I recently told my best friend “Stereotypes are not nice”. Though i know we are all guilty at one point, words do hurt feelings. This is one of the reasons why my husband always tells me and the kids “sticks and stones” But I’m still trying to cope with being to emotional. With that being said i know one of my kids is bound to be as emotional as i am.
I usually search the term “Blackxican” on twitter. I had been lucky to not find anything to crazy negative but when i read this following tweet it really struck a nerve.
First i thought is this person trying to define what “a Blackxican” is?
Then i thought, everyone is entitled to their opinion of what a “cute kid” is though this isn’t the first time I’ve read or heard someone say something along those lines.
Then it got personal. “They can pick oranges” referring to our ancestors working the fields. Though i’m sure you’d be surprised not all Mexicans worked the fields!
and third “they can breakdance” Not all black people can dance! Lord knows the hubs can’t breakdance and little man tries to 🙂
Why do i dissect this tweet?
My point is now is the time to prepare my kids for stereotype comments like this. It’s not OK to assume or stereotype but it’s perfectly fine to ask nicely and get to know others!
It’s not OK to assume someone is a certain way based on a majority, like assuming black people can dance because most entertainers now a days have rhythm. It’s not OK to make fun anyone’s culture or history. Not all fruit pickers and sellers chose that job because they wanted to do that. I know my grandfather and his brothers did it because it was a job and they had to do it to earn a living. I have more on that in a later post. For now i leave you with a clip to a documentary that touched my heart and i hope to see this Friday!
Stay tuned for more on my grandfather’s field working story!
Happy Thursday
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