NITNF will usually be a bit of trivia that I found interesting and thought you would like. It may be IR-related and it might not -- but should always be fun...or at least fascinating.
Today's subject: my take on interracial adoption. I have total respect for couples and even individuals who adopt a child of a race/ethnicity other than their own. While I have never adopted a child, I am a parent...and anyone who adopts a child becomes a parent.
My children are multiracial (Black, White and Apache). I embrace all of their ethnicities. So I can imagine in some small way what it might be like to have a child of a completely different race/ethnicity. I think this gives me a unique perspective but it's still not the same as actually adopting a child that may have been born in another country and/or raised in another culture.
I'm going to skip the celebrity entries that have gathered so much attention in recent months and years because, well, you don't know who's real and who's just trying to look like a great humanitarian. It's a shame that it isn't easy to tell once fame and papparazzi and other elements enter into the picture. So, back to the real world...
When people adopt children of another race/ethnicity, they have to realize and accept right upfront that at some points in their lives, they will face questions, misunderstandings, racism and prejudice for their choice to adopt...just as an interracial couple accepts this when they conceive a child together. And yet they do so anyway, because they love each other and their child. I believe this must be the same for people who "transracially" adopt. They want to love that child and they would die to protect that child.
Some people say it's selfish to subject yourself to "undue attention" by mixing the races. If people want to give you undue attention, they'll find a way to do it anyway, they'd find another excuse besides race/ethnicity. People are people...but it takes a special person to take a risk to love someone else, to raise a child, to be a parent under conditions "outside the box."
So, to the parents of transracial adoptions, I salute you. Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
Best Wishes,
Allen
2 comments:
Marriage and parenting are hard enough, without adding the extra stressors of dealing with multi-racial situations, so my hats off to those who deal with it wisely and with love. We have one adopted and one natural child, both of whom we love dearly. One "looks like us" and the other does not. We are all the same race, but it still made a difference to our adopted daughter as she was growing up. Go figure. Just goes to show how complicated an issue looks really can be.
I plan to adopt inter-racially...thanks so much for sharing this. I think the more we mix things up, the more beautiful the mixture gets!
Peace,
Salihah
Post a Comment