75% of parents with darker skinned children talk to them about racism? How does that make the child feel? insecure, inadequate, unworthy. They know that some people will not like them based on something they had no control over, and the people who tend to not like them are people of a lighter skin tone. A child naturally sees all adults as someone with power, but other children are looked at as equals, or that's how it should be. However, the darker skinned child sees lighter skinned children as bad due to his fear of being disliked. As a lighter skinned child growing up in a neighborhood with a high percentage of dark skinned people, I was made to feel inferior, and teased. Exactly what the darker skinned children where worried about. Maybe they did it to even the playing field, make themselves feel better? I don't know.
I never had the racism talk with my parents. As a child, i didn't understand why i was being picked on. I was called things like "cracker" and "white boy" by people i didn't even know. Why? because those childrens parents talked with them about racism.
I believe that NO parent should talk to their child about racism, unless the child were to interact with a racist adult. Then and only then should you explain to the child that the adult in question is wrong for being that way. Talking to your children about racism only causes more racism.
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75% of parents with darker skinned children talk to them about racism? How does that make the child feel? insecure, inadequate, unworthy. They know that some people will not like them based on something they had no control over, and the people who tend to not like them are people of a lighter skin tone. A child naturally sees all adults as someone with power, but other children are looked at as equals, or that's how it should be. However, the darker skinned child sees lighter skinned children as bad due to his fear of being disliked. As a lighter skinned child growing up in a neighborhood with a high percentage of dark skinned people, I was made to feel inferior, and teased. Exactly what the darker skinned children where worried about. Maybe they did it to even the playing field, make themselves feel better? I don't know.
May 26, 2010 - 11:26pmI never had the racism talk with my parents. As a child, i didn't understand why i was being picked on. I was called things like "cracker" and "white boy" by people i didn't even know. Why? because those childrens parents talked with them about racism.
I believe that NO parent should talk to their child about racism, unless the child were to interact with a racist adult. Then and only then should you explain to the child that the adult in question is wrong for being that way. Talking to your children about racism only causes more racism.
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