Now that I'm a new mother, I begin to see my parents in a new light. It is not easy raising a child, especially moving into the 21st century. I don't blame them so much for the things they denied me while growing up.
I don't know if this is true for anyone else, but my father forbid me to have American friends when I was a kid. I was never allowed to go over the house of our neighbors or my classmates, and I remember getting a good scolding for walking home from school hand in hand with another little girl. There were other incidents when I got into trouble for fraternizing with "them". I was often told that I was better than they were. That they had no manners. And that they were a bad influence in general.
I didn't start making friends until my teenage years when lucky for me there was an influx of young Haitians moving to my neck of the woods.
Even though this made me sad and probably infused me with prejudices I have yet to uncover, watching my son today playing with the neighborhood kids, gives me a wrench in my gut.
One side of me wants him to experience the joy of friendship with anyone he so chooses, but the "Haitian" side of me still thinks that Americans are ill-mannered and a "bad" influence.
I'm trying hard to rid my mind of these negative thoughts, and raise my child without prejudice. After all, we Haitians aren't perfect, and Americans aren't all bad. As a matter of fact there's a lot to admire about the American way of life. They are much more open and forgiving than us.
Talk to me. What do you think?