Who were your parents going to give you to?
When I was very small, my mother used to tease that she was going to "give me away to the Indians." Not surprisingly, the first time my parents went to an Indian restaurant with me, I am told that I asked the waiter where his "hammer" (ie. tomahawk) was, then started crying.
When I was in college I asked my friends, "Who were your parents going to give you to?" Friend A was going to be given to the monkey farm. Friend B was going to be given to the Navy (she comes from an Air Force family.) Friend C was horrified by the entire conversation: "Myparents weren't going to give me away to anyone. My parents LOVED me."
Their experiences didn't really parallel mine, but it's still something I wonder about. What prejudices were you inculcated with at an early age? Were other ethnic or cultural groups ever used to threaten [edit: or frighten] you?
When I was in college I asked my friends, "Who were your parents going to give you to?" Friend A was going to be given to the monkey farm. Friend B was going to be given to the Navy (she comes from an Air Force family.) Friend C was horrified by the entire conversation: "Myparents weren't going to give me away to anyone. My parents LOVED me."
Their experiences didn't really parallel mine, but it's still something I wonder about. What prejudices were you inculcated with at an early age? Were other ethnic or cultural groups ever used to threaten [edit: or frighten] you?