hard2miss Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 What possible motivation could a 2yr old have, other than to copy the actions of another.I don't know, its been a while since I was a two year old, but I know one thing, any two year old can not possibly understand empathy or that others could be hurt by words or actions. They have little comprehension of third party viewpoints altogether I imagine and would love to see some experimental data to suggest otherwise. A child watching ZingZillas or something could easily make those actions and be totally innocent from the child's point of view, but that would not satisfy the hunger to root out the racist element of society for some of you so the totally innocent explanation will always be by passed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hard2miss Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Maybe not, but definitely embarrassing. I was with friends in London over the weekend. They have a 2 year old daughter who insists on making monkey noises, while pointing at black people! They are having trouble going out because of this. Has anyone else experienced this before? So quite innocently from your post this child could be just trying to get some sort of clarification from the parents? If they are having trouble going out because of the behaviour then to me at least it would suggest that they are embarrassed at the behaviour and thus highly unlikely to be the motivation for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinz Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 I don't know, its been a while since I was a two year old, but I know one thing, any two year old can not possibly understand empathy or that others could be hurt by words or actions. They have little comprehension of third party viewpoints altogether I imagine and would love to see some experimental data to suggest otherwise. A child watching ZingZillas or something could easily make those actions and be totally innocent from the child's point of view, but that would not satisfy the hunger to root out the racist element of society for some of you so the totally innocent explanation will always be by passed. It seems..and I'm prepared to be corrected but..you're implying that the racist accusation is a false one based on the innocence and age of the child? My implication is that you cannot disregard racism in this context because the actions that is perceived to be racism by the onlooker is an extension of what the child has learned. A toddlers cognitive response to most things are based on positives and negatives. If you make monkey noises in front of your tv when a Black artist, sportsman or whatever is performing and your toddler responds in the same manner...and get's a positive response from you, then that child is more likely to repeat, and not because of the politics but simply because of the previous approval from its racist guardians. The toddler is not racist, the actions are an extension of it's surrounding influence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinz Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 So quite innocently from your post this child could be just trying to get some sort of clarification from the parents? If they are having trouble going out because of the behaviour then to me at least it would suggest that they are embarrassed at the behaviour and thus highly unlikely to be the motivation for it. Not really. Racists are not renounced for intelligence, especially when the subject matter goes deeper than superficial. edit: then again it could be the baby sitters fault. Same thing though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teddybare Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 My dad was called in from work to fetch me and I was sent home from school at age 6 for saying "you dirty little Arab". Not knowing and possibly never having met an arab before. It was a phrase I'd picked up from my overtly racist grandma. My parents were horrified but my grandma thought it was hilarious. Can't blame a kid for repeating stuff. I have a 3 year old niece that is terrified of black people. She hides, screams and cries anytime she sees one in person or on tv. My sister in law bought her a set of black dolls which seems to have made the problem worse. They are panicking now because she starts school next year in shiregreen. Not really an easy solution. I have suggested they take her for an extended holiday in cape verde to desensitise her or avoid the issue completely and emigrate somewhere like Derbyshire or Dore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackLakeland Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 I think the problem is that certain people cannot distinguish between the actions of a toddler and the tauntings of say someone in the KKK or the BNP. Believe it or not people who are only a few years old have little experience of the big world that you grown ups can claim. Innocent until proven guilty ? Some of you have hung this toddler out to dry without so much as a clue to the motivations of its actions. Its like calling a toddler who gropes a woman's breasts on a bus a sexual predator.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strix Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Toddlers can only build their 'knowledge' upon previous experiences. Presumably she hasn't grown up around people with different coloured skin, but has (badly drawn) books depicting supposedly talking monkeys with disturbingly human attributes - so of course it's an easy mistake to make (people making stupid noises at kids, and using baby talk with complete disregard for the consequences bugs me full stop btw) A trip to the zoo is the most sensible course of action Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closet Guy. Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Asking about "why's that man black?" is not a problem, IMO. It's just the natural, innocent curiosity of a child, as you say. it's when the child is using the N* word or the P* word, (or other offensive terms associated with those words) that we have to assume that the child has been not necessarily "coached" to use the terms, but certainly exposed to their use. You have children then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSmith Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Toddlers can only build their 'knowledge' upon previous experiences. Presumably she hasn't grown up around people with different coloured skin, but has (badly drawn) books depicting supposedly talking monkeys with disturbingly human attributes - so of course it's an easy mistake to make (people making stupid noises at kids, and using baby talk with complete disregard for the consequences bugs me full stop btw) A trip to the zoo is the most sensible course of action Probably the most sensible post so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strix Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Probably the most sensible post so far.Thank you I thought this thread was getting a bit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.