Ethnocentric means excessively centered or focused on one’s group. Note the inclusion of the word “excessively.” We can feel a sense of identification with our racial-ethnic group, religion, or culture without being ethnocentric. We can also prefer the company of people who share our heritage and perspective over the company of others without being intolerant. The familiar is naturally more comfortable than the unfamiliar and to pretend otherwise is to delude ourselves. Accordingly, the fact that Korean Americans tend to associate almost exclusively with one another or that the local Polish American club does not issue invitations to Italians, Finns, or African Americans should not be regarded as a sign of ethnocentrism.

種族中心主義過于關(guān)注他們自己的群體。注意“過于”這個詞。我們可以對種族、宗教或文化有認(rèn)同感，而不是以種族為中心。人們會更喜歡跟他們有共同文化背景和觀點(diǎn)的人交往。熟悉的人自然比不熟悉的人更舒服，且假裝則是在欺騙自己。因此，韓裔美國人傾向于將幾乎所有的人都聯(lián)系在一起，或者當(dāng)?shù)氐牟ㄌm裔美國人俱樂部不會向意大利人、芬蘭人或非裔美國人發(fā)出邀請，這一事實(shí)不應(yīng)被視為民族中心主義的標(biāo)志。

What distinguishes ethnocentric individuals from those who feel a normal sense of identification with their group is that ethnocentric people believe (a) that their group is not merely different from other groups but fundamentally and completely superior to them and (b) that the motivations and intentions of other groups are suspect. These beliefs create a bias that blocks critical thinking. Ethnocentric people are eager to challenge the views of other groups but unwilling to question the views of their own group. As a result, they tend to respond to complex situations with oversimplifications. They acknowledge no middle ground to issues—things are all one way, the way that accords with their group’s perspective. They also tend to form negative stereotypes of other groups, as psychologist Gordon Allport explained many years ago:

把以種族為中心的人與那些對自己的群體有一種正常認(rèn)同感的人區(qū)分開來的是以種族主義為中心的人相信：

a）他們的群體不僅僅不同于其他群體而且根本地完全地優(yōu)于他們。

b）其他群體的動機(jī)和意圖是值得懷疑的。

這種信仰會產(chǎn)生阻礙了批判性思考的偏見。他們急于質(zhì)疑其它群體的觀點(diǎn)卻又不愿意懷疑自己群體的觀點(diǎn)。結(jié)果就會對復(fù)雜的問題做出過于簡單化的反應(yīng)。他們認(rèn)為沒有中間地帶，問題只有一種方式，就是符合他們?nèi)后w觀點(diǎn)的方式。他們也傾向于形成對其他群體的負(fù)面刻板印象，就像心理學(xué)家Gordon Allport多年前解釋的那樣:

By taking a negative view of great groups of mankind, we somehow make life simpler. For example, if I reject all foreigners as a category, I don’t have to bother with them—except to keep them out of my country. If I can ticket, then, all Negroes as comprising an inferior and objectionable race, I conveniently dispose of a tenth of my fellow citizens. If I can put the Catholics into another category and reject them, my life is still further simplified. I then pare again and slice off the Jew . . . and so it goes.

通過對人類偉大群體的負(fù)面看法，可以讓我們的生活變得更簡單。例如，如果我拒絕所有外國人作為一個類別，我就不必為他們操心——只需把他們排除在我的國家之外。如果我能開罰單，那么，我可以很方便地處置掉十分之一的由劣等的和令人反感的種族組成的所有黑人同胞。如果我能把天主教徒歸入另一個類別，拒絕他們，我的生活就會進(jìn)一步簡化。然后，我又再除去猶太人，事情就會更加簡單。? ??

Ethnocentric people’s prejudice has an additional function. It fills their need for an out-group to blame for real and imagined problems in society. Take any problem—street crime, drug trafficking, corruption in government, political assassinations, labor strikes, pornography, rising food prices—and there is a ready-made villain to blame it on: The Jews are responsible—or the Italians, African Americans, or Hispanics. Ethnocentrics achieve instant diagnosis—it’s as easy as matching column a to column b. And they get a large target at which they can point their anger and fear and inadequacy and frustration.

種族中心主義的人的偏見還有另外的作用。它填補(bǔ)了他們在外部社會中對真正的和想象的問題的責(zé)備的需要。對待任何問題比如，街頭犯罪、販毒、政府腐敗、政治暗殺、勞工罷工、色情、食品價格上漲，猶太人或者是意大利人、非裔美國人、西班牙裔應(yīng)該是對此負(fù)責(zé)的罪魁禍?zhǔn)?。種族中心主義者實(shí)現(xiàn)了即時診斷，就像把a(bǔ)列和b列連線一樣簡單，他們找到了一個大的目標(biāo)，把他們的憤怒、恐懼、不足和沮喪發(fā)泄到他們身上。