Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Here is an interesting real life situation from last night with one of my sons. My kids were talking about friends, which I know are white, asian, and black, as they do play dates together and play soccer, basketball, etc together...they weren't talking about race, just different friends. My one son said, "how about Archan?", and my other son said, "no...he's indian." I decided to join the conversation and I said, "why can't you be friends with indians?" He said, "oh, they don't want to play with us." hmmmmm.
Indians are probably the largest minority in my area and I know my older daughter had some issues with an Indian girl a couple years ago (The girl was being a bully). My daughter currently has no indian friends, but does have friends of other races. I then realized that my two sons have friends that are white, black, and other asian races, but no indians. I had originally assumed the problems my daughter had was a one time thing, but now I am thinking deeper about what is up with the indian population in our area. It appears they are self segregating themsleves.
Interesting. We have a large Indian population in NJ, and it's seems to be the opposite--they are eager to assimilate.
It may be origin-related depending upon what type of culture they come from in their home country. We say "Indian" but that encompasses a whole realm of cultures. I have four people from India in my office. They all come from different parts of India. One is Hindu, one is a Jain, one is Catholic and I don't know if the fourth practices any religion at all. They all eat different types of food and they have different accents. The one who is a Jain seems less inclined to want to assimilate into American culture, just from things he says here and there. But I just bought Girl Scout cookies from one of the women, who brought in the order sheet for her daughter. She is very Americanized.
I can't picture a lot of posters admitting that they don't associate with other races.
There is a poster on CD who has stated that she does not believe in black/white interracial marriages because it is like breeding a dog with a cat. I tried to drum up inside myself some points for honesty for her, but I pretty much failed. She is basically saying that my niece is not human. Fortunately, she is not a parent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kel6604
Omg it would KILL me!!! I would disown my child and lynch the friend.
I think we mostly self segregate by income, educational and professional levels today than racially. Seems like this poster is saying once they moved into a better neighborhood and house they didn't so much fit in with old neighbors and of course this happens. The people don't change but circumstances do and we perceive people differently.
No that isn't what I was saying. I was saying that we had an opportunity to live in a low-income neighborhood for 6 months and have developed a relationship with a family there. I have to work at that relationship more than with the other family who is in the same social class as we are but is the same race as the other family. My point was that relationships with people of different social classes help us to understand different people/lifestyles/perspectives more than relationships with people who are simply a different race but the same social class.
And just for the record, I wasn't saying that once we moved we no longer had anything in common. We never really did, but I have pursued the relationship because I think it is valuable to understand people who come from different walks of life.
No, absolutely not. I am multi-racial myself who comes from a multiracial family, so it isn't unusual to see all sorts of skin tones, hair and eye colors. My children are multiracial as well. To be honest, race isn't discussed in our home and it is a non-issue. My children don't really have any concept of what the construct of race is..my daughter just knows that some people are lighter or darker than her and have different features. I know that one day she is going to be educated about race. I just hope attitudes are similar...that it really doesn't matter.
Kids are color blind. Wouldn't be nice if we could all follow in their little foot steps?
Actually, that isn't quite true. Kids do notice differences and in preschool, they are often curious about them if there is a diverse population. They often want to ask about color and hair texture, but have been taught it is not polite. They also notice disabilities and are very curious about them as well. Teaching the kids to be empathetic and to enjoy friends who are different from them is very different from trying to suppress the fact that they do see differences.
They should, of course, realize that the differences don't mean that we are not more alike than we are different, but differences have to be acknowledged if we want to learn about others.
As far as the data goes, the research is clear. Kids have the capacity to notice race from a very early age - infants will stare longer at faces of people from races they are unfamiliar with, which tells us they notice difference. Yet difference is a long shot from racism-an awareness of stereotypes and racism doesn't begin to happen until about age 6 (McKown and Weinstein, 2003). Between those ages, there is a lot of time for parents to teach valuable lessons to their children about how to confront difference. Rather than avoiding race through a colorblind strategy, I recommend that parents do talk about difference. Parents should strive to go one step further than simply saying "it doesn't matter." Rather, parents can adopt a message of acknowledging and celebrating differences - talking, for example (and as a first step), about different cultural traditions, or dishes that different people cook. This is known as a multiculturalist strategy - one that recognizes and celebrates our differences. At the same time, however, the message of multiculturalism needs to be complemented by a message about our common humanity - in other words, the things that unite us. A children's book that mixes these messages well is Sesame Street's "We're different, We're the same... and we're all Wonderful."
Kids are color blind. Wouldn't be nice if we could all follow in their little foot steps?
I AGREE. I watch my children and this rings so true. My daughters have absolutely no concept of race. They are very social and will approach any child regardless of the color of their skin (and vice versa, children interact with them in a similar manner). It sickens me that as they get older they will somehow learn about racial distinction. The truth is, we are all human beings. Regardless of what religion you are, we can agree that we are descended from a common human ancestor. We all reside in the same country. I can guarantee you that if I saw someone of another race in distress or someone who needed assistance (i.e. medically), I would do it -- no question. Why can't we be more like children when it comes to things like this? In this regard, thinking simply is wise.
Actually, that isn't quite true. Kids do notice differences and in preschool, they are often curious about them if there is a diverse population. They often want to ask about color and hair texture, but have been taught it is not polite. They also notice disabilities and are very curious about them as well. Teaching the kids to be empathetic and to enjoy friends who are different from them is very different from trying to suppress the fact that they do see differences.
They should, of course, realize that the differences don't mean that we are not more alike than we are different, but differences have to be acknowledged if we want to learn about others.
Yes, but (at least from the experiences I've seen) it's largely a non-issue. My daughter not once mentioned to me the differences in her classmates. I don't really think the kids in her class find her unusual either, especially since they live in places where it is not uncommon to see people of different races. My daughter did want straight hair for a time, but I don't think that had anything to do with her race but more of a desire to have something that you don't have. I don't think she knows the terms "White" "Black" "Asian" etc.
Interesting. We have a large Indian population in NJ, and it's seems to be the opposite--they are eager to assimilate.
It may be origin-related depending upon what type of culture they come from in their home country. We say "Indian" but that encompasses a whole realm of cultures. I have four people from India in my office. They all come from different parts of India. One is Hindu, one is a Jain, one is Catholic and I don't know if the fourth practices any religion at all. They all eat different types of food and they have different accents. The one who is a Jain seems less inclined to want to assimilate into American culture, just from things he says here and there. But I just bought Girl Scout cookies from one of the women, who brought in the order sheet for her daughter. She is very Americanized.
Yeah, it is very strange to me. When I was single two of my better friends were Indian, so I learned a lot about their culture (one Hindu, the other didn't find religion important). Then I got married and we lived in another state and we had a number of indian friends that would be at our parties. Now here, were we live, I just realized yesterday about the situation. It has been interesting reflecting on it, I don't really have any good reasons right now, though. Just thought provoking.
Yes, but (at least from the experiences I've seen) it's largely a non-issue. My daughter not once mentioned to me the differences in her classmates. I don't really think the kids in her class find her unusual either, especially since they live in places where it is not uncommon to see people of different races. My daughter did want straight hair for a time, but I don't think that had anything to do with her race but more of a desire to have something that you don't have. I don't think she knows the terms "White" "Black" "Asian" etc.
My one son seems very intrigued with physical differences in people, he talks about differences in skin tone and hair, height, and weight fairly frequently. I let him talk about it and I answer questions. He also asks a lot about country of origin, he seems fascinated by this and relates how some people look different to different countries. Like, "Is George's Mom from Korea?"
My kids have different skin tones, so they have had that conversation at the table, too. It is really interesting listening to these conversations. They definitely notice differences, just don't apply prejudices to these differences.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
