Non-racism starts at home, with our kids

RACIAL utterances are indicative of a fractured, painful past that is going to haunt us for a long time.

The dismantling of apartheid does not mean racism will disappear anytime soon.

The wounds of the past need to heal before the country can turn the page to a new chapter. While recent laws play an integral role in keeping one’s words in check and acting as a deterrent; it’s fundamentally a change of attitude that can make a difference.

It must be noted that laws do not bring about conformity. It’s the modalities of thinking and behavioural patterns about different race groupings that can impact positively on the debate.

The discourse needs to emanate from the portals of our homes. Family structures need to preach the philosophy that there is only one race and that is the human race.

The ideology might seem far fetched when we begin to unpack it from an adult perspective.

Children do not see race as a determining factor in any situation, unless they are indoctrinated at home to do so.

A child’s mind is like a sponge, so let’s saturate their brains neither to be narrow minded nor to concentrate on race or race terminology that is demeaning and denigrating.

If children can be thought to be responsible for their actions, at least in the future there can be the promise of a sophisticated new generation who look beyond race to find solutions in our country.