MrBishop
Well-Known Member
Here's the theory...racism exists. We all know that it does. Some of us may even face it daily, either directed at us, or happening around us. It has made certain groups sensitive, and sometimes overly sensitive to what's happening around them. When one generation has been faced with outright racism and the effects of it, they are more likely to pass on their fears and opinions onto the next generation. This is how racism and victimization propagates.
Question: Can a former victim of racism pass on the over-sensitivity of others (past victimizers) onto their children and the children of others? Would this make these children more apt to see racism in the most innocent of acts or statements?
Here is the situation...this really happened.
My mother in law and my son were walking along a sidewalk close to her home. They crossed paths with a black woman and her two children. My son (who, BTW is only 14 months old) stopped in his tracks and hid behind his Abuela (Grandmother). This is normal for him and all children when meeting strangers. Right?
Not for this woman though...she saw something that wasn't there. My mother-in-law described the look on this woman's face as one of stunned insolence. She then leaned down to her children and told them... "He's afraid of us because we're black".
Now...not to take away from the seriousness of this thread but...What the fuck??!?
I thus present this as an example of racism as a self-fulfilling prophecy. This woman's children are being fed on the ideas that they will be feared and hated by those who are not like them. They will eventually start believing her and act as if this is the case. Voila...reverse racism!
Will this never end?
Question: Can a former victim of racism pass on the over-sensitivity of others (past victimizers) onto their children and the children of others? Would this make these children more apt to see racism in the most innocent of acts or statements?
Here is the situation...this really happened.
My mother in law and my son were walking along a sidewalk close to her home. They crossed paths with a black woman and her two children. My son (who, BTW is only 14 months old) stopped in his tracks and hid behind his Abuela (Grandmother). This is normal for him and all children when meeting strangers. Right?
Not for this woman though...she saw something that wasn't there. My mother-in-law described the look on this woman's face as one of stunned insolence. She then leaned down to her children and told them... "He's afraid of us because we're black".
Now...not to take away from the seriousness of this thread but...What the fuck??!?
I thus present this as an example of racism as a self-fulfilling prophecy. This woman's children are being fed on the ideas that they will be feared and hated by those who are not like them. They will eventually start believing her and act as if this is the case. Voila...reverse racism!
Will this never end?