Racist parents are those parents who are very stiff about race and racial differences. Such parents negatively alter a child’s psyche from a young age.
Parents are a blessing because they are our first teachers. They are the ones who teach us the difference between right and wrong. This is why their status of parenthood is always elevated.
They are the ones who understand every flaw and feature existing in the world. They are not just parents but they are teachers who are positive and optimistic about the world.
KEY POINTS
- Racist parents are those parents who have some conflicting and aggravating ideas about a certain race or a community.
- They have a patronizing nature and are very strict towards the peer group of their children.
- Most often their past experiences are the results of their current opinions regarding race.
- Awareness about equal racial rights and therapies can be of great help for these parents.
Racist Parents
Often parents because of their own past experiences become so stiff towards some other communities and people of other nationalities. This is because they believe out of their experiences and their principles that they are the superior race while the rest of the others are inferior to them.
Such parents are referred to as “Racist Parents” because of their racist ideologies which they want to teach their children as well.
Are Racist Parents Right?
Absolutely no! As a human being, one needs to learn the basic lesson of humanity above all. This lesson is the one that comes above everything else. This lesson is the one that forms the basis of a civic society. In a civic society, humanity is the only nationality that needs to be taught to the kids.
Unfortunately, racist parents lack such teachings. They have a separate agenda where race comes above humanity.
This is why most of them are resilient enough to change their ideas and then they patronize their children of the same color. It should be noticed that when such children come out in society, they start hating people belonging to other races on the basis of whatever is being fed to them earlier.
This further leads to many social issues afterward and we find racial segregation prominent in society.
Signs Of Racist Parents
Though racist parents behave differently on the basis of different races, however, there are certain common habits depicted by them. These are:
- Anger Towards A Particular Community Or A Race
Racist parents, as I have mentioned earlier, have a specific agenda in mind on which they want to bring up their children. Racism exists in its nature from the very beginning. Therefore, they depict anger or hatred towards a specific community on a regular basis and show their dislike right in front of their children, so that they learn to hate that community without any objection.
When the children find their parents getting angry in a certain community, they start believing that there is something wrong in that community, so they start hating that community along with their parents.
- Depiction Of Strictness Toward Children While Behaving With Other Races
Children are innocent. They are unaware of all the differences of caste, color, and creed. It is the effort of elders which molds them into monsters later on. This is exactly what the racist parents do.
They become very strict if they ever find their children playing or talking to members of other communities. This triggers their anger which they directly show to their children.
Even in those circumstances, if the children dare to question, they are shushed or often told that there are certain “bad things” associated with that community. So, when children find this, they automatically start creating a distance between themselves and members of so-called inferior races.
- A Continuously Patronizing Attitude
These parents also have a very authoritative role in controlling their children. They are often the one who keeps control over all the affairs of their children and never let them out on their own until and unless the reason is an absolute necessary fact.
They have a patronizing attitude towards their children. They know their children are prone to mistakes and they are here to eliminate all those mistakes. So, this belief makes them super-conscious and they become hyperactive towards their children’s life.
They are also very strict in terms of keeping an eye on the peers of the children. They never allow their children to make friends who belong to other communities and they also have the mechanism of punishment, if the children don’t agree with their decisions.
- They Are Unable To Understand Their Children Emotionally
Such parents are emotionally unaware of whatever is going on in the life of their children. They are always emotionally unavailable.
This is because they deny the fact that an individual might be having some emotional needs. They are traditionalists who value their norms and traditions above everything else.
This is why when they find no place of emotional availability in the traditional parenting injunctions, they deliberately forget the presence of the emotional side in their children. This is why we find that their children are most depressed and nervous about many affairs of their life.
- They Are Nationalists
Another interesting fact about such parents is that they are mostly nationalists in nature. Often the racist parents are the ones whose community leads the country.
This is why they feel that all other communities are made to serve them. When people in the left-wing rise up against the racial oppression, they are most likely to ignore and oppose that totally because they believe that being a nationalist, a patriot, and a community that exceeds in numbers as compared to all the other communities, they are far superior which gives them the upper edge in the race of all the other communities.
So, even if they inflict a hateful attitude towards the other communities, it’s not a big deal at all, since their community is the leading one who represents the true face of the state.
- They Dehumanize Other Communities Openly
Such parents’ hatred is very obvious towards other races. This is why we find them dehumanizing other communities by using inappropriate language most of the time.
This is why the children start becoming victims of illusion. When the parents are telling them that a specific community is ridiculous and are openly using cuss words to describe them, children become sure that the one who is at fault is surely the community only.
Hence, they also start taking part in bullying and dehumanizing kids belonging to other ages for the sake of satisfying their parent’s egos.
Impacts Of Racist Parents On Children
Children of racist parents are:
- Distant from other groups
- Bullies
- Depressed mostly
- Confused about their identity
- Trying hard to make their parents happy
Ways Through Which Racist Parents Can Be Corrected
A number of anthropologists and researchers of social sciences believe that there is a need for educating such parents because it leaves a deep impact on the personalities of their children. They suggest:
- Therapies
- Positive Conversations
- Educational Programs
- Racial Awareness
Therapies
This is the first part of the plan. In therapies, the psychologists who are experts in their fields can be of great help to learn from them about their bad experiences regarding a certain community. These therapies happen twice or thrice a month and are considered efficient for the parents who can exchange their views and their therapist can help them recover from their own racial trauma from the past.
Positive Conversations
The best way to end racial oppression and distinction is to talk about it. Once you talk about such things, you are making sure of the fact that no such thing happens in the future. There are educators in racial studies who have played an active part in educating many parents about the principles of segregation and their negative impacts on children.
Educational Programs
It has been considered a fine thing to be introduced to the communities in the past few years. Several educational programs on racial studies for parents have been introduced which are specially designed for parents. These programs help parents understand the extent of their mistake and its resulting impact on the children.
Racial Awareness
Racial awareness is a fundamental part of creating a peaceful environment. This is because there are a number of misconceptions between races that need to be abolished. From 2020, the Black Moment in the US has gained immense fame because many have come at the front grounds explaining the essence of a cooperative society where all the races live with each other without any kind of clash.
Conclusion
Racist parents are disastrous for the identity of their children. They are the parents who not only impact the mentality of the child but also influence his/her future actions within the community.
Childhood is the most precious age for a child. A concept learned in childhood stays forever till the deathbed. So, when children are filled with hatred about something, this stays forever with them and this is why clashes among the races happen at the later stage.
