I watched an episode of Acho's Conversation with a Black Man a while back and one phrase that he used caught my attention. "More is caught, than taught". He meant it to describe how racism is passed from generation to generation in a household. How it doesn't matter if we "tell" our kids that racism is wrong, we have to show our kids that racism is wrong through our actions. I believe he is absolutely right. Our children "catch" our true priorities and feelings by virtue of how we behave everyday. And this far outweighs the 2-3 times we will sit down and "teach" them with specific intent. This goes for most things....smoking, drinking, spousal abuse, racism, etc... But one application of this, that I'm sure Acho would be loathe to admit, is that the same thing happens in black households. Black children hear their parents, their aunts and uncles and other friends and family constantly beat the white privilege drum and the anti-Cop rhetoric as well. I know as a teenager I was ready to rebel against almost everything. I occasionally said mean and disrespectful stuff to my mom who is probably the person in the world who most would have walked thru fire to help me. If I was this ready to rebel against my mom, can you imagine how fired up I would be against someone that I had "caught" from my community/family thru the years was out to get me as a black person. Even as a white kid who was raised with no animus towards cops, no constant assault on the nature and purpose of cops, no constant barrage of ACAB...I can tell you that when we were trying to have underage drinking parties...we didn't like cops. And there were more than a couple of times when I acted out and was pretty disrespectful when they broke up our parties. Can you imagine how strong this resentment and disrespect would be in a black kid who had been hearing "evil cops" their whole life. Can you imagine how a teenage brain is going to react to a cop after having "caught" how bad cops are their entire childhood. It doesn't matter what is "taught" with "The Talk" when you as a black parent have spent most of your child's learning years undermining your own message by what is "caught" everyday in your household. "more is caught, than taught" but the philosophy applies to more than just white to black racism.
BOSD Amazing take and one I had not considered but we know it to be true. The latest "innocent " black man being arrested makes your point. Where is Chris Rock when you need him?
