So sad - this shouldn't happen

My granddaughter is working toward her Masters degree in psychology - focusing on counseling children. She holds down 2 part time jobs in the related field - and one is where she does assessments of preschool children. Last week she arrived at a preschool as usual, and an adorable little black girl ran up to her and asked very seriously, if she was going to "shoot her". Tia was 100% certain that she heard her wrong, and asked her to repeat what she said. The little girl responded with "you're white, so that means you are going to shoot me"! Poor Tia was in total shock over this and found it quite upsetting. Obviously, the little girl learned this at home thru parents/caregivers/siblings. What are our children being taught?? - and that includes all children regardless of their color. When and how will this mindset ever change????? :(

Aww, at least Tia was there to tell her that all "white" people are not bad, and to prove to her that whoever gave her that impression was wrong. And that little girl is at an impressionable age, so hopefully by Tia being a kind person, that will make a lasting impact. It could have been one child that told the girl that, on an adult, but now the girl knows at least one non-violent person of a different skin color than her own!

Aww, that really is sad. Life has got to be pretty confusing for small children sometimes, their are so many complicated issues going on. I guess we all need to be kinder and try to make the world a better place for them to live in. Little by little, greatness can be accomplished.

Frankly, this is a damnable way to raise a child, no less offensive than kids raising their kids to be good Klan members.

Gosh! I just assumed she may have misinterpreted some things she heard. I sure hope that no one is actually teaching her this! Ya, that would be criminal, EEEK!

I don't know whether to scream or cry about this. That poor little girl :( ! I'm not sure that it matters where she heard this, the problem is that she did. It makes us wonder how many other kids have heard this but haven't said anything and are in fear that has no basis in reality. While following the Ferguson situation, it took me back to the summer of 1967 when the City of Newark blew up. We lived 2 towns away and I still remember the tension and fear felt in neighboring towns. It's sad that all these years later sections of Newark still haven't recovered. Apparently nothing has really changed.

Tomorrow night my church is hosting a community discussion about the Ferguson decision, the impact on communities, and what we can do to change the racial climate. Ellie, would it be okay to bring this up without mentioning any specifics as to where and how I heard this? Trenton is a diverse city, maybe it will help parents of all racial backgrounds to start a dialogue with their kids.

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Originally Posted by momcat

Tomorrow night my church is hosting a community discussion about the Ferguson decision, the impact on communities, and what we can do to change the racial climate. Ellie, would it be okay to bring this up without mentioning any specifics as to where and how I heard this? Trenton is a diverse city, maybe it will help parents of all racial backgrounds to start a dialogue with their kids.

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Of course you can, and you can even share details if you wish. If it helps even one parent or caregiver or child, then it will be worth the discussion.

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Originally Posted by mon

Gosh! I just assumed she may have misinterpreted some things she heard. I sure hope that no one is actually teaching her this! Ya, that would be criminal, EEEK!

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All she has to do, is see all the negativity on t.v. of the Ferguson shooting, and all the violence and protests associated with it. Of course even a 4 year old will think that whites always shoot blacks - the media is seeing to it that this unrest stays active for a very long time. Unfortunately, I believe that it will, and children as young as this little girl, will be traumatized to some degree.

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Originally Posted by pomtzu

All she has to do, is see all the negativity on t.v. of the Ferguson shooting, and all the violence and protests associated with it. Of course even a 4 year old will think that whites always shoot blacks - the media is seeing to it that this unrest stays active for a very long time. Unfortunately, I believe that it will, and children as young as this little girl, will be traumatized to some degree.

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What's truly sad is that the people inciting this riot and their accomplices in the Media have forgotten that the underlying foundation that makes the bill of rights what it is is that rights have been counterbalanced by responsibility. Abuse of the first amendment is no different and far more dangerous to society than the misuse of the rest of the bill of rights.

In short, they should be ashamed.

They have no principles, and will do anything to get ratings increases and increase advertising rates.