Children and racism

[LuciaRose]

Have you or your children experienced racism and what for did it take? Do you think it really is worse than run of the mill bullying that any child can experience ie. for being fat or wearing glasses.

Thank you.

I thinkin america it is easier as there are always goingto large latino populations, I have fmaily in San diego and texas and they have such a better time of it culturally

I can't imagine living in a place without racial/cultural diversity.

We keep thinking of moving to Mexico, but I hate going there because people are always staring at me. I love it there, and I know there is a natural curiosity, but it freaks me out. But then I freak them out because I speak fluent Spanish, and then they don't know what to do.

there is diversity in england very much so you would not believe it , and in glasgow and edinburgh lots of Asian community and a lot of polish imigrants but not much in Scotland in the smaller towns and if you meet a spaniard or latino in scotland they are a rare breed lol

Scottish people always assume I am Indian or Pakistani and are not always nice about it. I really wish i had been raised in America but I not Belize are there is so much Crime and poverty and in my family there has been murders , shooting and domestic abuse over there and some of my fmaily are living very difficult lives in belize compared to us in U.k and U.S although I would live in chetumal or cancun , in a heartbeat. my dh thought he be would difficult by developing a fear of flying unfortunately

I gave up on Maseca long time ago (I blame tortillas for the slightly "behind" independance of the women in my country), however... today, for the first time in the year we had a Mexican dinner and was YUMMY!

Anyways back to the racism thing and all, and please don't get offended but this is my personal opinion, I find the term "hispanic" misplaced, first of all apart of speaking Spanish, we very seldomly have a "Spanish Connection" recent enough to be represented in our appearance, and second, because Spanish are mediterraneans not a race on its own right.

I would hate DS to grow up having his race as his main pride in life (the same way I hate seeing people who think they have to have special privileges just because they are white), I would like him to value himself for what he has done with his life rather than the appearance he was born with. Obviously, this may sound well in theory but dealing with bullying is quite a different animal.

At the moment, being a little boy, I had been able to manage to place him in an environment where they accept his differences or at least are politically correct to shut their mouths off. But for the future I would like him to be very aware that the 3 cultures residing in him are equally valuable.

And in answer to the OP, yest, racism in bullying is worse by far because is not something that is in your hands to change. And when it happens you know that you are at a road end, simply because whatever you can say in your favour it's not likely to be understood/apreciated/recognised by the agressor.

MKG... if your husband has not explain about it yet, ask him to tell you about Malinchismo, it would be harder for your DH to adapt in other place than it would be for you if you go there.

I live in a very white city and don't find it easy at all. People don't just stare at me, they seem to be always looking for faults, from the security guards that follow me around the shop 50% of the time to the persons who doubt I have the CV I have.

I don;t really like it either - hispanic but it is a label people understand, what do you prefer? i understand where you are coming from. I hate having to try and tell my ds about it too , it should be irrelevant, in fact it is only becsue he has been so badly bullied and so was I as a child that it matters as much as it does to us, i mean in all honesty I'm just scottish with dark hair skin and eyes, I drink tea love fish and chips and generally hate spicy food, my mum never spoke spanish to me at all and tells people her name
is a slightly different anglo version of what it really is, i am buying mexican food as I have eaten it at relatives homes and it is lovely but my mum never used to cook it growing up. i do not over value the spanish side my ds is only a quarter spanish for want of a better way of putting it, bu ti do thing to be able to withstand the bullying he has to be proud of it and of the culture as well as scottishness, britishness, and irish, german, Jewish and russian descent. at the end of the day race is so meaningless, but it is sad that it is so important to some people.

I get stared at too , me too!

maybe it because they have never seen such a small fat brown woman with such a tall child before,

maybe I should join the circus (do they have food there?)

buenos noches if i don't get to bed soon will not be ready for ds wanting his breakfast in a few hours time, still not tired but better try and sleep

TBH, although I understand that asking about race origin is for statistic purposes that ultimately can be used as something to promote inclusivity, I opt for "preffer not to say" or since I moved to the UK for "other" as none of the races normally listed describe me.

Long time ago I used to complain about feeling like a dog when asked about my race (maybe because in Spanish race and breed is actually the same word), I always felt tempted to say "I'm a cocker spaniel, arf! you are a poodle, aren't you?

I do the 'other' thing aswell i also say to lewis that hispanic and latino is not a race it is an ethnicity as you can be white mestizo, native 'indian' or black and still be hispanic or latino if you feel that describes you, so are you in the U.K?

yes

Ah, I see actually it was staring me in the face - the after eights and size 16 thing dearie me , was obvious

This artilce caught my eye !!!!. I myself, have experienced rascism as a child. We moved from a multicultural area (Nottingham) to an area which was not. My family was the only black family in the whole of the school which I attended. I cant remember any school rules which was in place to help anyone who expeienced rascim. (Thank goodness we have such rules which protects children against racism)!!!!!!!

Some people are not exposed to different nationalities, this sometimes causes them to be ignorant of how to treat people who are different to themselves. SOME chidren learn racism from their parents.

I now live in Watord and have 4 children of my own. Watford is definatley a multiculural place to live. My kids have friends from different nationalities. I sometimes see my daughter with her frineds who are white, black,dual heritage and asian. Children see colour but it does not matter to them, unless they are taught to hate etc.

I endeavour to teach my kids what I have learnt about who I am, that will help them to keep their head up high!!

I am a Christian Black woman and I love who God has made me to be. I am not moved by what people think or say about me as I am postive about myself.

Happiness is not whats on the out side but what is on the inside.

I think that covers it !!