In Strangers’ Glances at Family, Tensions Linger

   Love isn't skin deep. Race can raise some eyebrows, but it can not change a family's love for one another. The Greenwoods are an interracial family. Mrs. Greenwood is half African American and half Irish, Mr. Greennwood is Polish, 7 year old Sophia is dark skinned, and 2 year old Noelle is fair skinned with blue eyes and blond hair. At first glance, this family may confuse you. Mrs. Greenwood tells her story of the pain other people's questions and remarks on her and her family's race have caused her, but she needs to stop complaining and deal with it. I completely agree that race has nothing to do with love, and that race should mean nothing to a family, but she needs to realize that if she could see her family the way others see it, she wouldn't automatically understand the mechanics of the family... When you see a black mother and a white baby girl, your brain doesn't make a connection right away. Questions arise; you're naturally curious. “People confront you, and it’s not once in a while, it’s all the time,” she said. “Each time is like a little paper cut, and you might think, ‘Well, that’s not a big deal.’ But imagine a lifetime of that. It hurts.” I understand that she just wants people to understand her family without questioning her, but she shouldn't CARE what other people think. It's her family, she should be proud of its diversity, she should enjoy explaining the beautiful uniqueness of her children to those who are curious. When at home, interacial families strive to be "colorblind". Race plays no part in their private lives, but outside of the home, naturally, others will see nothing but race. I hope one day we will be able to see an interacial family and not have to ask ourselves 'is she really their mother?'. I'd love for the diversity of families to become commonplace, to see a mixed family and not even give it a second thought, but at this point in time, it's not realistic. We've already come so far in racial acceptance! Barriors are breaking down! That being said, it can still a shock to see a family with three different races in one. I sympathyzed with the Greenwoods one minute, then felt no pitty for their "pain" the next. They should be able to overcome that "pain", and teach their children to roll with the punches, learn from other's misunderstanding, accept others' curiosity, and make the next generation twice as accepting as the last. I have one word for you Mrs. Greenwood, stop crying to the newspaper about the sting of the stares of those who just don't understand, stop whining about the questions onlookers ask you (simply out of curiosity, may I add), and teach your children to take those questions and stares in stride. Teach them how to be strong, not how to snivel and whine.
        The article "In Strangers’ Glances at Family, Tensions Linger" by Susan Saulny caught my attention because I saw that it was one of the most viewed articles on the New York Times website. Saulny clrearly wanted you to buy into the Greenwoods' sobb story, but the thing is; this SHOULDN'T have been a sobb stroy at all. It should've been a story about strenghth, about love overcoming race and misunderstanding, and about the power and unity of a family. Rather than talk about how interacial families are becoming more widly accepted, Saulny focused on the 'injustices' this one family claim to have experienced. When people ask questions about race, they're not always trying to be rude or unaccepting, thehy're trying to make sense of it all so that they can understand AND accept. The article was written well but I did not like it's essence.

To Read This Article>>>"In Strangers' Glances at Family, Tensions Linger"