Are we inherently racist?

Wow, we survived yet another year so first of all, Happy New Year, my friends.

Ok, now back to the topic.

The title of this blog post spawned from having dinner at Burger King (not in Singapore) the other day - particularly, I noticed that BK was like some sort of ethnic enclave for people of a certain look. In comparison, when I ate at McDonalds, I realised that most patrons were people of another type of look. It got me thinking, “WHY?”.

So first, I started looking at the menu and prices. I cannot say for sure that one place is more affordable or had more options than the other. Because to me, both are in the same price bracket and offered similar food items (burgers, fries, nuggets, chicken wings, etc).

Maybe it is the taste of the food then. I am not sure about you but burgers and fries generally taste the the same to me (Yes, of course I can tell if the fries are skinnier and crispier or if the beef is more substantial, but you get what I mean... it is fast food.)

Then it dawned on me... maybe people of a certain type started patronising a particular place and then folks from the same background or ethnicity or whatever started going there too. This sounds like people “markng territorities”. But why? Why cannot people just mingle regardless of how they look and respect each other´s differences?

I realised... ok, maybe some people are indeed racist. But I think the majority of people are just afraid.

1) Because we were brought up to hang out with people who look the same way as us (i.e. most of our family members look the same and most kids are brought up in a mono-racial type environment), and I think parents do not proactively talk about interracial relationships and colour and all of that jazz.
Hence, intuitively, people will naturally stick to the status quo and what has worked out well for them thus far.

2) Because (in some sick way), people of the same race would think that “stepping out”, and making friends or enjoying the company of people of different backgrounds is despising or not respecting one´s roots or ancestry. I think most of us are familiar with the term “sarong party girl” and “yellow fever”.

Sorry, random advertisement break here. But I have a story to share about the first time I heard of this “yellow fever” term.
It was an introduction lecture for Part B, and my friend and I found seats next to this random American guy. Well, to be precise, he is Indian-American. After getting to know him for a bit, I realised that he is all alone in Singapore and so, I asked him if he would like to join my friend and I for lunch. I admit that I should have asked my friend first but I thought it was not a big deal. Turned out, it was... When the guy left the table to buy his food, my friend turned to me and said it is very obvious that he has the yellow fever. I swear my reaction was something like this, “what? is it contagious or not? he is coughing like mad...”

Anyway, back to the main topic. I just wonder why it is (almost morally) not right for a person of a particular race to prefer the physical appearance of another race whereas it is less dishonourable if, hypothetically speaking, a Chinese man prefers a Chinese woman with double eyelids or a Chinese woman who is fairer than him. Is it because we already think that certain races are more superior than others and therefore, if one chose to form relationships with the more or less “superior race” (which is deemed by god knows who), then it is a sign of utter disrespect for one´s own roots?

Let everything sink in for a moment... And tell me what you guys think - is it possible (and acceptable) to find someone of a different race more physically appealing without bringing race into the picture? And do you think it is weird if someone you know (of the same race as you) proactively makes friends with people of different races.