One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish

Judgement is as subconscious as most thought processes go.  Maybe second only to reacting to pain or danger.  There's it but maybe a miniscule of a second where we hesitate to decide between fight or flight.  Some just react quicker than others, they have keener motor responses.  But just quick as removing your hand from a hot surface, you notice a person walk through the door and start sizing them up.  Weighing in their finer points and criticizing them for their flaws.  I don't think we mean to judge others.  We can't help it. It's a cognitive reaction to what we see and how we perceive it.  People thrive from learning from past experiences.  It is how one moves up in the world and becomes successful.  So when we see people dressed a certain way, with their hair a certain style, the brain sorts through past files and memories to decide how to react in the current moment.  Basically it's stereotyping.  It is the quickest, and laziest way to react to an environment.

This is a great tool to have.  In dangerous situations where you have very little time to assess the situation and figure out what the correct behavior is, it could keep you out of harm.  The problem lies with the everyday situation which has a low risk of harm involved.  My assumptions about any person walking through the front door of a restaurant can easily go from helpful, harmless stereotyping, to racism and profiling.  It is probably the main reason racism will never be defeated in many lifetimes.  Only until there's been enough interracial relations to basically have one mixed race, will there ever be true racial harmony.  Then wars will be fought over cultural differences due to location, and country. 

The other big contributor to racism is the lack of understanding and appreciating cultural differences.  If taken the time to understand the different societies and cultures and beliefs, the hatred of something different and  unfamiliar wouldn't be as intense.  People should be proud of where they came from, and what their heritage is.  It helps define who they are as a person.  It isn't all they are though.  Uncountable things define and make up who a person is.  Its almost impossible not to find something in common with everyone.