re seeing race;
im from hackney, so grew up in v multicultural community. i saw that people had all sorts of heritages but it never occured to me for a second that that could be a negative thing. it wasnt that i didnt see colour/race, but that colour and race were never associated with relative worth or value. now thats a v lucky way to grow up imo. i was stunned at 14yo to hear the first overtly racist comment anyone ever said to me, as tho i would agree. gobsmacked that it went on. sadly, that is SO not the case for any child of any colour or skin colour other than 'white'. and thats not ok.
my dad is irish and i grew up feeling a strong sense of injustice at the treatment of ireland through history by Britain. in fact, i was pretty indignant and embarrased to appear to be from a country which has resoundingly shat on people across the world throughout history as we know it.
my dc and i now live in a little village in Hampshire. most people are 'white'. therefore they dont see so many people of any colour but they do know some, obv family members and friends in london, and a couple of kids at preschool and now school. they are all v fond of a little boy who happens to be multi racial, his mother is black and his father white. they, although they are 2, 4 and 5, have noticed his skin is darker, of course they have. they have asked why he is brown. i said skin was like other bits of your body, like hair and eyes in that it could be different colours, as people can be different sizes or have curly hair etc. what you look like gets handed down from your parents and lo, there was a lovely mixture of ways people could look.
i agree with filly; living in a bubble where its not an issue is not going to help create a world where it really isnt. and is not a luxury we can all afford. and our kids are more than capable of understanding what become complex issues for adults and, like someone said 'cut the crap'. thank goodness for that, i say