A resurfaced photo of an older white man painting a biracial toddler’s toenails has spurred a lengthy tread of debate on X, formerly known as Twitter.
An account named Call To Activism shared the photo on July 27 with the caption: “My dad didn’t approve when l married a dark skin man. He’s some kind of a racist hillbilly. When l was pregnant he told me he didn’t want anything to do with my biracial daughter. Here, he is painting her toenails on her 3rd birthday.”
Here’s proof people can change.
It is unclear where the photo originated, but another X user pointed out that it was shared on Reddit at least seven years ago. The X post has been viewed over 13 million times on the platform.
While it received some warm responses from some viewers who thought the photo was touching, some argued that ridding someone of racism is not as simple as getting them to love a “dark-skinned” grandchild.
“Him painting his granddaughters nails does not mean he’s not a racist anymore,” wrote Diane Lewis, who faced criticism for her comment.
“Really? So you’re one of those that thinks once a racist always a racist? Sounds like a big time virtue signal to me,” one user said in a reply to Lewis.
“No I’m one of those that knows that a racist may have legitimate feelings for their offspring but that doesn’t erase their racist views,” Lewis argued.
The phenomenon that Lewis and others wrapped in the discussion is referring to is when a person believes that people from a particular racial group possess certain negative traits or characteristics but makes an exception for one person because of their personal connection. It also speaks to the belief that colorblindness promotes racial harmony, according to social psychologists.
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