Were Rodgers and Hammerstein Wrong?

I've mentioned that we've had lots of house guest recently. Charlie is about at his limit. Our last small guest left today. This morning, Charlie was yelling for me and when I arrived he said, "I hate her!" When I asked why, he said "Because she has long hair. She is different."

WOW. Talk about prejudice, xenophobia, or almost any sort of -ism!
"Hate" is a very strong word in our house. We never use it for people. So Charlie was really saying something strong.

Later, Shawn explained to me that the visitor didn't get along well with Charlie's friend M who had been over to play. And Charlie took M's side and stood up for her, and it came out as "I hate that girl because she has long hair."

When we got the full story, we helped Charlie put other words with it that were more accurate. He and the new friend made up, and things were good.

But my professor has been singing this song in my head all day:

ARTIST: Rodgers and Hammerstein
TITLE: You've Got to Be Carefully Taught
Lyrics and Chords

You've got to be taught to hate and fear
You've got to be taught from year to year
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a different shade
You've got to be carefully taught

You've got to be taught before it's too late
Before you are six or seven or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught
You've got to be carefully taught