When Did You First Notice Race?

[Rebel]

When I ask this, it's got noting to do with racism. What I want to know is when did you first become aware of the differences between skin colour and ethnicity beyond a purely visual sense. This can also point out aspects of society that are inherently racist without probably meaning to be, and be used to show that racism is a learned behaviour.

I can remember vividly when I learned that my friend and I were different.

When I was about 5 years old I was in year 1 in primary school. I went to a local public school. I should point out that at that time, the area I lived in was full of government housing.
Now, every week, my mum would pay me and my siblings $2 pocket money as long as we cleaned our room, fed the pets, and helped do the dishes every night. High money at the time (I could get 200 chocolate swirls with it if I wanted!).
Normally I would go to school with a sandwich and apple for lunch, but one week I decided I wanted to buy my lunch at the school canteen. This was a big deal for me because my mum was usually against 'bad' food at that time, but she allowed me to buy my own lunch that one day.
I hopped into line before school to order and my friend Maxine joined me. We started raving about the delicious burgers we were going to buy. When we finally made it to the front to pay, I handed over my $2 coin while Maxine just handed over a slip of paper. I was confused so I asked her why she wasn't using money to buy her food. She replied that she didn't have to, the government paid for her because she was Aboriginal.

I went home that day and asked my parents why the government didn't pay for my lunch.

And that is when I learned that my friend was different from me.

It is sort of amusing when I look back at it because I am 'Villiage of the Damned' pale and she had quite dark skin, but at that point in time it had never really meant much to either of us. We were just two girls who were friends. It was the government who told us we were different.

[Hobbs]

When I was in third grade, my school listed me as ESL (English as a Second Language) in order to get more funds. I don't speak Spanish at all (still don't and refuse to learn). Subsequently, being listed for that short time period (my mom got pissed and raised hell) is what barred me from entering GT courses until high school.

PS: Sorry about all the paranthetical comments.

[Plaidman]

Well, I have a few stories to tell...

When I was just a wee baby, even before I started preschool, my uncle had a best friend that was black. This was around the time I vividly started to recognize and remember stuff. I remember staring at Les. He was awesome. He had a deep gravally voice, and was like 60 years old which to me I ask "That's Santa's age!". Les liked me, and was one of the few adults that would go out of his way sometimes to talk to me. He had a big cane and a partial grey beard. I was very sad when I learned he was killed. I learned later in life that my uncle was kinda racist. In the sense he does stupid racist jokes. But he doesn't mean them viciousally. Uncle was always a... aggressive mean bastard. But both him and Les got along great as Les could sling right back whatever bullshit uncle did and better. Les would even bring me treats sometimes, and even gave me the first gift I ever got that was outside of family. It was a little toy harmonica. (My mom and dad were huge blues festive fans and we went every year to the one downtown portland). I remember when I played at the festive in the crowd near the front, the lady singing saw it and even said to the crowd that we have the world's youngest blues player here!". Some turned to look, but it was mostly forgotton. But has Les never gave me that, I never would have gotten that. It was a memory I have forever.

Another race memory was in preschool. There were two black kids there, brother and sister. (Not sure how it works, they always said they were brother and sister. Maybe twins. I don't know). I don't remember there names, but I do remember staring at their hands in fasciantion over the pinkness over it. It was just so different looking then me. I would play with them over all. Me and the girl would play house alot at the clubhouse there. I also remember that the brother was telling me that I wasn't playing the blocks right. I thought I was. He kept saying no, I wasn't building it right and he would knock it over. I told teacher, and she said ignore it. I tried to, he knocked it over again. I hit him in the head with one of those building blocks. I got in trouble then. That girl would give me hugs. So did the twin girls there.
After I started kindgarten, I was sad that they weren't there. Mom told me she wasn't surprised. During a meeting there, the little girl asked my mom if she was my mom. When she said yes, she blushed and told my mom she really liked me. Mom thought it was cute.


It was in first grade that I saw my first asian girl, and I remember having a huge crush on her. Her name was Hannah. She was one of the smartest persons there, and could speak two langages. I was sad when she moved to China. I remember being awed by the shape of her eyes. I even got in trouble when I used my fingers to make my eyes squint like her so that I could be like her. I didn't realize how racist that was. I just wanted her to like me. Didn't work.

During 4-5th grade, I started to dislike people. But especally these three kids. One in my class, and the other two were in my apartment complex. The one in class would bully me, with teacher stating just ignore. When I finally snapped and tried to strangle him, (I wanted him dead. I fully admit it. I wanted him dead). I had to be pulled off him and was expelled for a hate crime. No. It wasn't because he was black. It was because the sonofabitch would stop throwing basketballs at me or stealing my stuff from my desk!. But hey, principal didn't care.


NOTICE THIS IS THE LONGEST AND ONE OF MY MOST HORRIBLE MEMORIES
The other two were brother and sister and were my friends at first. I was the first to welcome them to the apartment complex. The first to show them all the aswesome areas to hang out at. Where the seven eleven was. Introduced them to the other kids. We would hang out all the time. The brother would even spend the night several times at my place, or me over there. But then something happen. And something that I am still angry at. Something I'm still even CONFUSED as to what the hell just fucking happened. It started simple enough. We were riding our bikes around the parking lot next door. The brother found a lottery ticket, and since they both knew i played lottery. (Mom's permission... I would only get half of what I win though). He asked if it was a winner. I thought it was from the looks, told them so, and went to give it to mom to turn it in. She looked at it, told me it wasn't a winner, and gave it back. I went back to the kids and said mom said it was a loser, and I gave it back to them. They freaked out. They screamed at me that I was lying. The sister even shoved me on the ground, and I ran back home.

Little bit later there is a knock on the door. It's the police. They claim that the dad called the police because I STOLE his lottery. Yeah. That I was in the house, grabbed the lottery and ran back home. Mom belived me when I said I didnt. It got messy. The police then saw a hole in the story when I stole the lottery, then ran back to their house and ripped up the ticket and ran back. So police left and just told dad to leave me alone. Mom forbid me from playing with those two kids. Fine. Whatever.

Cue to the war. The two kids turned everyone against me. I shit you not. The sister was the girlfriend of the more popular kid, and he etther lied or got the other kids to dislike me. (Which wasnt hard to do. They already didn't like me after tattling on apartment manager that they were the ones breaking into the other apartments). They were throwing rocks at our slider door. They would try to trick me by claiming to be my dad at the door so they could ether rush me or bash me or something. I never opened the door of course. To save myself, I wasn't allowed outside at all. Mom would drive me to school rather then wait at the busstop. The worst part though, was when our next door lady exploded. She pounded on the door at 7 in the morning. She screamed at my parents. She told them that her daughter told her that I made her pull her pants down. That was a bullshit lie and mom knew it, as I wasn't outside at all.

Mom then had to get us out of there. We found another place. While we were moving, the neighbor lady said sorry, as she learned that her daughter was told to say it to her by the neighbor hood kids as a prank. But the damage was done already. I had a full fledge fucking war with an apartment complex of horrible kids, because I thought a lottery was a winner when it wasn't. I still don't get it. But that summer sure made me bitter. I couldn't get friends before. I couldn't get friends there. I sure as hell couldn't get friends in middle school. But yeah. That was a horrible experence for me. It made me distrust black people for a year. But during my time at a altertinive middle school I had to go to for protection, I did make at least people who wouldn't beat me. But it was still a horrible moment of life.


Great. Now I'm crying.

[Rebel]

Man! I'm sorry Plaidman.
Some people just suck.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I honestly couldn't tell you.

My roommate teaches at a school that is pre-K through 8th grade. The other day they had drama with a four-year-old, we'll call her M, who told her little friend that she didn't want to play with her because she was brown. When one of the other teachers, who is of Indian (I think) descent, pointed out that she was brown and M liked her, she said that was because the teacher was light brown. She has no idea where she might have picked that up (M's mother was mortified when she heard about the incident when she picked M up that afternoon).

[Fryk]

The only reason I learned that there was a difference in the races was because my elementary school told me so. When I was little, I would play with anybody. I didn't care what you looked like or sounded like, I just loved interacting with other kids. I remember that what the school said during black history month made me feel sad, and I think it made me seek out kids who looked different from me or spoke another language to play with, maybe because I was trying to make them feel better.
What? I was five, for all I knew it was happening to these kids, and if we all played superfriends together, I could make things all better.

[RootedPhoenix]

Plaidman, I'm sorry for what happened to you. Those people were really awful. *offers tissues and hugs*

I remember (from my mom telling me, and vaguely at that!) that I was 4 or something when I saw black people. I think I asked Mom what had happened..or what was wrong (I didn't understand what made them a different color). She just told me that the color they were was what was supposed to be there and that there was nothing wrong.

It's only dawned on me lately that I'm biracial. I have a little Native American in my ancestry from both sides of my family. (I'm assuming that makes me biracial...? I could just be insane though, so....) My family has never made a big deal about it, so I didn't regard it as being that big of a thing.

[Hobbs]

Technically, I guess you are, but you'd have to show some proof (probably) to legitimize your claim.

I just remembered; my grandparents teaching us to not trust whites kinda counts, I guess. Don't remember how old I was, though.

Ed. This is a test edit.

[jackfaire]

I haven't noticed it yet. I still don't notice it. It's honestly still just a skin color, hair color, eye color thing to me I don't change how I act, talk etc and have never witnessed anyone of any color being treated differently.

[AdminAssistant]

I didn't grow up around any black people. However, my aunt worked with a black lady named Harriet. Harriet gave me Tootsie Rolls, so I thought she was totally awesome. However, in my very young mind, I thought that all black people were called 'Harriet'. Growing up in a farming community, I did know quite a few Hispanics. There was a great family that my Dad hired to work in the fields in the summer (back before RoundUp Ready cotton, when fields were weeded or 'chopped' by hand). There were two daughters about the same age as me and my sister, and we'd get to hang out on days it was too hot or rainy to work.

[blas87]

I grew up in a very small podunk area in Northwest Wisconsin. There wasn't much around but white, until they started bringing in Somali refugees in the early 90s.

Then I moved an hour or so south of that, where they have been bringing in Hmong refugees from Laos since the 80s.

The first non-white person I ever actually saw was Native American.