[ACC25022]

I think your answer was extremely naive and would even greatly harm the child. Do you honestly think people will not treat the child as black because the adopted parents are white? Do you really think a redneck or Nazi skinhead, or even a less-extreme white racist, would say, ‘Oh, you were raised by whites, so I’ll treat you the same as me.’ Sure, sure. By denying them their heritage, you are denying them the means to cope with that prejudice they so badly need.

Until the 1970s, most states and the federal government had policies that urged adopted American Indian children to be ‘raised as white,’ and it did terrible, terrible harm to them. Most are still suffering from an enormous sense of alienation and loss. Some even have an enormous hostility and prejudice toward their fellow natives who were raised in the culture. What you are suggesting could do the same. In addition, you seem to assume that everyone in a family must be of the same cultural background or the family is weakened or even doomed. Not true. Tens of millions of mixed couples could tell you different. And if that culture is ‘alien’ to the adopted parents, why not just change the parents so that the culture is less ‘alien’? Both the parents AND child would benefit. Learning about the culture together would be a great source of bonding, not division.

User Detail :  

Name : ACC25022, Gender : M, Race : Mexican and American Indian, City : W. Lafayette, State : IN, Country : United States,