Week of 1/31 Post 1

My background is Irish, German, and Italian. Although I am only 1/4 Italian that is what I most identify myself with because my maternal grandmother was 100% Italain and her sisters immigrated to America around 1920. This identification began since birth; my mother’s family was very Catholic and would attend church on Sundays. Afterward, we would all gather at my grandmothers for the day for her homemade sauce. Her dining room had one huge table where me, my brother, and my cousins would sit while the adults were in either the living room or kitchen. Although my grandmother has since passed, my mother and I still try to recreate her sauce recipe and hold the same family values. The crowd is not as huge as it was back then, but almost every Sunday we have a family dinner with at least 9 other friends and family members.

This may sound a bit naive, but I didn't become fully aware of racial issues until I was in middle school. That was when I first heard a story about a boy who used a racial slur to describe a friend of mine. I never understood what it meant until I saw how clearly upset it made everyone around me. My family never fully addressed the issue of race at home. My parents were both very accepting of people of other races, religions, and sexuality. It wasn’t until quite recently that I became aware of my grandparent’s ignorance towards other races. I think as I was growing up my parents tried to shield my brother and I from this because they didn’t want us to adopt those views. While I am aware of the stereotypes placed on different races and ethnicities, I usually take people as they come and just let their personality shape my opinions of them.

Looking back, I appreciate them for raising me this way but at the same time I wish I would have been guided. One thing I would do differently with my children is make them aware of the stereotypes that are often portrayed in the media. While I never felt any trace of racism from my parents, the media played a huge role in my perception of race. It was through the mass media where I learned about stereotypes and I think it would have been helpful for me to have my parents guide me as I was growing up so that I could better understand how stereotypes were conceived and how they are largely unreliable. All in all my personal experiences with racism have made me uncomfortable because the issue was never addressed in my household.