Teaching kids not to be racist by being racist
By ronaldinu
@ronaldinu (12422)
Malta
October 9, 2008 12:57pm CST
Some school kids taunted some North African immigrants when their school bus passed by the immigrants open center. Someone seem to have reported this case to the head and an action was taken. Well in his speech one of the teachers emphasized that we must treat each other equally no matter what the colour of their skin is. But ended on a "racist" note. If you tease a native its one thing, if you tease a foreigner who has come to our island by boat (and maybe he has lost his relatives while on the sea) you don't know how he can react. Then you have to face the music!
4 people like this
16 responses
@Lindalinda (4111)
• Canada
9 Oct 08
What, what? This is absurd and does not make sense at all. Are the Maltese afraid of an invasion of Africans who come by boat? I was in Malta and Gozo last year and the population seemed to be pretty homogenous. So maybe many people are afraid of newcomers who have a different skin colour. The reference of lost relatives at sea is particularly cruel. I hope action was taken against the teacher.
@ronaldinu (12422)
• Malta
10 Oct 08
Are the Maltese afraid of an invasion of Africans who come by boat?
Yes we are! It's not absurd. You live in a big country. Malta is a small island so you have to take everything in perspective. Look at this article http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20081010/local/immigrant-arrivals-exceed-local-birth-rate
The Emigrants Commission said today that immigrant arrivals this year, for the first time, exceeded the local birth rate, something which had not taken place anywhere else in the world
It is an organised thing! The EU is not helping Malta at the moment. It is a financial strain on our economy. We are not a rich country who can afford the expenses to keep around 5,000 illegal immigrants per year. Those who have the right for a refugee status are helped to locate to a different country. others are sent back to their country. But its difficult to know who is genuine or not since most of them dont come with any passport with them. Either they flee from their country or else they just throw it away in the sea.
@Lindalinda (4111)
• Canada
15 Oct 08
I don't know if this an organized thing or not but take heart and think of Malta's history and past and how many invasions it has survived over the centuries. I think the Maltese are the most amazing people. Through all of that they have been able to preserve their language, culture and even their physical appearance.
It is true I live in a big country with lots of space and natural resources but we also have to deal with people who arrive on rusty freighters half starved or in containers from Mexico, many of them suffocated or exploited by present day traders in human lives. What makes me so sad that people in some countries are so desperate that they will risk their very lives and those of their loved ones to escape to a so-called better country. we also deport illegal immigrants because we think it is not fair to jump the waiting line.
@ronaldinu (12422)
• Malta
19 Oct 08
I hope that Malta manages to bear this silent invasion. Thanks for your feedback,
@hotshoes5000 (153)
• Philippines
10 Oct 08
wow is this true? this is just sick. and i thought things are gonna be different once we entered the 21st century like the word racism will be a word of the past. i guess its sad that its in human nature to discriminate one another
1 person likes this
@littleowl (7157)
•
9 Oct 08
Hi ronald-I am not racist at all and have brought my children up that way too..we are all human beings,same blood,emotions etc...there is good and bad in everyone of whatever race or creed they are from and it annoys me badly when there are others whom are so cruel and vindictive towards another person not from their own country...who are they to judge or even maim someone else because of this, and it goes for vice versa, why can't we just live in peace with each other and acceptance of whom we are..what an ideal qorld this place would be if we could...littleowl
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
11 Oct 08
Racism is wrong and the only reason we still have any is the parents that have refused to change. Children are naturally curious and will ask about color or clothing or hair styles but they don't hate someone for being different. We need to work on the parents more than the children!
@tamarafireheart (15384)
•
10 Oct 08
Hi ronaldinu,
I don't much about how things are in your country but there as been a lot of racisems in every country, its a fact of life but we have to be more tolerence and we are all the same no matter what race we are, in our country it is a multi-cultre country and we all try to get along with one onther and if you go way back we are all breed, no one is pure and I wish I can say that to this ignorant teacher.
Tamara
1 person likes this
@Sheepie (3112)
• United States
9 Oct 08
What a hypocrite! You would think that people know the difference between right and wrong, but it seems not so! If there are people who are truly and completely accepting of any type of person, they should be the ones raising everyone's kids.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
10 Oct 08
It does not sound racist to me, he was just telling that if you tease one of your own, then he is acquainted with the customs and if you call him a so and so, he does not take offense, but if you tease a foreigner, and call him a so and so, he might get after you or call you a racist. So what may be inoffensive to him, like a black woman saying that her brother is a no good lazy (the n word) may be offensive if a white woman says that her black friend's sister is that (the n word) bi*ch.
But it is racist if a term is considered all right if said among your own kind, but yet if you say it to those of another culture, they get offended.
So rather than being a racist, he was showing how certain terms can be considered racist depending on who it is said to.
@sharra1 (6340)
• Australia
10 Oct 08
It is sad that this teacher is such a hypocrite. I wonder what he will teach the kids next. Not only is his comment racist but he is suggesting to them that they would be ok if they had not been caught so next time be more careful. I have seen this sort of hypocrisy before and he might not even realize that his comment was racist. It is just like the person who says "I'm not a racist but...." and then goes on to make a racist comment all the while convinced that they are not racist.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
9 Oct 08
racism all starts at home along w/bad manners, no respect for people etc.
@nanajanet (4436)
• United States
10 Oct 08
Which only proves one thing. Kids will learn from our example and not by what we say. That teacher should be talked to that they need to think before speaking and always set the example.
@moonlitmagikchild (22181)
• United States
9 Oct 08
i know in america there were a few classes that were against racist things but they all took turns saying racial slurs against one another.. the idea behind it was to take the power away from the words by hearing them but i think its just stupid!!
@bamakelly (5191)
• United States
10 Oct 08
That is really a sermon by a teacher who is contradicting the whole idea of not being racist.
What is this teaching the children? We as adults should uphold sacred things like accepting people no matter what color,religion,etc. Thanks for the post. It gives one something to think about. 
@belk89 (1103)
• Philippines
10 Oct 08
I dont know what kind of teacher he is but i dont like his way of teachings kids at all. I wont wonder why some kids will grow up to be a racist. Because even the school itself are teaching them to be a racist. I have been to some parts of the states like tennessee and oh my! i was dissapointed. It really ruin my day coz some young teenager there are racist. They stare at me the whole time we were at the gasoline station and it really pisses me off. I wonder if these kids were being taught right manners by there parents. That is why i never will wonder if we can never irradicate that kind of mentality of some people. I just dont want my kids to experience what those poor kids have to go through. I dont understand why would other race think they are better than other race. Every race have the right to be treated equally.
@shirdimanju (40)
• India
10 Oct 08
it is very bad thing to teavh children like that. if it is in uk the teacher would be arrested
@danishcanadian (28953)
• Canada
9 Oct 08
UGH!!! That comparrison just tossed the teacher's speech out the window.
What would be more appropriate would be to say that we all have burdens. Foreigners just have an added burdon of having to immigrate to a new country, but no one should be teased.
