What do you know about racism?

Most of the time, I feel sorry that my children are pushed to learn many things since they were born: they need to learn two languages simultaneously; they need to learn that we celebrate Ramadhan instead of christmas; they cannot meet their cousins and grandparents as much as they please; and the most difficult thing is: they need to learn that (physically and maybe culturally) they are not belong to the majority. The insecure feeling of minority. They need to learn the term from the day one. Something I hardly learn at the age of 23, the first time I came to Germany.

However, my 7 year old son turned just alright (at least until now). He is a bright, funny, friendly and (most importantly!) happy kid. He knows he will not get some christmas gifts, but he will get some presents after Ramadhan. He knows that their grandparents cannot speak German, so he tries his best to speak Indonesian. Sometimes, he uses German grammar when he talks in Indonesian. It makes me sometimes worry, whether his dominant language is German instead of Indonesian. "We are Indonesian. We are just living in Germany" once he said that in German. I never expect, I will get such analysis result from a 7 year old.

Last week he surprised me with his other thoughts. When he saw the European election campaign: "Wer Demokratie wählt, -wählt- kein Rassismus" (who chooses democracy, -chooses- no racism), he told me his definition about racism. With his (almost franken dialect) German, he confidently described how awful it is if people treat other people only based on their physical appearances. "Es geht nicht, dass alle gleich aussehen, oder Mama?" (It is impossible that all people look similar, right Mama?). I know, I suppose to be proud that he has such deep understanding about live in his young age. But as a mother, I keep worry that the minority effect will turn him into another direction of the developmental curve. It is very unlikely, but as a mother (I think) it is my job to be worry.