General Chat

Supercrutch may be right - I lived in North Wales for 10 years. It is only very recently that people from other countries really started to move here. It was very rare to see and African. I can only recall one Indian, who was a friend I worked with.

I grew up in London, Ontario, whitest little city on this side of the Atlantic - even today - in a tie with some burg in Alberta, per recent census info. (Actually there are much whiter places in the US - the US simply is not the multicultural place that Canada is, and you can drive for hours through New England, say, and never see an other than white face.)

Anyhow, one day in the late 1950s, my mother was on a city bus with my 3-yr-old brother. Upon seeing a sharply dressed black man get on the bus, my little bro stood up and pointed and said "mummy mummy look at the chocolate man!!" He had indeed never seen an other than white face. My mother was mortified, particularly since the "chocolate man" was not amused. But no, my little brother was not being racist.

And no, I just don't think that preschoolers reared in homogeneously white neighbourhoods expressing natural wonder at seeing their first person of colour are really the targets of this policy.

Hi Rose xx

I understand what you are saying but come on tho we see it on TV if not in real life,

Anyway it doesnt matter what we look like, or what we believe its good nature that counts :)))))))))) xxxx

Spot on!! Thank you Teresa

FGS those that know me know I don't make things up, I have no need!!!!

Take it as the truth or leave it, doesn't worry me in the slightest...lol

Alko if you have an hour to waste try looking at the surnames in Betws Ifan, Dyfed (as it was) in the 80s via directories.

Sue

Point taken TW, maybe im a bit ignorant to village life, i've always lived in a town:)))) xx

Sorry all xxxx

I agree Alko - but "TellieTubbies childrens TV characters are not quite so simple - Red, Yellow, Green & Purple - LOL

Children will still point to observations out and about - even when they have seen it on telly.

Lol, what they make of Mr Blobby then? lol

Errrrrrrrr :)))))) x

Yes Alko we do see it on tv, though that is comparatively recent!

as someone of 50 odd, i can remember seeing my first 'coloured person' in British tv Rudolph Walker in 'Love thy neighbour' not many before him unless you count the 'Black and white minstrel show' which I don't. The other was Sidney Poitier, even at a very young age I thought he was gorgeous lol. But it is only in fairly recent years that there is more of an ethnic mix on tv, ditto gay and lesbian characters in soaps etc, thank god for 'Eastenders' and other soaps in that respect :)

A little case in point, not 'coloured' but 'different' that my son then 5ish had not seen on tv. We were out shopping and in front of us was a ''little person', knowing my son was likely to comment, I held my breath a bit for the expected loud comment ... but he just whispered "that man is very small isn't he" giving me the opportunity to explain why .

Rose i remember love they neighbour lol

wouldnt get away with that now would they?, Crikey you made me laugh then xxx

Oh Rose, you were lucky, when Caroline saw her first tramp she hopped up and down excitedly screaming "It's Father Christmas", people around were desperate not to laugh but they did.

Sue x

It wouldn't be shown now Alko that's for sure, but it was ground-breaking in its' own way, and as i remember very funny at the time, laughing at the stupid prejudices shown whilst seeing that beneath them it was just two couples who actually did 'get on' when it boiled down to it.

My 17 year old like that with her boyfriend, and they laugh at eachother, but that harmless banter, but i do recognise the serious side of things with others xxx

Lol Sue, awww that's rather sweet I think :)

Do we really want to raise our children is a society that is unforgiving of innocent mistakes or simply being too young to understand what they have said etc When very young children say what they see and repeat what they hear, if it is not acceptable - They should be guided in an adult and calm manner without tagging them for the rest of their lives.
Todays society rewards wrong doers with paid holidays to help them behave in an acceptable manner, whilst those children who are behaving have to do so without any extra recognition. What has happened to tolerance and understanding of human nature and the ability to react calmly to overcome societies problems. Everything seems to be an over reaction.
I was once asked by my child, why she should behave at school because the worst bullies were rewarded for simply saying Thank you, which she was expected to do as a matter of normal behaviour. A very difficult question to answer to a child of age 6 I can tell you. I must have answered it correctly as her behaviour continued to be respectful of individuals she has met in her life. But I was fearful that she would give in and misbehave so she could be rewarded. We do not seem to have any clear definition of right and wrong anymore. When will teachers be able to teach again instead of being societies watchdogs. A responbsible teacher should be trusted to discourage and encourage children as necessary (at the end of the day they cannot control what goes on out of shcool hours) Children can easily learn by making mistakes if they are not backed into a corner. Should my children be tagged because they think something they heard from another child as ok to repeat? or should they be treated as a child and taught right from wrong ? - in a calm manner

Let me give you an example of a cultural misunderstanding that appeared in the first instance to be bullying:

Two really polite boys - one white British from a single parent family, one Russian. Travelling on the school bus.

One day I was approached by a large group of youths saying that the British lad had punched the Russian lad in the face and split his lip. They couldn't understand it because it was so out of character for both children.

(I could have jumped to conclusions ..... but wanted to hear both sides.)

The Russian told me in his culture school bags are placed on the seat because the floor of the bus is dirty.

In England - the culture is different. We struggle to find a seat - and children have to throw their bags in the eisle or under the seat. Its the norm. Yes they get a bit dirty - but its better than having to stand up all the way home!!!

The British boy moved the Russian lads bag and threw it on the floor and the Russian was insulted as he thought he was acting aggressively.

In Russia you are seen as a 'wimp' if you don't fight back - so he called the Englih Lads mother something undesireable - because he didn't want to fight. He thought his peers expected him to show aggression - when our culture encourages children not to react.

The English lad was offended because he was very protective of his mother (an excellent single parent) - so a swabble developed and he said called the Russian lad a "gay boy" because of his beautiful golden locks and more femine appearence - as he knew his peer group would now expect him to defend himself.

The Russian lad climbed over the seats to get away as soon as the bus stopped to get away and accidently kinck the English boy in the head as he made his escape over everyones shoulders.

The English Lad ran after him in the street and punched him because he believed he had done it deliberately.

Malicious? Racist? Bullying?

No - A one off incident that stemmed from a misundertanding of culture.

The boys were mortified when it was explained and they apologised. They now look after each other and are friends.

If either were listed on a 'hate register' it would have damaged their ability to resolve the matter and reach an amicable understanding of cultural awareness.

This is a true story - and clearly shows that even in serious situations it should never be assumed automatically that bullying is taking place.

The school stepped in and educated the children about cultural awareness to challenged future potential problems.

Children in this country are already been marginalised by society. We should be looking for positive ways to enage them. Rewarding positive behaviour.

Sadly - the minority of youngsters causing problems have given them all a bad name. The "Hate Register" is a knee jerk reaction.

The money would be better spent tackling the underlying issues.

The simple fact is - there are too many people in the Country (Whether native or not - that is irrelevant) and not enough resources to share between us. Tensions will inevitably start to rise because the standard of living is falling sharply. Unemployment, tax rises and deterioating health services and fat cats are fuelling resentment amongest adults. Children are like sponges and will pick up on adult discussions.

I know loads of people that have emigrated to get away from it all ................

What can anyone say about Mr Blobby - yuck lol

The standard of living is falling sharply not because of too many people in the country but because of a global recession, exascerbated by the fat cats getting fatter on the backs of the poor and the 'middle income' group.

The attitudes of children to others is not based on how many people there are in the country, or how rich or poor their parents might or might not be. IMO.

What does IMO stand for? I appreciate what you are saying and yes you are right to a large extent but our borders have been swamped by immigrates seeking a better life - who can blame them.

Our population has swollen substantially - with money draining away as a result of the global recession and benefit claims. There are only so many £££'s.

When children see their father made redundant or unable to get a job and he blames it on cheaper labour available it will cause resentment to impressionable youngsters. Transfering to racial tensions because they often don't have enough understanding.