Parents Setting Their Children Up For Failure: Biracial Kids

About how sometimes parents of biracial children don't prepare them to deal with the issues that they will have to face in American Society. Over-protecting, or even censoring the information your children receive can hinder them, preventing them from acclimating well into society and possibly helping them distance themselves from one part of their heritage or the other.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• biracial
• multiracial
• racism
• racist
• white
• black
• african
• american
• mulatto
• mixed children
• mixed race

[HyakkoShachi]

I don't really get it...

I mean,I'm half french canadian and half english canadian,sure both cultures are part of who I am,but I'm also my own person. So what I dont have understand is what makes people of mixed ethnicity so different,why do so many try to pick one part over the other rather than letting the good parts of both sides influence them?It sounds like these people are alittle too hung up about thier genetics.

[mwtwyman]

@HyakkoShachi You don't get it because being part French Canadian & part English Canadian still makes you JUST white. If you are brown with dark eyes and hair, then you'll understand. Also, Canada is not America. You're experiences do not parallel those of some1 who are of 2 different racial groups. It's not about being hung up on genetics, it's about not letting others force u 2 decide on who u are as a human being. Try talking to other ppl who are mixed to get an idea of what they go through.

[HyakkoShachi]

@mwtwyman Just as I don't know much about america,you don't know much about canada.french canadians and english canadians are'nt exactly the same,white people are like any other race,we have different cultures and some cultures of the same race don't get along very well.

Maybe it is an american thing now that I think of it because I have biracial cousins,they don't really obsess over that sort of thing either....

Does america really have an obsession with forcing you to choose?

[mwtwyman]

@HyakkoShachi Part 1 I think you're misunderstood the point I was making. You're right; culture can differ among people who look similar on the outside. I am part Polish and I go to Poland on occasion. Obviously, Polish people don't have the same culture as British or Canadian People yet they're white. What I meant was regardless of the cultural differences between French and English Canadians, they are all still white in the eyes of the world. Multiracial (black & white) ppl are not. ...

[mwtwyman]

@HyakkoShachi Part 2 Looking white is completely different from looking "other". You are not black or white which means there are people who will dislike you on both sides of your ethnic and cultural heritages. It's not obsessing over it, it's experiencing it. If your cousins haven't experienced any issues with being biracial then count them as lucky. Yes, there are huge issues here in the USA regarding race b/c that's what this nation was built on. ....

[mwtwyman]

@HyakkoShachi Part 3 I just want u 2 understand that I NEVER said French Canadians & English Canadians were the same...that would be a moronic statement...& I'm quite educated in regards 2 different cultures & ethnicities. I don't speak about something unless I know something about it or unless I want to learn something about it. This is a world full of knowledge & I want 2 share in that knowledge as well as share what I've learned through my own experiences. I hope this cleared some things up.

[mwtwyman]

@HyakkoShachi Part 4 Yes America can be that obsessed with placing you in a box, that's why there are so many videos on YouTube about it. That's why there are shows like "Black In America". These are issues that Americans deal with on a regular basis. It's sad, but unfortunately it's the truth.

[chsn09]

@mwtwyman The USA was not originally built on race. It did not become that way until the 1700s and especially 1800s. THe concept of white and black did not develop until later on in history but I agree that the USA is a very racialized nation.

[chsn09]

The USA has always been a mixed race country

[funnichizz]

@chsn09 even canada!!

[HyakkoShachi]

@HyakkoShachi your even

[HyakkoShachi]

@quinny44 White is a single race, not an ethnicity. there are many ethnicities in europe and they don't all like eachother even after moving to north america.

What I am trying to say is that being mixed race is no different than being mix of any other ethnicity and you can still experience rejection from both sides of what you may think is a homogenous white ethnicity.

You're not special just because you're ethnic mix includes skin colour.

[dangar45]

In my country being mixed is more rare than being a natural ginger in Japan. I still didn't have any problems with "pure" Whites as I use to ignore people which are saying shit about me. Even though I don't really like any other's than Nord Europeans I'm surprised to see how much important "racial identity" are in USA, not to mention all this shocking concepts like biracial or interracial. Sounds like bisexual and internationalistic, and I'm none of them.

[TheLovesoul1]

@mwtwyman nice to meet you marcus hope your doing ok take care!

[quinny44]

@HyakkoShachi i dont get your whole statement.... youre not of mixed ethnicity, all of those places youve listed have people who are of white european descent, Im not sure why you think you have the right to comment on how other real mixed race people should be feeling. Its very complicated and you can experience rejection from both sides. Maybe you should think more.

[MsCaramello73]

Race is a social construct. There is so much difficulty with placing people in one category or another because categorizing people by physical characterisitics is unscientific and based on the false idea of "white" superiority. I have family members who are called black that look like you. I have family members that are black and look like the actor, Derek Luke. Ethnicity is probably a more accurate term to use when trying to categorize people for whatever reason.

[MsCaramello73]

As far as the mother and her daughter go, I can understand your position perfectly. However, if I were you & I got the impression that this was subject her mother wasn't comfortable discussing, I would've dropped it. There could be several explanations for their daughter's dark skin and coarse hair. Somewhere along the line two white parents could unknowingly be the children of a black person that was "passing" for white. I wouldn't assume that the woman was lying and I would stay out of it.

[MsCaramello73]

Now people who would at one time automatically be called black because of the "one-drop rule," have a choice; at least, they feel they have a choice. It feels like a threat politically & socially. When we with the "stained" blood had no choice but to stick together, we had political/social power. We could influence elections & get resources that we can't when we don't stand together. Without knowing the importance of building coaltions, biracial/multicultural people are a wild card to some.

[MsCaramello73]

I think there's a disconnect between black people who were born in the circa the 1970s and earlier and later generations. I was born in 1973. My grandmother had slightly tanned skin, hooded eyes and straight sandy brown hair. People used to rudely ask her, "What are you?" She said black and her mother said black even though she was as light as Jessica Tandy. I am technically multi-racial. However, because my skin is brown and my hair is coarse and curly, I will always be seen as black.