Are People Really This Ignorant in 2011? - Canton,OH

Yes, many people think this way still. I finally had to have it out with my BIL because he thinks this way and shares these thoughts around my son, and myself. I do not want to hear it in my own home nor do I want my son hearing these words used carelessly or at all. Yes, people still think this way and they teach their children to think this way as well.

I guess it does still exist. What a horrible example for that father to be for his son.

I am so thankful my daughter doesn't think like that!

Unfortunately, yes. There are still ignorant people in the world. All you can do is teach the next generation and stop the cycle of ignorance.

Yes, sadly there are still people that ignorant in the world. But good for you for raising your children to be color blind! Just as a suggestion, maybe next time you could respond to something like that with something reasonable to let the person know you respectfully disagree. I believe in "standing up" for tolerance and acceptance, not turning a blind eye to prejudice in all it's forms.

wow, but in answer to your question, yes amazingly a few are. It is mind boggling. I got together with a college friend awhile back and our husbands were meeting for the first time. We began chatting about churches and my husband, who is black by the way, told them about the church he grew up in which is a huge church in the city. Her husband begins going on and on about how he would never go there with all the Africans bc he doesn't want to even look at a black face at church. We were shocked! I mean, hello, a black face was in the room! Oddly enough they are divorcing, maybe she couldn't take it anymore either, who knows, but I am not glad about that or anything. But yes, it really is shocking to hear people say things that you would think no-one would even think anymore.

Oh, yeah, ignorance is alive and well and continues to thrive in some pockets--er, brains--in 2011.

People know what they're told. My husband grew up with parents that were, and remain to this day, unabashedly racist. He had to unlearn that on his own, because it was the family culture he grew up in.(Fortunately he unlearned it before we got together, or that wouldn't have happened.) I have heard his parents say things that have made my hair stand on end, and have tried to politely correct it, to no avail. Basically, with them, if you are not a skinny WASP, you are contributing to the ruin of the country. When my husband took our son to visit them a few months ago, he made them promise to 'behave' before he would even buy the plane ticket. (Even when I've explained to them repeatedly that my adoptive dad's family were refugees from the Phillipines during WW2 and that I would have been very sad not to have my dad, his family, or my sister in my life, they still rail against "the mixing of the races". sad sad sad.)

I also hear plenty of ignorant remarks here in Portland. People saying 'that's so gay', 'that's so retarded' as derisive terms. "That's so ghetto" was one that I hadn't heard until I was at a prenatal water aerobics class-- one woman would also talk about 'going to get ghetto food', because apparently she didn't know the word "burritos" like everyone else did.

And please don't get me started on 'They only voted for Obama because he's black'. To me, that is a reflection of the speaker's prejudice and fear, not mine. Speaks volumes. I also don't like being told why I supposedly voted for someone, which demeans *my* intelligence and is presumptuous, to say the least.

So, yeah, ignorance is alive and well.

PS: and "oh, why do you think that?" is always an easy question to ask when challenged by moments like these.

Oh yes, people are still that dumb! The thing I'm constantly shocked at is, even if you have a prejudice you can't or won't get over, surely it has dawned on you by now that you never know "who" you're talking to! I made that point years ago with some racist family members-that you never know who is dating or married to a person of another race or has an adopted child or bi-racial child or whatever. Same goes for homophobic remarks. Case in point -idiot here who said something nasty about black people to our director -who is married to a black man. Serves them right I think, but also causes hurt feelings and problems. The dad you're talking about sounds like a dolt. I think if I were around him anymore and comments came up, I would have to say something. Ex: "That must be a black person's car. ". "Really? How fascinating that you can tell the racial makeup of a car owner when they're nowhere around" HEAVY on the sarcasm! These folks usually get embarrassed after a few barbs and fole you away as an "unsympathetic" ear.

I guess I'll throw a question back to you...

Why didn't you say something to him/them once you realized they weren't joking? Don't you think that your "laughing along" and then not saying anything when you realized they were serious kind of condones this type of behavior and thinking?

Now I don't expect you to get into a fist fight after a baseball game for someone else's viewpoint that's different than yours...but I don't think it's accurate for you to say "I've always taught my kids..." when you didn't say anything in this situation.

I think you easily could have gotten up and walked away, or just have said, "Geez John, I can't believe you think that way!"

Yes, there are still people out there who think that way. And they will continue to think that way and spout off at the mouth if others laugh along or clam up when they say such things.

Hopefully this situation will make you think about how you'll handle your reactions next time in the face of this family or someone similar. I mean, how would your daughter feel if she was sitting within ear shot and know that you laughed along or said nothing?

I don't mean to berate you here. The only way to deal with them is to let them know when they are acting inappropriately or to choose NOT to give them your time and attention.

Ugh, what a loser, but yes, these people are still out there.. They are so ignorant, they have not put together that skin color is just a color. The real person is represented by their hearts, brains and behaviors.. I bet he also considers himself member in good standing at his church, but I dare him to speak these words there..

Many people are afraid of what THEY consider different. But we live in the United States, we are all unique. This is a good learning lesson for your children.

It is so, so terrible that in today's day and age, racism like this can still exist. Unfortunately, it does.

And, even more unfortunately, they DO teach their children that.

I, personally, will NEVER understand racism. It's SKIN. Yo, pasty-white racists, guess what? If you go out into the sun, YOUR skin will get dark, too! GASP! Maybe we should all make you feel terrible because you're TAN. EW. You're SUB PAR! Not even human!

Racism makes no sense. But it is still alive.

I maybe need to stay off the forums until my hormones settle back down. I seem to be a bit wired.

Sadly, yes. I have a 17 year old niece who is bi-racial and has lived with us since she was 13. I experienced prejudice and racism (although I believe unintentional but still incredibly ignorant) with her high school counselor. My niece is intelligent and capable of getting good grades in honors classes, plans to go to college and certainly demonstrated her abilities in standardized test scores. Despite this, her counselor automatically assumed she was only capable of regular classes, fought our effort to put her in honors classes and cautioned her against taking too many higher level courses. For instance, she told her if she took all of the math classes that we wanted her to she would end up having to take pre-calculus in her junior year (Gasp!!). That is the way she phrased to my niece so my niece comes home thinking this is a bad thing and that she shouldn't be taking all the math classes we wanted her to take. I am quite certain that the counselor's actions were motivated by an assumption that a black kid isn't smart enough to take honors class and that girls are not good at math. Way to encourage mediocrity!! I complained to the principal and now a vice-principal handles our course scheduling questions. By the way, my niece is a senior this next year, got straight As this past semester in honors and AP classes and will be taking Calculus as well as several AP classes next year. You won't change people's ignorant views but you can make sure your owns kids are open minded which it sounds like you do.

everyone's not the same - some people have to deal with racism every day.

yes, people are still that ignorant. what surprises me is how insistent he was at trying to involve you in his his bigotry. he was feeling you out, to see if you are the racist kind of people he wants his family to associate with.

next time please do say something. for your daughter's sake, and for the world.

I think it depends on where and how you were raised. I'm a Detroiter, born and raised in one of the most black/white divided areas of the country. I've seen alot of this type of attitude on both sides. Is it ignorance? It depends who you ask. Everyone has a reason for the way they see things, everyone has an opinion, and they all feel they are right in how they feel. Yes, it is wrong, but wherever there are differences, conflict will exist in some form.

I'm sorry this happened to you. People like this are disgusting. And I agree, it's unimaginable that such ignorance still exists.

Bleck.

:(

Unfortunately - it appears to have gotten worse over the 5 years....

what was that movie - white men can't jump?

I was raised that if you bleed red and walk on two feet - you are a human and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and be nice until it's time to not be nice...

It's sad to see they are raising their children that way and sad that they are soooooo biased (racist - God how I hate to use this term - but it truly sounds that way) that they will end up losing out on many wonderful relationships in life just because the color of ones skin kept them from opening their eyes, ears and hearts....their loss...

just keep doing what you are doing and showing your children a world full of color and different view points....lead by example!! YOU GO!!

WOw, If I had been there I think I would have cracked a few skulls. Kudos for keeping your cool! but in the future I think I'd just say, without hesitation, that it's pretty lame to say stuff like that in front of the kids, even if he's just joking.

Apparently so. How sad for them.

SADLY it really does :-( And they do teach their kids to be 'that way' so thats how it keeps happening...........
I wouldn't let my child hang w/ that family any more, I would not want that to rub off on him in anyway!! We Don't feel that way about anyone and I dont want him around that type of ignorance ! Sorry hun!! PEOPLE SUCK

the surrounding area, where i live, there is an underground kkk. racist is very much alive, sorry to say.

its hard to have a clever come back, when one is racist cause we dont expect it.

One point I would caution you on is this - children are not "color blind". Not talking about your daughter's black father, for instance, does not make her not bi-racial. Your son does recognize that some of the kids he plays basketball with are black. I would recommend talking with your kids about race and what it means to them. They do care.

The book "Nurtureshock" covers this topic, along with several other child development topics, in a very clear way. I recommend it.

Wow... I thought about what response I would give to this but then read ANON's response and now I just want to go throw up. What a sterotypical hate based rant. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, that opinion just makes my gut churn.

That reminds me of my grandfather, he's not only racist, but judgemental about everything and everyone. If someone has a tattoo, they must be trashy, and if someone is wearing a short skirt, they must be trampy. I hate when he does it around my kids, but I try to explain to them that Great Grandpa grew up in a different time and he doesn't know any better and blah blah blah. I hate making excuses for his meanness! I grew up around this and realized at a very young age that it was wrong, hopefully those kids will too! :-)

Unfortunately people do still feel this way and it's generational. I've noticed that it is less than it used to be but it's all about the family you've been raised in. Some tight knit families that are very stuck in their ways and that happen to be racists, raise more prejudice if they can.
I do believe our younger generation is going to get past this tho, I really do.

It is sad but yes there are many people still ignorant! My nephew is bi-racial and I would have a fit if someone said anything like what these people were saying. But I am known for correcting those who are ingnorant.

I have taught my children that race, color anything does not matter it is who the person is on the inside that counts. My daughters best friend (she's 6) is African-American...we have had people say "Oh I didn't realize he was black"...my response was "What difference does that make?"...shuts them up pretty quick.

This is learned behevior, a learned way of thinking. We (collectively not just white America) need to teach our children that all people are different but we still have the same wants, needs. Update my definition of different means, cultural differences, likes, dislikes (not of people of things), desires, like jobs, homes, fave foods, fave music etc.

My husband and I lived in a neighborhood where we had Hispanics, African-American, Asian and Caucasians...we loved it. Once we all visited the local amusement park together and the African American dad was holding my then four month old and carrying her...an older white lady literally stop dead in her tracks and stared at him. I walked over and said "come on honey"...goodness did she run as fast as she could.

That totally sucks. I haven't experienced it, but my BIL is gay, so we have to deal with the homophobic morons, not the racist ones.

there will always be ignorant people in this world. God didn't make a perfect person & although a color of a persons skin shouldn't be an issue, it always will be for some but do realize the numbers are shrinking.

I would keep my kids at a distance from this family, glad you found out early before the kids got attached.

I don't believe he was being racist. I believe what he was doing is stereotyping which I believe everyone does at some point or another. Not to say that it either is right. However you can stereotype without being racists:

Racism is the belief that there are inherent differences in people's traits and capacities that are entirely due to their race, however defined, and that, as a consequence, justify the different treatment of those people, both socially and legally. Moreover, racism is the practice of the different treatment of certain a group or groups, which is then justified by recourse to racial stereotyping or pseudo-science.

A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings. Stereotypes are standardized and simplified conceptions of groups based on some prior assumptions.

Yes, unfortunately many people out there are still this ignorant. It's sad, isn't it?

Yes sadly it is. My husbands grandma doesnt want anyting to do with my husband, myself or our children because I am white ( my husband is hispanic) and she belives that he ruined his life buy not marrying a hispanic girl. Sad.

Yep there will always be dumb people. It makes it bad for the rest of us who are open to different cultures.

Racism is every where...and no nationality if immune from it. It seems like people tend to fear what is "different"...I will admit that I have been guilty of it myself...but it isn't so much based on race as how you "look"...I work in a less than ideal neighborhood and it isn't unusual to have carjackings, thefts house robberies and shootings at all hours of the night and day. I find myself moving as bit more cautiously when I see someone that looks like they might be interested in causing some trouble.
I can say that I do not believe I have ever really judged people on the color of their skin...I figure I have enough problems of my own without judging other people!!! We can only try to correct this one person at a time...starting with ourselves...and then moving on to the next and the next. I do believe that things are SO much better than they were when I was young (I am 62 years old)...I grew up during the race riots and those were some really really scary times for all people!!!
All you can do is continue to teach your children that it is what is on the INSIDE that counts...the OUTSIDE is just the wrapping paper for the real gift that we have to give to the world!!!

Yes, sad but true - I think a lot of people are not secure enough to make up their own mind about each individual. They would rather hide in a shroud of ignorance because it makes them feel superior and better about themselves to think other people (regardless of what the reason is to them) are less educated, less informed, have made worse choices or less aware then they believe about themselves. And for them to talk about and get people to agree reinforces that their views are 'right' and thus, makes them feel better about themselves.

And yes, it is much harder if you grow up in a family or community that supports views on stereotypes because it becomes a 'fact' or the 'truth' if multiple people believe the same thing.

I have seen it from every demographic and experienced it myself from time to time. The best thing you can do is teach your children to look at each individual and decide for themselves if there is a valid reason to like or not like them based on their personality.

And if you are a little more daring, maybe question those adults to be more specific about their dislikes about a particular person. Surprisingly (or not), most don't have an answer.

Yes they are and it sucks. My neighbors have their kids in school in a Different state < live on TN/GA border> because they don't want them to go to the zoned high school cause of the racial balance. Their excuse is its a bad school you ask them why they say cause of all the black people. Heck my daughter is an honor roll student there says its the same as any other high school. But basketball hmm all sorts of people play that sigh.. times may change but people take 3 times as long to learn not to assume or needlessly hate

I grew up in a bi-racial family. My mom and I are white and my sisters and dad black or part black. When I was in Kindergarten through 6th grade, I got picked on, made fun of and was always defending my family with the kids at school. 7th grade through high school, it wasn't a big deal and I don't remember anyone ever saying anything at all. (it was the 70's versus the 80's.) Every now and then in the 90's someone would make a comment to me about black people not knowing my family is black but now adays I don't hear a peep. My sister told me that people used to refer to me and our other sister as the black sister and the white sister if they didn't know our names. It always took her off guard because she didn't see us in colors. She saw us as all the same color. =)

Good for you for teaching your kids to respect everyone regardless of color.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of racism in the world--some areas just seem to "support it" more than others.

Anyway, you should be proud to be offended by that kind of behavior. You have higher standards for the treatment of mankind.

Oooohhhhh yeah. Racism is alive and well in the USA. It's just that EVERYONE will say "not me!" when the topic comes up. Very sad. I've always taught my son to look beyond skin color--it's just another variable in that makes people themselves...like blonde hair or brown eyes. BUT kids DO need to "see" color--just not in the way most adults in this country do. And the sad thing is that kids make no judgements about color UNTIL they start hearing it from racially prejudiced adults.

Yes, and yes, are the answers to your questions, unfortunately.

In a word, YES!
Disheartening, isn't it?
Welcome to reality.......I think there is a glimmer of hope though.....keep doing what you are doing.

Yes, they are. Just read the comments on any news article in the country and you see ignorance from multiple sides. It's quite annoying. People just seem to have difficult grasping that your race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. has NOTHING to do with what kind of person you become. We become the people we are based on our experiences, what we're taught and not taught, general temperment and personality, etc. My son is bi-racial. People still sit there and act "confused" when they meet his dad and realize that we have a son together because he's not "so professional looking" like I am. Well that's because he doesn't work white collar professional jobs. He works in warehouses for a living. They also assume that since he's black, he'll abandon his son, which he has not done and calls me every day asking to see him even with all the problems that we have. He is a great father. So yes, people are stupid even in 2011. Although I think it's worse now because we like to pretend now a days that since they can use the same water fountains as us, that we can't be racist anymore. Ignorant racism is far worse in my eyes then blatant racism because it's even harder to change.

I think that anyone who makes a derogatory comment like that is just wanting attention or to 'be heard', wanting someone to agree w/them to get into an argumentive venting conversation about what 'they think is wrong w/the world'. I'd just either ignore it this time & chalk it up to ignorance & set in their ways or if it comes up again then if it really bothers you, just mention to them that while you appreciate their views, you do not share the same viewpoints & ask that they refrain from making derogatory comments around you. Hope this helps, good luck.

Agreed. Why does he feel the need to insert "black" into everything? Too bad. I'm not sure what you could do to change his behavior, though. Anyway, I'm with you.

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