Not in my neighborhood: Let’s wipe out the ugly face of racism

 

Every Thursday I drive my daughter to soccer practice at a park in the Hollywood Riviera neighborhood of Torrance. Each time Emma would spot pro-McCain yard signs, she would ask, “Why aren’t there any Obama signs up here?” I had to shrug because I truly didn’t know why.

Now I do have a feeling why, and the answer is far too repugnant for the ears of an eight-year-old.

Last weekend vandals painted swastikas and racial slurs on the homes and vehicles of several Torrance residents displaying pro-Obama signs or bumper stickers in that neighborhood, according to the L.A. Times. No arrests have yet been made in at least five incidents of vandalism. Torrance police Sgt. Bernard Anderson says the vandalism is being investigated as a hate crime, reports Examiner.com. The phrase “Go Back to Africa” was spray-painted on one home and the n-word also figured prominently.

Thankfully, my child has never heard the n-word. Whenever we watched the candidate debates, Emma never said anything about one man being white and the other, black. Like most children, she is blind to the various races and ethnicities of her friends and neighbors. To her, it’s no more remarkable than a person’s gender, height or weight. Skin color, like hair color, is just a physical feature—no more and no less.

At school, she mingles with Korean, Japanese, Chinese, East Indian and Hispanic children daily. At home, she lives next door to a Korean family and an interracial couple, with a Filipino family across the street. Her friends are Peruvian, Chinese, Japanese and European American. Two family friends are married to African Americans. I never use those terms when describing the people we know, just as I don’t refer to myself as an “Italian American” (I’m half) or another of my ancestors’ nationalities.

To children, this information is only relevant during multicultural celebrations at school. They learn from each other when sharing information about the customs of their parents’ or grandparents’ countries of origin. My daughter is eagerly anticipating her teacher’s “Noodle Day,” when each family prepares, and then shares, a noodle dish from their culture.

It’s comforting to think that every culture has something unique to offer, whether it is a noodle dish, style of dress or type of music. It’s even more comforting to spend time with children who truly are blind to each other’s skin-deep differences and instead embrace the new experiences and friendships that arise when bridges are built across racial, religious and cultural divides.

On the other hand, it’s sad to think that the racist Torrance vandals were once innocent children themselves. They clearly learned hatred and bigotry from either their relatives or friends. I hope that the Torrance Police Department can track down these criminals and bring them to justice. More importantly, I hope that Torrance residents won’t shy away from posting signs or bumper stickers that make a political statement. If they do, the vandals will have won.

We teach our children to stand up to bullies, and now we must teach them to combat racism in its subtle and not-so-subtle forms. Unfortunately, most adults do hold prejudices of one kind or another, which means we also need to listen to our children, who see other people with such clarity. They are the ultimate teachers of tolerance.