The guide, titled Young Children and Racial Justice, warns adults that babies must also be included in the effort to eliminate racism because they have the ability to "recognize different people in their lives."
The bureau says to be aware of children who "react negatively to a culinary tradition other than their own by saying 'yuck'."
"Racist incidents among children in early years settings tend to be around name-calling, casual thoughtless comments and peer group relationships," the guide says.
I hated hated mayonnaise as a child. I used to think this was because most children lack the faculties for recognizing complex flavors and textures, hence the term 'acquired taste'.
Know I know the real reason:
Growing up middle-class and white I had my share of white guilt that manifested itself as an innate revulsion with the symbols of the casual tyranny of the caucasian bourgeoisie. Being the child of 60s-era baby boomers, who themselves attended peace and civil rights rallies, my desire for social justice and equality was not merely learned - it was hardwired into my genetic make-up. Thus, when confronted at a young age with this insipid spread - its ghostly white paste most commonly splayed thin across white bread - my intuitive rejection arose from the depths of my humanity, that gentle core inside of each of us that yearns for fairness and mutual understanding between cultures.
Unfortunately, not all of us are imbued with this breadth of instinctual PLUR as I was. A similar, albeit unjustified, rejection of flavors and consistencies is present in many of our children. These are the infants and young children who cry at the sight of brown curry, yellow rice, black licorice. Just as subconscious gestures of social responsibility must be celebrated, so must similar signs of intolerance be discouraged, and even punished. I recommend using social pressure to educate our young. If your child sees fit to display a racist scowl at the sight of 'ethnic' food in his/her bowl the parent should utilize the common stratagem of our society, such as: ostracization - ignoring your child until he/she eats the food, thereby accepting the culture in question; detention - a significant time-out to allow your child to discover their core humanity; restriction - loss of the use of toys, TV, computer time, stressing that it is only through mutual honor and respect that we deserve the freedom to have what we love. We have it in our power to create the children we want, with the values we cherish. Let's not let the naturally unenlightened children follow their own paths to ignorance and despair.
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