[...]... real debate that considers people and their attitudes and actions as the issues It is in the hands of skilled orators and minds, and workers and artists, that racial imagery and discourse is given life Therefore, any book about racism should also be about people and how they deal with one another Racism and ‘racist acts’ generate an enormous amount of puzzling, intense and tormenting feelings among victims,... one’s human frailty and isolation We seek to be in a group and belong, and we choose a group on the basis of shared attributes and interests, of which race is one Those looking for operationalised and 20 / RACISM AND MENTAL HEALTH mechanistic logicality in defining racism and its manifestations will be partly pleased, but mostly disappointed The words in this book sit in the ambiguities and contradictions... religion and relationship 15 16 / RACISM AND MENTAL HEALTH Table 2.1: Definitions 1 Acculturation Incorporating some of the attributes of other cultural groups Culture Tylor (1871): that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law and custom and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society Keesing (1981): systems of shared ideas, systems of concepts and rules and. .. terms, trying to locate what we mean by racism 14 / RACISM AND MENTAL HEALTH and prejudice and their psychosocial and psychopolitical origins Included in this is a need to master the complex and often ambiguous terminology that accompanies such discourse Edgar Jones (in Chapter 3) writes on how theories of belief formation might assist in understanding racist thinking In Chapter 5, Frantz Fanon’s work... 24 / RACISM AND MENTAL HEALTH might emerge a self-appraisal and discovery of denigratory attitudes The deeper sentiments that we each harbour are not readily available for our scrutiny, but consist of complexes of ideas and associated emotions and memories These are camouflaged as permissible opinion expressed with conviction, clarity and a belief in our moral position Extreme acts of prejudice and. .. the impact of racism in society on the experiences of people who develop mental illness and then end up contacting mental health services for help These services compound their problems and add to the spiral of distress Kwame McKenzie draws on the African-Amercian experience to give depth to our understanding of status and ethnic origin (Chapter 7) Following a brief review of scientific racism (Chapter... softness and its warmth that also fuel the immediate reactions? What is it about difference that produces fear? Numerous scientific analyses have attempted to improve the understanding of racism and of prejudice in general These analyses have focused on FEELING FOR RACISM / 11 aspects of human behaviour and thinking common to sexism, ageism, homophobia and other emotional states involving fear and hatred... exists within and between groups that each decide they are ‘racially’ distinct and distinct in such fundamen- 10 / RACISM AND MENTAL HEALTH tal ways that they are on different dynastic paths Thus, an early trip to India between school and college was, for me, supposed to be a rediscovery of a homeland, a place to which I belonged and where my boundaries of identity would be similar to many others Alas,... black-on-black violence, inter-religious wars and caste-related wars in Indian society all have a different context for explanations of violence and prejudice But the fundamental elements of hate and violence on the basis of physical characteristics linked to a sense of threat to personal and group survival are recurrent And so there appear to be some issues that racism has in common with other forms of... Bhugra and Bhui address the socio-economic impact of racism (Chapter 9) Later chapters consider racism definitions and associated paradoxes Theories of racism, ethnocentrism, nationalism and the impact on societies are briefly discussed Dr Xavier Coll, a child psychiatrist, explores what happens when we are misunderstood and misidentified (Chapter 10) Later chapters consider definitions of mental . understand - ing of racism and of prejudice in general. These analyses have focused on 10 / RACISM AND MENTAL HEALTH aspects of human behaviour and thinking. future of mental health care, and the elements nec - essary to deliver appropriate and effective care to all people. 14 / RACISM AND MENTAL HEALTH Chapter