Reply #27: you've got to be carefully taught to hate . . . [View All]

[OneBlueSky]

from the South Pacific song of the same name . . .

"You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear.
You’ve got to be taught from year to year.
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear.
You’ve got to be carefully taught!

“You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
of people whose eyes are oddly made,
and people whose skin is a different shade.
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

“You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
before you are six or seven or eight,
to hate all the people your relatives hate.
You’ve got be carefully taught!”

Bigotry is something ‘you have to be carefully taught’
By Hardy Haberman, Flagging Left
Apr 23, 2009
2 young boys have recently committed suicide after enduring anti-gay bullying at school, and the fault lies in a society that teaches hate.
http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/article_11139.php

What these cases point to is the need to recognize that hatred can kill.

I know lots of people will say, it was the boy’s fault he died. After all, it was suicide. To them I can only say, until you have experienced being the target of a vile hatred so strong that it makes your every waking hour a nightmare, hold your tongue.

Parents, preachers and politicians are the real villains here. They are the ones who carefully teach their children to hate anyone different from themselves. They instill the prejudices well. They forget that their casual remarks often are taken as absolute truth by impressionable children.

Children sitting in a church listening to a preacher lambasting “sodomites” get a clear message. Children hearing politicians using anti-gay hatred as a talking point get the message.
Children hearing talk radio casually toss off death threats against LGBT people get the message. The message is clear: It’s OK to tease, taunt, abuse and even assault other kids who you suspect are gay, because the “moral authorities” in your life say it is God’s will.

I fear those “moral authorities” do not understand the fire they are playing with. As I heard my parents say over and over again, “Little pitchers have big ears.” They understood how impressionable kids are.

-more . . .

http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/article_11139.php