The two readings that we have for Friday are both about color/race, and as I read them I found myself sort of surprised by the way people refer to themselves. I grew up in suburb, and it's generally made up of typical comfortable middle-class people. We have a very nice town, but we're sometimes referred to as the "bubble," because it's a calm, secluded sort of area, and very unchanging, which is very different from the nearby city. The people who originally settled the area were German farmers, and so that's pretty much who is still there. I guess it isn't a very diverse area and so maybe this is why I'm at a complete loss for understanding this sometimes, and I don't mean to be offensive in any way shape or form, but I just don't understand what the big deal is with the way people look. We all come from different ethnic backgrounds... everyone. So we're all different, right?
Each ethnic background has its own characteristics that typically accompany it. I think we should celebrate those differences because it's so cool that our country is made of up so many cultures. It's exciting that we're all different! It's like the difference between having a British accent, or Irish red hair. We may have German blue eyes, or we may have Egyptian eyes. We're still all people, these are just characteristics that go along with where we're from. These factors are celebrated, and not at all a subject of taboo. However, as soon as we move on to skin color, it can become an extremely touchy subject. Why is this? It's okay to comment on someones blond/black/red hair, but it's not so comfortable when you start talking about their black/white/yellow/brown skin??? And not only is it just an uncomfortable subject, sometimes people treat each other completely differently because of it. Does this make any sense to anyone? If it does please explain bc im lost.
I don't mean to be insensitive...I understand that there are some events in our past history that have caused a lot of racism (and this makes no sense to me either but it is in the past). We are in 2008, and it's time to get over it. People are people, and in the history of the world every race/ethnicity/culture has been prosecuted at some point. Let me repeat, everyone's background has been prosecuted at some point. So shouldn't we all be trying hard to keep things neutral now? Aren't we kind of done with discrimination? That was so the 1800's.
So why is it still such an issue now? These readings discuss people who have darker skin feeling uncomfortable in a neighborhood of mostly lighter skinned people. So let me get this strait... if you're blond are you going to be upset if everyone on your street has brown hair?? I don't think anyone has the right to make anyone else feel uncomfortable anymore than that second party has to make them feel uncomfortable regardless of hair color or skin tone or whatever people are going to come up with next. Whatever you look like, wherever you're from... flaunt it because it's beautiful, and don't ever let anyone make you question that.
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