The speaker of this quote is saying that racism has not
existed during just one particular period of history or within a few cultures. Bigotry
and racism has existed since the beginning of mankind. He/she believes that prejudice
towards a group of people, whether based on race, religion, or gender, has always
existed. Sadly, historians can look back on any period of history and within any society
and find that racism has been the norm, not the
anomaly.
Since racism stems from ignorance and fear, people
within a society will blame a particular group of people for their problems. The best
example of this is Nazi Germany. Hitler came to power at a time when Germany had severe
economic problems and had been blamed for WWI. Hitler's promises to restore pride and
prosperity resonated with the German people, and many were willing to allow him to blame
the Jews. It was not just the German people, however, who turned a blind eye to Hitler's
actions. The remainder of the world did as well.
The
Holocaust is the most famous example of racism, but it was not the only period of time
in which bigotry and prejudice existed. This is what the speaker of this quote means. It
has always existed and always will unless mankind is willing to make an effort to stop
it. Sadly, mankind hasn't learned from history; it has repeated the mistakes of racism
again and again.
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