It's not hard to surmise that young children typically develop their belief systems during their formative years. It's a developmental stage that represents the closest form of learning to the 'imprint' learning we see in less intelligent animals. For example, a newborn fowl will believe that the first living thing it sees is its parent.
In terms of survival (the will to live), it makes sense that young children would be highly susceptible to learning the lessons of life from the parent (how to avoid danger, etc.).
Unfortunately, this 'formative years learning' extends beyond the scope of simply learning how to survive, how to behave based on cultural standards, and parental expectations. I say this because it's also a stage in the development of children (up to age eight) that includes the formulation of a belief system.
While we tend to excuse an orientation to religion as a part of this early learning process in children, how should we characterize the learning of hate? Should we simply characterize it as' carrying on family tradition and values? Typically, hate isn't learned, it's taught. Rather than 'formative years learning', I would rather characterize this force-fed learning as 'childhood brainwashing'. Let's not be so forgiving.
Apparently, as a society, we're not yet ready to acknowledge the fact that learning during those formative years of childhood becomes as deeply ingrained as what we see in adults who have been brainwashed.
We observe this behavior, but fail to connect the dots.
Typically, a young child exposed to racism in the home becomes a life-long racist; the child exposed to misogyny in the home becomes a life-long misogynist; and a child exposed to violence in the home in the form of corporal punishment adopts a life-long belief that it is acceptable for adults to hit children.
Consequently, those who adopt these now antiquated notions, are often accused of being a bigot … closed-minded and intractable. The accusation of bigotry is harsh. Especially if we consider the possibility that the 'bigots' on hand are merely victims of the manner in which their parents taught them. And, can we say that these bigots have been brainwashed in the home during their formative years?
We need to understand that hate, racism, intolerance, discrimination, as well as the crimes that breed from such states of mind, will continue so long as parent's expose their children to these kinds of beliefs and attitudes.
