[guatparents2be]

Hi All;

My name is Samantha and my son was adopted from Guatemala in May of '07. He was 7 months at homecoming. I've been posting on the a.com Guate board for a long time but I'm jumping ship. I'm finally tired of dealing with the head in the sand approach to concerns and issues regarding transracial families and racism. I got majorly slammed for being "PC" on a thread yesterday and it was just the last straw.

My friend Gwen suggested this board and I'm actually tearing up reading some of the threads as it feels like so much better a match for me.

I'm looking forward to learning more here.
-Samantha

[JenC]

Hi! I hang out here and on the general board. I read the Guat. forum sometimes too. Welcome to the discussions!

[mom2samuel]

Wecome! I hope you find what you are looking for here. I have a 7 yr old son from Guatemala, and a 2 yr old son who is AA. Now..I'm a little dense...sorry. What does PC mean?

Michelle

[Gwen72]

Hello and Welcome to this board!

[sbaglio]

Welcome, Samantha!

[guatparents2be]

Originally Posted by mom2samuel

Wecome! I hope you find what you are looking for here. I have a 7 yr old son from Guatemala, and a 2 yr old son who is AA. Now..I'm a little dense...sorry. What does PC mean?

Michelle

PC is an acronym for "politically correct."

(I am trying to figure out a way to answer this question more fully and define this and how/why it is used in a derogatory manner. Anyone?)

[ChromaKelly]

Hi! Welcome! With all the international adoptive parents on a.com, one would think more would be over here. It's nice to see you.

[loveajax]

Chroma, I agree. I remember someone posting here who had adopted from Guatamala and was thinking of adopting a black kid and had concerns, etc. And my first question was, "Well, haven't you already adopted transracially?" And the person did acknowledge yes. But I think "traditionally" this board has been thought of as white parents adopting black kids, which is too bad, because TRA is so much broader than that. Though I can see why people who have adopted from a certain country, etc., can bond.

To the OP, welcome!!!

[HeidiK]

Welcome - anyone see the nice article on transracial families in the Adopted Families Magazine...I so loved it

[aclee]

Welcome. I only noticed that thread after it was closed. It had me in tears....

Welcome on over here though

[aclee]

Originally Posted by guatparents2be

PC is an acronym for "politically correct."

(I am trying to figure out a way to answer this question more fully and define this and how/why it is used in a derogatory manner. Anyone?)

I know one sarcastic way of explaining PC is by job titles.

I'm not a SAHM, I'm a Domestic Engineer
They aren't Gargabe Men, they are Waste Technicians...

Stuff like that.

[devildogwife]

Welcome! We adopted transracially; my son is Native American.

Aclee, I was pretty sad too.

[crick]

I don't want this thread to turn into a forum or closed thread "discussion". I understand fully that the topic discussed was and still is a very important one and one many of you and your children will face in life.

So please feel free to discuss the actual topic of racial situations, profiling or etc., but not in terms of the thread or forum "bashing". (Bashing is not evident here, I just don't want it to go there)

Welcome Samantha...I always like to see members branch out of familiar forums.

Thanks everyone!
Crick

[loveajax]

I spent the early part of my career as a public defender representing kids. And the things that these kids had to deal with in terms of racial profiling and "assumptions" was absolutely maddening. I actually knew of a children's store that had a WRITTEN POLICY of having clerks follow around black teenagers.

There was a 20/20 the other day (or maybe it was Primetime Live) called, "What Would You Do?" And they set up a situation where actors "played" Latino workers trying to buy a sandwich at a deli. The store clerk (actor) would not serve them, told them to speak English, etc. The "heartening" thing was that soooo many "bystanders" in the store ripped into the clerk, offered to buy the workers the sandwiches, etc. The disheartening thing was a large portion of people did nothing or actually "encouraged" the clerk.

I think if you are the parent of a non-white child, it is really important not to think your kid won't face this stuff. They will. Hopefully, it will be less and less, but it will (sadly) always probably exist to some extent. (Of course, the challenge I think is teaching kids to assume the "best" in everyone, but not to downplay things when people are at their "worst." Very tough balancing act, imo, especially for people who have never faced it themselves.)

Anyway, I'm not debating another thread, just my ramblings of the day!!

[joskids]

Samantha, welcome!!! You won't get slammed on this board for being "aware". You'll be valued. Anyone who continues to stick their head in the sand because they have adopted internationally and don't consider it "transracial" will have a rude awakening when their child starts dealing with the realities. It's a shame.

And, BTW, one of our children is Samantha. Good name!!!