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During this year of political nominations, character assassination is, again, at high level and the forefront of human behavior. The founding fathers were just as vicious as current politicians at slinging mud at each other – even their wives.

In order to hopefully win positions of power (personal security), the human animal has many artificially created symbols of “strength” – personal or group – to annihilate the competition (survival of the fittest). Politicians on both sides have shared many of them:

• Racist, stupid…
• Physical appearance…
• Business incompetence, unfit to lead country…
• Liar, violent, aggressive, deceitful...
• Gender, etc.

Racism is not about hatred, or a dislike for certain groups of people or individuals because of a belief that they may be inferior.

Racism is a hard wired, physiological construction which exists in all of us – across all cultures. We are born with it; we live "within" it. Contrary to common notions, and published “scientific” research or intellectual claims, I propose that racism is not learned. It is inherent in our DNA.

Yes, without doubt, we teach and impart our personal or group convictions of "dislike" and "hatred," but these are resulting behaviors: overlaid expressions of our underlying reaction to initially perceived threat of something that is different or an unknown: skin color, different culture, different group, different physical features (height, weight and shape), different beliefs and opinions, perceived strength of the other – anything different from us.

Racism, at its very core, is a natural physiological reaction initiated by fear of the different – ultimately, real or perceived potential physical threat. This fear is mutually constructive and destructive. It preserves our Physiological Continuity – physical survival or intellectual, learned beliefs – and simultaneously expresses potential harmful behavior on others.

Education and creation of social laws which denounce racist behaviors are efforts and attempts to protect and benefit group survival. However, at its essence, the driving force (want or need) for group survival is really an expression to better guarantee our individual continuity – physical survival and/or “emotional” constructs.

Racist behavior is a natural expression of fear. Its foundation is embedded in what I see as a universal Principle of Continuity – natural physiological processes which maintain and preserve our individual brain/body constructs.

Simply put, a denunciation of “racism,” as it is commonly conceived is a secondary, intellectual synonym describing and expressing our unconscious, raw fear of physiological change, harm or discontinuity. Racism cannot exist or be expressed without perceived or learned fear.

Fear of harm is a natural, physiological construct within all human beings, across all races – indeed, all species.

Let's look at several of these examples of primary and secondary racist expressions, and some of our culturally created, superficial interpretations of these behaviors.

Two primary core expressions of fear are fight and flight. Fight has two expressions. They can be expressed as physical reactions – violence between individuals or groups, warfare, etc., or “emotional/intellectual” reactions – hate, anger, individual or group denunciation, disgust, dislike, repulsion, demeaning descriptions, mockery, intellectual rebuttals etc.

Both physical and emotional/intellectual battles are equal in nature, just different expressions of the same behavior – causing harm/self defense.

Flight also maintains two expressions – physical avoidance or running away and emotional or intellectual avoidance – denial/rejection of others’ ideas, beliefs, philosophies, expectations, laws, etc. Again, these expressions result in equal effects.  

This realization forces us to understand and redefine what racism is – fear. It is therefore absurd to expect that we can, through laws or corporeal threat, eradicate racism. This would be equivalent to making social rules against feeling fear, love, compassion, sadness or paranoia and therefore expressing them is not acceptable – therefore punishable.

Humankind always has always been and will continue to have the physiology of fear, just as the physiology of hunger or joy is within our biology. This explains why racism in America or any other country has not been extinguished.

Our best and all efforts should be in recognizing, defining and educating that harmful or hurtful behavior is an instinctual struggle for personal physical/emotional security and, if someone’s skin is brown, or if our neighbor is a Muslim or Asian, European or Portuguese, American Indian, American, Canadian or African, they need not be feared, unless he or she expresses harm.

It is permissible to be fearful. It is not acceptable to cause hurt or harm.

(This Article is under development.)

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