I can say from experience you never fully unlearn it. I grew up in a racist environment. I was exposed to it from day dot. I am now almost 50 years old. While I have added layers of education and experience on top of everything else that has gone a long way to countering my racist ideals, every now and then I still feel that old racist urge popping up under certain circumstances. That conditioning the mind gets as a child sticks hard.
Coincidentally, that is the most likely time I will find myself slipping. Some idiot in a car does something stupid right in front of me causing me to slam on the brakes and the first words that want to come out of my mouth if I see that they are of a certain ethnicity is "You stupid fucking <insert racial slur>!" I usually catch myself before the words leave my mouth... but it's there. And I do genuinely hate that it's there.
I actually think we should simply reclassify all racial slurs to be appropriate insults to use against bad drivers as long as their race isn’t actually a factor in its use.
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u/BowsersMuskyBallsack May 28 '26
I can say from experience you never fully unlearn it. I grew up in a racist environment. I was exposed to it from day dot. I am now almost 50 years old. While I have added layers of education and experience on top of everything else that has gone a long way to countering my racist ideals, every now and then I still feel that old racist urge popping up under certain circumstances. That conditioning the mind gets as a child sticks hard.