Iago's character is very sly and devious and uses his qualities for the betterment of himself. He schemes to destroy Othello and anything in his way including Cassio and Desdemona. .
The first time we hear one of his racist comments is when he's talking to Brabantio, who is Desdemona's father, about Othello and Desdemona, "Even now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe"(1.1.87-88). Iago uses this line as he tries to get Brabantio to help him plot against Othello. This technique works in Iago's favor as Barabantio turns on Othello. Iago acts as Othello's best friend throughout the play as to not to make Othello suspicious that Iago is plotting behind his back. This is the reason why we only hear Iago only make racial comments when Othello is not around. .
Iago is jealous of Othello for many reasons, one being that Othello has higher ranking in the army than him, and the second being that he has a good marriage with Desdemona which Iago does not have himself with Emilia. These are the main causes of his hatred for Othello and the reason he adopts such a racial attitude towards Othello. .
Roderigo is another one of the racist characters in the play right from the start of it. He is Iago's accomplice and best friend who will do anything that Iago wants him to. The reason for Roderigo's alliance to Iago is because of the way Iago can twist a situation around to make it sound as if Roderigo would get something good from it, but in the end Iago is the one who always makes out. Roderigo hates Othello because he's jealous of him as he also loves Desdemona but cannot have her. Iago has been trying to break Othello and Desdemona up because of Roderigo's love for her, but Roderigo never gets what he wants. Roderigo does not view Othello in a very bad, racist way but his racism stems from his jealousy of Othello's love life. Neither Roderigo nor Iago would say anything racist to Othello's face as he is the General of the Army and ironically holds power over them both.
