Defeating Hatred Starts at Home

Hatred starts as a child. it is up to parents to curb hatred in the hearts of children.

When my oldest son was young child, he had preconceived notions from other people in his life about different races, creeds and colors. I knew I had to nip that in the bud.

I would take them to the babysitter (Miss Deborah, who was a beautiful black lady who cared deeply for the children she kept for a living for a very small fee, any hour of the day or night, which was very appreciated by someone who was struggling, like myself). When I would pick him up, I was met with stories about how bad of little boy he had been. The words he had used were horrifying.

Miss Deborah knew that I wouldn't tolerate it. She knew that he had just come to live with me after eight years of fighting for him, and she understood that I was going to have problems. I praise and thank God for her patience.

But, I struggled with how I was going to teach him better. A spanking, in this case (even though he got one) I knew would just make him angrier. It didn't seem like enough just to say he shouldn't do or say those things.

So, I decided to take him to church. Not just any church, but a black church. I forced him to be friends with and to live around people of color. I taught him to be respectful of other people's station in life, poor or rich. Black or white. Ill or well.

Today, he doesn't even remember the horrifying things he did or said. I praise God for that. But, I shudder to think how he would have turned out had I not done what I had to do.

So, when I see people today lashing out at each other for their color, their race, their handicap, or their financial struggles, I proverbially shake my fist at their parents. They were not taught different as a child. And, the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.