In an incident that takes back us to the earlier centuries, when racism and bigotry was at it’s peak, a white couple left a small note on the bill stating ‘don’t tip Black people’.
On January 7 2017, Kelly Carter served a white couple at Anita’s New Mexico Style Cafe in Virginia, USA. The couple did not have any issues with the food. In fact, they even wrote ‘great service’ on the credit card stub. However, it was followed by the apparent racist comment, negating the compliment.
While this might be a case of bad grammar, (they might have meant ‘We don’t tip Black people’), this kind of racial discrimination is not acceptable today in any circumstances. But such instances of racism, both subtle and overt, have been taking place throughout the USA ever since the campaigns for elections began. The president-elect himself is known to have indulged in racist behaviour in his younger days. So people have started taking it as a ‘go ahead’ signal, as the thoughts of the leader are easily adopted by his followers.
However, this incident has not affected Kelly much. In fact, people have been more sympathetic towards her, giving her generous tips and even hugs! Kelly chooses to be the better person and is not bitter. She is unaffected by the incident, and says that she would happily serve the couple if they decide to walk in again. I admire Kelly’s attitude.
Read on to know more…
How to make our kids racism-proof?
Incidents like this bring us to the question: is racism affecting our children? Racism is everywhere. It might not be always based on skin colour. Many times, the discrimination is also based on the economic status, the type of job the parents do, or even the nationality, language, or religion of a child. There are deep, irrational prejudices, something that need to be shaken. However, the way we deal with racism teaches our kids how to deal with it.
As a parent, it is important that you shield your kid from any kind of discrimination. However, it is also important that he learns not to be affected by it. When it comes to kids, they often adopt their parent’s prejudices. So it is imperative that you get rid of those as soon as you conceive!
If, on the other hand, your kid is singled out and is being a target of discrimination, you can help him deal with it by doing these 4 things.
- Teach him to take pride in the right things. A proud child is seldom affected by discrimination. However, this pride should stem from the present, not the past. He should be proud of the fact that his parents are awesome, not because they are of a particular race or religion. Let him be proud that he keeps the city clean, attends school regularly, even helps the needy.
- Race is skin deep. There are subtle biological differences in the races, however no race is superior or inferior. Teach him that below the skin, all humans have the same number of bones, muscles, even bodily functions! Every race has the same number of major blood groups, something that can come handy to counter any racist comment!
- What matters is today. Many children feel superior because their ancestors were great people: poets, conquerors, scientists or merchants. But what matters is today. So if a school friends of your kid boasts about his lineage just to put your kid down, let your kid remind him that both are in the same school, learning from the same people and giving the same examinations.
- Ignore bad habits, not bad people. You can learn from everyone and everything. Just because a person is a racist bigot does not mean that he has nothing to give. Teach your kid to ignore the noise and learn the music from every person. When your child reaches that stage, no form of discrimination will bring him down!
Mums and dads, what do you think about our suggestions? Do let us know in the comments below.
Source: Strait times, Twitter
Also read: How I won’t let Trump’s views affect the way my son sees the world
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