Are old folks racists?

[Swede]

I was back home for a couple days,my aunts were talking about NOLA. They are disgusted by Bush's response. We live in lily white sticks. They said stuff like "These poos people cannot help if they're black." "Just because they where born that way,they can't help it." "You can tell Bush is not telling the truth when he treats "those" people like that." They now consider Bush a liar and a thief because of NOLA.

[evlbstrd]

1. They actually sound sympathetic to my ears.

Maybe that's as close as their upbringing will let them get to compassion.

[Swede]

5. That's my take on it.

White white white is how we grew up. I moved to the city and moved on. Isolation doesn't mean lack of compassion .

[evlbstrd]

9. Even my dad has used the N word on more occassions than I care to admit.

But I know for certain he's not a bigot.

[Swede]

11. My family would never use the N word,but they have used condiscending

language. I think growing up in the thirties and forties made them think that way.

[evlbstrd]

13. I heard it from relatives who grew up during that period, too.

[DebJ]

2. My Mom is 77, no way. My Dad is 74, but he was born in

New Orleans, where the culture taught him racism.

My Mom was born in DC

[annabanana]

3. got to consider the background

of the "old folks"..

Refusing to condemn people because of something they have no control over.. is the first step up from bigotry.

on edit: next step would be to recognize that there's nothing WRONG with being black, that some mightn't change it if given the chance and to acknowledge that it might be harder to live in this country because of race...

[rosesaylavee]

4. Not the preferred logical way of getting to the right

answer but it will do.

Whether or not their response is racist - for them, that term may be a bit harsh. I would prefer that they "are not understanding all the social implications as they haven't been exposed to it in their own lives and perhaps have no scope for empathy without that exposure". How about that?

[kiraboo]

6. My grandmothers on both sides, both in their nineties,

are definitely racist - that is, they make assumptions about people based on their race, and recognize that society still penalizes minority races to some degree. Both will generalize about racial characteristics and it isn't always flattering. On the other hand they will be just as critical of whites. So while I do believe that many older people are conditioned to think in stereotypic and sometimes racist terms, it doesn't mean they are devoid of compassion or understanding for all people. But they were born in a different era and enlightenment came late in their lives, if at all. I can forgive them for being products of their experience. It doesn't mean I have to emulate them.

[Horse with no Name]

7. Yes and No.

Many older Southern (especially) whites were raised in a time that being a racist was an acceptable practice.
I think many things that are said are reflective of the times they lived in. What was considered "nice" to say back then, really reeks in today's politically correct climate.
For instance...had a sweet little old white lady as a patient. She was a jewel. Very nice, polite, etc., however, was rounding with a nurse who was black and giving report, introducing her, etc...and the sweet little lady asked "Is she my girl today", simply meaning was this the person who was going to take care of her. There wasn't anything hateful or racist about the way she said it, but her words were racist.
I gently told her that this was going to be her nurse.
I think--probably incorrectly--that the elderly do try, they just aren't sure what is and isn't appropriate for the most part.

[marbuc]

8. There are many that are, but most are not spirited

but a product of the times. My grandparents made prejudicial remarks sometimes, but when corrected they understood, and were deeply embarrassed.

[clydefrand]

10. Hell no! I'm not a racist and I'm one of the old folks.

I grew up with African Americans in the days when everything was segregated. We used to ride a train from our area to get to our separate schools. I was in first grade. I would watch the people that I had been playing with go off in a different direction to their school than my own. I couldn't understand then why we didn't go to the same school or ride in the same train car. This and other things I experienced while growing up in the country made me understand what prejudice really is and how destructive it can be. It also made me appreciate people for who they are and not for the color of their skin.

[babylonsister]

12. My 78 yr old dad used to appear to be, but

he thinks the Katrina response was a disgrace, and Bennett's comments as well. So he's evolving!

[ET Awful]

14. My grandparents on my mom's side were odd . . . they had no problems

with black people. No problems with Mexican people. No problems with most asian people. But for some unkown reason, they loathed Laosian people. I have no clue why. It was weird.

[roguevalley]

15. no. no more than youngin's. what they probably are doing is talking

the words they have always heard. a lot of older people speak what they know and it doesn't mean sometimes what it sounds like.

[Journeyman]

16. In about the same proportions as "young" people. . .

Who the hell do you think wants to march through Toledo next week, a bunch of old farts or a handful of young punk racists? (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1832722)

Be careful, for there are those who'll accuse you of ageism. . . and that's a discrimination that knows no racial bounds. . .

[melody]

17. My grandparents died in the 1980s at the ages of 85 and 88 respectively

No two less racist people in the world than them have ever existed. They also invited my gay cousin to holiday meals every year.

I think those ladies were being sympathetic in a clumsy and definitely unconscious way, but at least they're trying. Would that Bush could get so far.

[Swede]

19. What a nice thougtful answer.

My aunts are ladies from the dirty thirties, when someone needed something,you passed it on.

[lumpy]

18. Racism has nothing to do with

a person's age. Racism comes in many guises. To answer the question though, I do know some elderly as well as younger people that find it difficult to accept Blacks as equals.

[DemBones DemBones]

20. Sounds to me that your aunts understand that

being born black and poor has kept people poor, and that Bush didn't care about the people left in New Orleans because they were mostly black and poor.