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I am not being sarcastic when I say this, but you don't have to teach him a thing. American Society will teach him everything he needs to know. Don't try to soften the blows by saying "that guy is an idiot, or those people are jerks because it is unrealistic in some parts of the US where everyone might treat him with suspicion. He's probably better off getting it at a young age. Many Black kids grow up in an all black environment an don't get exposed to racism at an early enough age to make the necessary adjustments to deal with it.
I'm learning from all of you. I think it's good that we can have this discussion with so few people attempting to side-track it. Maybe we really are growing as a people and as a nation. In my lifetime we have gone from Jim Crow laws to being able to have an open and honest discussion between people of different races right here on this forum. If we can just keep talking rationally good things will come from it. I have faith that good people just need to know how many other good people there are. We seem all hung up on hating and dividing right now in our country and it's really good to see how many thoughtful decent people there are out there.
Several new thoughts have emerged as I read your posts. First, I think that it is true that I do need to encourage him to move around in his lifetime to be in different places and have a chance to be with lots of different people. I like how this discussion makes me think about the difference between acknowledging racism and accepting it. And I also like how most people have focused on what I can do to help my son rise above it, and be self-confident enough to not care about the narrow minded people who will continue to exist. I get guilty pleasure out of reading the more "in your face" responses that people have tried too. They make me laugh. I loved the story about "Please leave the Jewish boys alone", and I cracked up about scruffy white guys getting followed in the store. A little levity helps me to not be too uber-sensitive. I appreciate that, and I appreciate all of you who put in your two cents worth.
Last edited by UtahRoots; 02-14-2011 at 06:52 PM..
Reason: grammar
Just wait until your sons take the SAT and apply for college. Then your White son will be the one getting the lesson in discrimination.
Oh, the really funny thing is that my blond haired blue eyed son qualifies for membership in the Cherokee Nation and his birth mother's last name was Garcia. Whenever anybody in my family has to fill in an application that asks for race, we check "other" and write "human". There won't be anything but achievement and public service for any college admissions officer to see on my boys' applications. If they can't make it into a college on their own work, they need to find something else to do.
I doubt your white son will be experiencing any type of workplace mobbing or blacklisting like I did when I attended college. BTW I have a master's degree. I didn't let belligerent, crypto-Nazi, and psychopathic white professors block me from getting a quality education. White privilege and white Protestant hegemony are very prevalent and pervasive in college: if you are white and have to address issues like slavery, discrimination against minorities, equality to minorities, and similar topics and you consider that "discrimination against whites" by your gang of whites because they have to address inequalities and power imbalances then you are showing severe weaknesses. Also, the little multicultural centers and little student organizations designed to assist and support minorities are purely a facade: centers and organizations are to keep minorities neutralized and polarized: similar to the Jewish ghettos in Nazi Germany.
The only time I could see a white person being discriminated against is if they went to an all black, an all Latino/Latina, or an all Asian college. Sometimes programs or departments at universities are severely polarized: so if you go into a program that is run by a black person then everything in that program is catered to assisting and supporting blacks over everybody else: that can be very unfair and hostile to those who are not black. That would make a lot of sense if you complain against that. But in the United States that will be on occasion: I've seen discrimination work both ways but the majority of the time it's against minorities.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rogerbacon
Just wait until your sons take the SAT and apply for college. Then your White son will be the one getting the lesson in discrimination.
I doubt your white son will be experiencing any type of workplace mobbing or blacklisting like I did when I attended college. BTW I have a master's degree. I didn't let belligerent, crypto-Nazi, and psychopathic white professors block me from getting a quality education. White privilege and white Protestant hegemony are very prevalent and pervasive in college: if you are white and have to address issues like slavery, discrimination against minorities, equality to minorities, and similar topics and you consider that "discrimination against whites" by your gang of whites because they have to address inequalities and power imbalances then you are showing severe weaknesses. Also, the little multicultural centers and little student organizations designed to assist and support minorities are purely a facade: centers and organizations are to keep minorities neutralized and polarized: similar to the Jewish ghettos in Nazi Germany.
The only time I could see a white person being discriminated against is if they went to an all black, an all Latino/Latina, or an all Asian college. Sometimes programs or departments at universities are severely polarized: so if you go into a program that is run by a black person then everything in that program is catered to assisting and supporting blacks over everybody else: that can be very unfair and hostile to those who are not black. That would make a lot of sense if you complain against that. But in the United States that will be on occasion: I've seen discrimination work both ways but the majority of the time it's against minorities.
Wow! artsyguy's post perfectly illuminates Wapasha's wise words-
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wapasha
If you are looking for racism, as you appear to be doing, then you will find it, even if it does not exist. If you raise your son to be on the lookout for racists acts or actions, then he too will find them, whether they existed or not.
Look for racism, homophobia, and other inequalities to make the situation fair and equal. That is obvious. If you studied the history of oppression you'd realize that the system of oppression involves withholding information and keeping a code of silence: it also involves silencing and discrediting complainers: it involves keeping those oppressed trapped into a system that sustains a ruling clique's advantages. This is obvious in world history: if only you studied such a subject.
When the founding fathers extemporized the declaration of independence and the constitution there were a lot of social inequalities: slavery was still considered legitimate commerce, etc. It took many years for those who were oppressed to break the chains and fight for freedom. People naturally gravitate toward freedom and they fight for it: just as the founding fathers fought for freedom from the tyrannical iron grasp of England.
Quote:
Originally Posted by renault
Wow! artsyguy's post perfectly illuminates Wapasha's wise words-
Maria Hinojosa has a great cultural based talk show called One on One. Check out her shows:
Thanks for the link. I did watch it and will watch more. I'm too technologically inept to post a link without having the whole clip show up, but you might be interested in one that prompted some of my thoughts. So, go to youtube and type "Privilege + Itpaislinn. I liked it because it made me stop and think about things I used to take for granted until I was blessed with my youngest son, whose existence has opened me to many things that I never would have seen - both good and bad - if not for him.
In response to artsyguy, renault, and Wapasha. None of us knows what it is like to be the others. I am finding myself in a world that in some ways bridges all of yours. I refuse to take offense at honest expressions of individual views so long as they do not insult or demean mine and so long as they don't drive others away from the conversation. Sometimes its uncomfortable to have people probe to find and uncover my assumptions, and my limited perspectives, but I am willing for that to happen. I would like this thread to continue and would appreciate it if you all would please try less to prove a point than to continue a dialogue. We can and should speak about all of this and we can do it without taking offense so long as none of us sets out bait.
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