Building Friendships, Not Diversity
First, you must know my background—I lived in Cincinnati, Ohio until I went to college here in Memphis, I am Irish, German, and Scottish, and primarily Caucasian people live in my hometown.
We are all naturally biased towards what we know best and what we know best is normally what we feel most comfortable with. So, when we choose to speak in a certain manner, certain clothes or friends, we are doing so based off of what we know best. During my first visit to Memphis, I noticed that the African-Americans here had darker skin than most of those I had seen up north. And after the few days I spent here at The University of Memphis during freshman orientation, I noticed that most of the African-American people did not mix with the Caucasian people as much I had seen up north. This was very intriguing.
Throughout the school year that I have spent here at The University of Memphis, I have observed that those who do not act like most of the other people of their race are not usually welcomed by their own race. For example, if a Caucasian male dressed in an urban style, used slang in his speech, and had a heavy southern accent, he is not necessarily welcomed by the entirety of the Caucasian community because some consider his urban style to be only a trait of African-Americans. Therefore, some will not associate themselves with people like this guy, and use derogatory terms, such as “whigger,” when referring to him. As a result of the definite divide between African-Americans and Caucasians, there are less people who desire to date or marry the other race, thus there are less mixed people, meaning darker skin and lighter skin—no much in between.
The history of our country does not condone such behavior as ignoring or mistreating those who do not fit the mold we have created for those we like are to fit in. Therefore, we must break out of our molds and prototypes that feel comfortable and natural; learning to treat everyone with respect is the first step towards friendship.
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2 comments:
I find this very insightful thinking. I enjoy reading this. Everyone should be worried about making friends among one another besides just looking at each other as color. I like your thinking. I do understand what you mean about the example you stated.
I agree and enjoyed your blog. As Americans we have to remember that if our family have been in the United States for more than 300 years then we are mixed with black, white, indian and many other races. If you look deep in your family tree and get a dna test you would realize that we might be long distant cousins. By the way, I am an African American. HA!HA!HA!.
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