systems that reject what may be a natural inclination not to trust or hold negative attitudes about people who don’t belong to the same group.

One of the most common reason leading to discrimination is due to the diversity   of the skin colors, that’s of a different pigmentation, depending on the geographical distribution of UV radiations. So areas which receive higher amounts of UVR, generally located closer to the equator, tend to have  darker-skinned populations whereas  areas close to the poles  have lower intensity of UVR which is reflected in lighter skinned populations. Research also demonstrated that human populations can change from dark skinned to light skinned and vice versa as they migrate to different UV zones. In spite of that, many people fail to believe that race is not a biological category but an artificial classification of people with no scientific variable parts.

Evidently, all that was ignored by the Spanish and the English settlers of America.  And  today we can read  from the history book about the miserable  living conditions of the Blacks in their colonies.  The treatment of the slaves was brutal and degrading: shackling, mutilation, beating, and sexual abuses were common. But was racism against the Blacks just because of the diversity or also because the American colonists were in need of cheap labor for their cotton and tobacco plantations? Neither thesis can be excluded.  Man expresses the need to feel part of a group together with his attitude to take for him what he thinks to need.  Both things intertwine. And, was the termination of Jews during the Nazi regime because of their different religion  or just a political gimmick to realize the Hitlerian plan to conquer Europe? The very idea of racial cleansing, deportation, gas chambers, mass slaughters goes beyond all human understanding, and I wonder why the world has not been able to stop a man like Hitler, to recognize his madness in good time.

It is said that history is teacher of life that man learns from it, but if we simply turn our gaze around, we can realize that horrible things still happen. So, let’s think too of the many new-born babies in some Asian countries condemned to death if females.  Small defenseless human beings who are denied life: social behaviors that arouse awe and horror. I do not think they can fall within the  pure definition of  racism, but they are certainly the most brutal form of exclusion and discrimination, which would open the field to a long debate on the status of women, especially in some countries of the southern hemisphere. Discrimination practiced under the common roof!

Yes, of course the path of man on this planet is in eternal evolution and steps forward to a more harmonious way of life have been made; but the road is still long. Thousands of people continue to have an attitude of passive acceptance of the status quo, perhaps suffering abuses themselves because unaware of their human and social rights. Education, I believe, could play an important, crucial role. I mean education to the acceptance, respect for differences, integration. But we all witness the lack of  a serious reflection and commitment from the institutions responsible to it.

Then it becomes a duty on the part of the intellectuals, of those who hold the power of a wider knowledge and sensibility to awaken consciences to a more active and fair participation in the life I believe this is the primary objective of this anthology which sees poets from different countries, speaking different languages   united in a common spirit against racism and discrimination.

Maria Miraglia
From The Editorial Desk
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5 comments:

  1. what a commendable endeavour this is ! Hats off to the editors ,contributors , readers . Immaculate presentation .

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    1. Thank you so much. You can also visit our previous Anthology "Poetry for Peace against Terrorism" right from the "TAB".

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    2. What a noble and timely endeavour, much need to bring awareness of the different kinds and reasons of discrimination and it's repurcussions on individuals ,and society as a whole.

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  2. P B Shelley has said in his The Study of Poetry that poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world. They are the law makers of human life in the world. Their immortal words, if followed by all, peace, prosperity and progress all can enjoy despite the differences of culture, language, religion, race and region following the principle of unity in diversity in One World Union!

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  3. An excellent assembly of poems from all over the World,and,as far as the subject matter is concerned,if a Martian,a Dalek,or a being from the Planet Zog landed on our planet tomorrow,it would make no difference as to whether we are white,brown,black or yellow.....we would be viewed as Earthlings only,and,it is only fate as to where we are all born in this life !

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