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I like talking to people from different places. That doesn't have to mean they're a different ethnicity, but people from other countries are from much different cultures, and it's interesting to hear different perspectives. Also, I like a variety of ethnic foods. We're not extraordinarily diverse here (probably more than you'd expect, though), but we're fortunate to have Mexican, Chinese, and Thai restaurants run by people from those countries. I miss living in places with strong Mexican and Cuban influences, just because it's interesting to have different cultures and cuisines around. I don't really care what other people think of that one way or the other.
I like diversity and I like a monocultural place too, both are places to learn from. I also like living in a place with a good mix of Democrats and Republicans, Liberals and Conservatives, and everything in between from Ron Paul Libertarians to far left Anarchists. It opens your mind to the fact that there's thoughtful intelligent people from all these viewpoints and keeps you in mental shape to always reassess your views and be able to ably argue them, as opposed to being in a place where most people you know always agree with you.
While I agree the arguments on this boards about relative diversity are mostly inane, I disagree they are driven by political correctness. Then again, I think accusations of “political correctness” are mostly inane as well.
Diversity of ideas is more important than diversity of ethnicity/race. I like to joke that many of the supposedly diverse parts of California will have white, Asian, black & Latina girls all talking with the same annoying valley girl accent.
For some people it's PC. But for others, it has nothing to do with political correctness, or being a lefty, pinky, commie, nimby, whatever. You can't politicize EVERYTHING. There are certain things people enjoy, and the reasoning can't be put under political terms.
What a crime it is to enjoy experiencing a small taste of other cultures. Damn commies.
You're right, there are tons of people that create accounts on online message boards to pretend to like diversity so that people they don't know but are also pretending to like diversity will know that he or she is as cosmopolitan and politically correct as they are.
Where I went to high school I had friends with roots in Ghana, China, Italy, Poland, and just regular old American friends and it was a pretty awesome experience to get know people from different cultures and learn a little bit about what's going on in the rest of the world.
That high school community was very affluent however and there was no income diversity. Now that I'm in college I have some friends who come from single mom, low-income families, that rely on scholarship money. That also has given me a new perspective.
Also back home there was no LGBT community what so ever, while Columbus has a pretty significant and visible community.
I enjoy being able to eat in different ethnic restaurants, making friends with people from different cultures, and being comfortably open about sexual orientation. Those activities aren't exclusive to college campuses/diverse urban centers but they are much more common in these types of cities than in isolated rural areas or racially homogenous towns.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Yes 'racial diversity' means little if they're all culturally American. I think cities with true diversity just tend to be better anyway, not so much because of diversity but because they attract immigrants. Like all the great cities like NY, LA, SF, Chicago just happen to be diverse. I don't think anyone is demonising a place simply for being white, but they might unfairly assume that whiter places are more racist, which isn't always true and sometimes the opposite.
Diversity of ideas is more important than diversity of ethnicity/race. I like to joke that many of the supposedly diverse parts of California will have white, Asian, black & Latina girls all talking with the same annoying valley girl accent.
On the other hand, this illustrates a degree of assimilation, which is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned. When in Rome...
Besides, even if they all talk similarly, it doesn't necessarily mean they have similar beliefs, values or upbringings.
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