My parents are v traditional and my grandmother even more so. They're quite racist in that although they'd never be horrible to anyone of another race (ie treat them differently, say anything to their faces) my father does use the c word and comments about why 'they' were good at running / athletics etc were common when I was younger (for those who don't understand what I mean - 'being chased by lions/living in the jungle', sorry).
Anyway, it never usually comes up in conversation thank God, and a few comments that have been made, in front of my 4 yr old DD, I have stamped on fairly hard.
But, the other day I tried to explain why I found it offensive, and that I felt they were letting themselves down by such thinking. After all they are intelligent, nice people and these thoughts/words are really beneath them. I didn't get very far
So my question is, should I let it lie as they are a product of their upbringings and a different time/place, especially my 90 year old grandmother, and I'm getting nowhere, I should I persist in trying to 'educate' them? BTW I don't hold out much hope of success. What do others do in these circumstances?