Reply #54: I agree with you...

[MellowDem]

that to be a racist nowadays especially, you have to have hatred, fear, etc. as well as ignorance. But back in the day it was accepted sceintific "knowledge" that blacks were inferior, so you could have been a perfectly happy fellow who was a racist and felt no hatred per se.

I think you are confusing the cause of racism with the cause in the *belief* of racist ideology. The cause of racism being literally made up out of thin air as an ideology is much as you say it is, economic incentive at the time for slavery. But the only way people can believe in that ideology nowadays is through ignorance combined with all those other things. And now racism has little to do with the institution of slavery and a lot to do with bigotry. You also have to wonder if those that created race and racism actually believed it. After all, they created it for a very material purpose, and I wouldn't doubt that they didn't believe their own bullshit. Like Thomas Jeffreson. Something tells me he only believed racist ideology to the point where he wouldn't have to feel bad for treating fellow humans like "chattle". After all, they were "sub-human". And even then, his personal life shows that he probably didn't even really buy that.