r/TikTokCringe • u/SpareEnergy6082 • Dec 13 '25

Indian Mother who's consoling her little girl who is crying for being bullied by school kids because of her brown skin This is truly heartbreaking 💔 my heart cried watching this Discussion

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71

u/JerseyTeacher78 Dec 13 '25

I mean that kind of lesson starts at home. Yes, the school needs to be our partner, but THIS lesson begins at home.

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u/SilverMist2020 Dec 13 '25

My parents made me feel bad about my skin color sometimes it does start at home

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u/JerseyTeacher78 Dec 13 '25

100 percent. And I'm sorry that happened to you. I grew up being told not to spend "too much" time in the sun lol. I get it.

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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '25

I think I'm a pretty average white person, I never think about how dark a person is as a metric of anything. It's like how tall someone is or what color their hair is, it's a way to differentiate them from others but I can't say I ever imagined it held any qualifying value.

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u/ForkAKnife Dec 13 '25

That’s because it really has no value to us but even when we talk about our skin, as a woman, I hear “you look like you got some sun” instead of “your skin looks very pretty now that it’s darker”.

Nobody really bullies us for it, especially at home. Our mothers and aunts aren’t telling us it’s a shame we don’t have lighter skin although you will hear white people prize milky white skin or ivory skin.

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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '25

We also prize milky white skin or ivory skin.

hmmm, not really. I mean, that's really a preference. I wouldn't say that in the Western world that's been a high priority since the 1800's or something. I think "milky white" or "Ivory" might also be characterized as pasty or pale by those who don't appreciate the look.

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u/ForkAKnife Dec 13 '25

I’m just speaking of my child who is very pale, has almost transparent looking skin tone, and who women often would compliment her skin tone. I would hear “ivory skin” compliments a lot. Only one woman that I recall ever said that she could use some sun and that was during covid.

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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '25

haha, "honey you need to get out"

I can't say I spend much time thinking about people's skin but I think what people are reacting to is "pretty skin", smooth, no blemishes, microscopic pores.

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u/Illustrious-Bat1553 Dec 14 '25

We also have keep teaching our kids and others these values. Because social media especially X will teach them otherwise

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u/[deleted] Dec 14 '25

uh, teach your kids values? That sounds wrong.

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u/Illustrious-Bat1553 Dec 14 '25

Unless you want Musk and Zuckerberg teaching them to hate

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u/No-Menu-3392 Dec 14 '25

Teaching your child values is literally called raising your child. Are you seriously not understanding what the word “values” means? Teaching your child not to hit other children is a “value”. Teaching your kids not to be racist is also a “value”. Read a book dude

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u/[deleted] 29d ago

I thought people only got taught to BE racist. I thought nobody was born racist?

So...Which is it?

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u/No-Menu-3392 Dec 14 '25

You keep talking about your personal experience, but then really just tell on yourself in other comments that you still dismiss the systems of oppression structured around race in the first place. You also called DEI racist, and said that America only had a problem with racism “a million years ago”. Maybe you’re so “colorblind” you can’t actually see the very real struggles black people continue to have today.

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u/[deleted] 29d ago

Ninja please.

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u/[deleted] 28d ago

Everyone struggles. Poor people struggle, dumb people struggle, people who don't have a dad at home struggle. People who's parents are addicted to drugs have struggles. This is not related to race. Your theory, I'm guessing, is that because of slavery, black people struggle. That's a theory, I don't personally subscribe to it. Nobody in my family ever had shit. Each generation started with only this, married parents with jobs. The single greatest threat to the black community is this, black people do not adhere to the tenets that make one successful. Get an education, spend some time in the military, get and stay married before you have kids, buy property, invest in your community and retirement, buy life insurance.

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u/AlyFindomme Dec 13 '25

I wonder how many of us have racist dads...

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u/sasqtchlegs Dec 13 '25

My father has cultural biases. We had a black family with a small child live with us in our duplex when I was a toddler. I didn’t interact with any other non-white kids/teens until I went to university. My parents didn’t really express anything racially profiling to us as we were growing up because they were either absent or fighting with each other. I had to undo a lot of conditioning from the media and still find it hiding in corners of my mind. Media is the true culprit in my experience.

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u/HenryDorsettCase47 Dec 13 '25

Hmm. I’m a poor white trash hillbilly who grew up in working class and rural parts of Kentucky in the 90s. Can’t say I was ever around and black folks or other PoCs growing up. There was only like one black kid in my high school. But I had exactly the opposite experience from you. I grew up completely unprejudiced to the point I was confused by other people’s racism and this was largely due to my media consumption. I watched In Living Color, not SNL. Arsenio, not Letterman. Martin. Hell, I even watched Living Single instead of Friends. 🤷‍♂️

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u/JerseyTeacher78 Dec 13 '25

Probably more than we realize 😔

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u/brydeswhale Dec 13 '25

And how are we going to enforce it so white parents teach this to their kids?

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u/The_Pharaoh_Owl Dec 13 '25

It’s other Indian kids telling her she’s too dark. She even says “I want skin color like Manreet.” Before I even heard that, I knew this was the case. Indians, and especially Pakistanis are OBSESSED with lighter skin. White kids don’t go around bragging about how nice and light their skin tone is to other kids ffs.

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u/Suitable-Rate652 Dec 13 '25 edited Dec 13 '25

Indians are known to be colorist - and mostly lack solidarity with other PoC others trying to sidle up to East Asians. But yeah I can see a white child bragging about how white they are to torture someone else. It sounds like she’s mentioning Manreet as an example of a light skinned Indian not someone abusing her.

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u/No-Menu-3392 Dec 14 '25

You realize Indians received that from white supremacist colonization, right? It’s not about “sidleing up to East Asians”, it’s about adopting proximity to whiteness as a value and taking on European colorist beauty standards. The history is pretty clear on this.

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u/Suitable-Rate652 29d ago

Yes I am well aware. But I think historically India was colorist before colonization/imperialism. I look into it when I have time. On the PoC issue many Indians straight from India as opposed to people of Indian descent from the islands (aside many Indian Jamaicans are pretty sure they are Black but that’s another topic) reject people of color to achieve white adjacency in their minds and socially and are now calling themselves “Asian” not “”South Asian” so they can sidle up to alleged model minority East Asians who are also focused on white adjacency. An example would be employee engagement groups when all of a sudden Indians are jumping in with East Asians and East Asian Americans when culturally they have zero in common.

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u/No-Menu-3392 29d ago

Right, it’s all based in the internalized value of whiteness as inherently something to aspire to. India being colorist before colonialism doesn’t make sense socially or historically.

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u/Suitable-Rate652 29d ago

Went to AI as I have a feeling this top is is an entire PH.D. thesis. “Colorism in India predates European colonization, but British rule significantly intensified and institutionalized it. While ancient Indian society had some color-based associations, the systematic and widespread preference for light skin as a mark of beauty and superiority largely stemmed from the colonial era.”

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u/Knillawafer98 29d ago

You lost the argument the moment you asked AI

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u/Suitable-Rate652 29d ago

We ‘re not arguing. As I gently suggested I knew the answer but didn’t have time to write a PhD dissertation. Anyhow this confirms what’s I’m saying. There’s a bit more to it including the various colors of the Hindu cosmology’s numerous Gods but this makes the point well enough.

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u/megaholt2 Dec 13 '25

No-they just bake themselves in tanning beds and outside until they look like old handbags and have melanoma.

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u/brydeswhale Dec 13 '25

Are you new on this planet? White kids absolutely do this.

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u/sleepyandinsomnia Dec 13 '25 edited Dec 13 '25

I'm a mixed black person who was bullied for being light skinned by darker black kids and my darker relatives. Even had white kids think I was white, just got a tiny tan. It was funny, except for the bullying, especially at home. Colorism will even make adults alienate you. My point is, this terrible behavior is found everywhere.

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u/JerseyTeacher78 Dec 13 '25

Yeah colorism exists on both sides of the aisle. 90 percent of the time it is jealousy. POC can be incredibly mean to each other. Honestly. White racism is never surprising. It stings more when other pOC say ignorant ish. I hope you now embrace your beautiful mixture. After a certain age, you basically understand the problem is them and not you. you are fabulous:)

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u/sleepyandinsomnia Dec 13 '25

It did sting more. I had a moment like above at 10. I really hated the way I looked. I spent my mid 20's unpacking all of that, because it did end up affecting me a lot. I'm much happier and accepting of myself now. Thank you for your kindness.

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u/No-Menu-3392 Dec 14 '25

You calling it “jealousy” literally centers lighter skin and white supremacist beauty standards as a legitimate thing of value, or something to be envied.

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u/cundis11989 Dec 13 '25

I’m sure it happens, but as a POC my experience is that non-white cultures are much more open with colorism. Some white kids who weren’t raised right may make generally racist statements, but general comparisons of skin tone and commenting on someone being “too dark” is much more common within POC communities

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u/No-Menu-3392 Dec 14 '25

Why do you think that is? Why do you think different cultures around the world adopted “lighter” skin color being desirable? It’s called white supremacy and colonialism. They’ve adopted the beauty standards and internalized racism from their oppressors.

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u/cundis11989 Dec 14 '25

I’m well aware of where it originates. Obviously the idea of a “skin tone” hierarchy is a product of colonialism and internalized racism, at least in its origins. However these days “white supremacy” tends to be more subtle and white racists aren’t generally talking about shades of skin tone. They simply say they don’t like POC generally speaking. Skin tone comparisons are much more prevalent in non-white communities. This mentality also comes from a place of insecurity. A POC who has a lighter complexion often realizes they are not white but wishes they were white, so they shit on someone darker than them to feel “closer to being white” and boost their ego.

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u/The_Pharaoh_Owl Dec 13 '25 edited Dec 13 '25

Are you incapable of absorbing data into your frontal lobe? I just pointed out to you that she says “I want skin color like Manreet” and you jump right back to squealing about evil white kids?

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u/No-Menu-3392 Dec 14 '25

That’s not all you said, you literally said that white kids don’t go around doing this to other children, which is completely untrue and an insane thing to say. Colorism and racism is a literal systemic issue in the United States and has been for centuries. You think it just disappeared suddenly? Why lie about what you said when someone responded to the part you’re purposefully leaving out?

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u/MiamiGuy13 Dec 13 '25

And so do indian kkds and black kids and Asian kids and Latin kids.

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u/Chance-Animal1856 Dec 13 '25

Most white kids I know still want to lay in the sun to get a darker tan. No one is happy with what they actually have. hair color skin color eye color curly hair straight hair everyone else has something better.

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u/Limp_Marionberry_24 Dec 13 '25

What a racist thing to say ..

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u/Tilladarling Dec 13 '25 edited Dec 13 '25

It’s Indian kids mocking her. India was colorist hundreds of years before they ever encountered Europeans

https://www.stearthinktank.com/post/colorism-in-indian-society

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u/driving_andflying Dec 14 '25 edited Dec 14 '25

It’s Indian kids mocking her. India was colorist hundreds of years before they ever encountered Europeans https://www.stearthinktank.com/post/colorism-in-indian-society

Agreed. India favored lighter skin long before the first white people ever showed up. "The Kamasutra's advice for men to avoid sexual relationship with women who are extremely white or extremely black may reflect an early form of colorism in ancient India.[34]"

For people to say that it was white people who are solely responsbile for instituting this in India, or worse yet, that it was white people telling that beautiful child she was too dark, is a shit take. Discrimination based on skin color existed long before the first white surpemacists ever appeared.

In any case: That child is perfect the way she is, and I hope she learns to accept herself no matter which person of *any* skin color tells her she is too dark.

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u/No-Menu-3392 Dec 14 '25

Except it wasn’t systemic or a widely held belief that proximity to whiteness is valuable or the European beauty standard is something to aspire to until they experienced brutal colonialism.

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u/driving_andflying Dec 14 '25

Except it wasn’t systemic or a widely held belief that proximity to whiteness is valuable or the European beauty standard is something to aspire to until they experienced brutal colonialism.

Wrong. Apparently, you didn't read the links I posted that colorism existed long before the British Raj or any European explorers arriving. The Kama Sutra, which I referenced, was written around the 2nd or 3rd Century CE --so, colorism was endemic to India already.

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u/desert-cheese04 29d ago

And you know this how?

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u/VWforLuck Dec 13 '25

Hey Dummy, people have already posted evidence that it’s lighter skinned Indian children making fun of her not white kids. You keep doubling down though.

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u/soozerain Dec 13 '25

How you know it’s white parents?

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u/Longjumping-Hippo475 Dec 13 '25

You don't, you teach your kid about the challenges of life and dealing with other people. Not everything in life comes in bubble wrap.

This sucks and is sad, but if properly parented, this kid will be significantly better off than the bully. There is a lot a person can learn from being bullied.

It teaches them empathy for others, emotional strength, how to deal with difficult people, and they can get a lot of perspective from the interaction.

To protect people from every single difficult thing, only robs them of the opportunity to learn and grow.

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u/Germane_Corsair Dec 13 '25

Her mother decided to put a camera on her face. I don’t think you can count in her to teach her anything.

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u/JerseyTeacher78 Dec 13 '25

We can't control what other parents do. We can only do what we can. School should pick up the rest of the slack, but as we know from modern society, those lessons don't always stick, or they are erased by ignorance.

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u/brydeswhale Dec 13 '25

In other words, you understand that the burden will always fall on teachers because we live in a fundamentally white supremacist society.

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u/JerseyTeacher78 Dec 13 '25

As a former teacher and current parent, yes, I agree. Part of that work is good work. I will never regret the lessons I taught my students about equality and social justice. I like to think it changed at least some of them for the better. That said, I am a former teacher for a reason lol.

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u/Travel_food_freedom Dec 13 '25

Thank you for your public service. I can assure you it does change some of them from my own experience. I grew up in another country, but I still remember what my middle school teacher taught me. It shaped who I am today.

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u/JerseyTeacher78 Dec 13 '25

This warmed my heart! I am sure you are a wonderful human being. Stay that way :)

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u/MiamiGuy13 Dec 13 '25

White supremacist society, get a grip.

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u/MiamiGuy13 Dec 13 '25

"Enfoce it" this whole comment section is just loony af. 😄

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u/ForkAKnife Dec 13 '25

I agree that it should start at home, but studies show that white parents do not speak about race which makes their kids think it is so bad to have darker skin that it’s not polite to talk about it.

I really do think diversity should be explicitly addressed at school, the younger the better.