Hi. My parents were talking about a news story and the topic of race came up and my parents views on race are sketchy, at best. My mom said something disgusting as did my dad, and it made me very upset. Is there anything I can say to them to educate them? Does your family have sketchy views on race?

P.S. Both my parents are 70.

  • marmulak
    7·
    3 years ago

    It depends on how open they are to listening to other people, but you can’t change it suddenly or overnight. I don’t think a decisive action or argument will work, but I think gradually introducing them to new ideas without letting them feel threatened could result in them thinking about things more over time.

    Also the thing with racism is that in our culture we tend to regard it as the ultimate evil, but you know a lot of people are a little bit racist, and that’s unfortunate, but it may not even be the worst thing about them. Your parents might have stupid ideas, but I hope they’re not hurting anyone. If they are that should be addressed first

    So just also consider that it may not be worth it to do anything about it if you don’t have to. Especially at 70 years of age, you might not want to bother… For example, my grandparents were rather racist, but I would not describe as hateful, and all they did really was sit at home and watch TV. They’re dead now, so that takes care of the racism at least.