catinstalbans
Well-known member
With the shocking abuse that Wilfred Zaha woke up to yesterday and the equally appalling news that the perpetrator was only 12 years old I have spent some of the time in school today pondering how such an event can happen.
For such racism to come from a 12 year old we have to assume that this racism is probably endemic in the family home. I do remember back in the 80s an infamous family from the Spring Gardens estate in St Annes at an away match in Yorkshire (I think Halifax but the memory is hazy) where the adults took great delight in encouraging the youngest child (8-10 years old) to launch a tirade of swearing and abuse every time a police officer walked past, presumably in the knowledge that being so young, he could get away with it, whereas an adult shouting the same would get a) nicked and b) a good kicking for his troubles in the van at the back of the ground.
I did cynically wonder if the 12 year old is taking the blame for the father for similar reasons in this case. Something does not seem right somewhere.
What it did show to me is some of the harm that not being in an education setting is doing to our children. If the only positive influences on a child come from the school to counteract the poisonous beliefs of parents then obviously the sooner we are back in school the better. It emphasises the need for pastoral education in values such as tolerance of other religions and nationalities, respect for every person as a fundamental right and emphasises the value of anti racism organisations working in schools such as Show Racism the Red Card, and Hope not Hate in countering the learning of hatred some children otherwise receive from the home. I am really looking forward to getting back to some sort of normality in September.
For such racism to come from a 12 year old we have to assume that this racism is probably endemic in the family home. I do remember back in the 80s an infamous family from the Spring Gardens estate in St Annes at an away match in Yorkshire (I think Halifax but the memory is hazy) where the adults took great delight in encouraging the youngest child (8-10 years old) to launch a tirade of swearing and abuse every time a police officer walked past, presumably in the knowledge that being so young, he could get away with it, whereas an adult shouting the same would get a) nicked and b) a good kicking for his troubles in the van at the back of the ground.
I did cynically wonder if the 12 year old is taking the blame for the father for similar reasons in this case. Something does not seem right somewhere.
What it did show to me is some of the harm that not being in an education setting is doing to our children. If the only positive influences on a child come from the school to counteract the poisonous beliefs of parents then obviously the sooner we are back in school the better. It emphasises the need for pastoral education in values such as tolerance of other religions and nationalities, respect for every person as a fundamental right and emphasises the value of anti racism organisations working in schools such as Show Racism the Red Card, and Hope not Hate in countering the learning of hatred some children otherwise receive from the home. I am really looking forward to getting back to some sort of normality in September.
