Diversity --- From someone who has truly experienced it! (crime rates, Hispanic, dollar)

[wellhellothere]

Hey, this is my first post here. I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of days and I figured this was a good place to post my opinion and hear what others thought. So this is going to be long…

Well I am currently in high school in an extremely diverse school in a extremely diverse town. I always hear people talking about how wonderful diversity is so I thought I would share my experiences with it. First let me tell you a bit about where I live:

(You can skip the following two paragraphs, I am just talking about how diverse my school and town are.)

The school I go to was named the most diverse in the state. My state is always in the Top 3 for diversity. The races are evenly split: 25% Hispanic, 25% White, 25% Black, 25% Asian. It is also diverse economically. There are kids who go to my school who live in million dollar houses and kids who live in trailer parks. Yes, these kids are friends with each other. We also have many different religions in my school. Mormons, Atheists, Catholics, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Unitarian Universalism, and Sikhs all attend my school. And yes people of different religions are friends with each other. At my lunch table last year, all of us had different religious backgrounds.

The street I live on is also diverse, we call it a Mini United Nations, which is kind of ironic considering we have a UN diplomat that lives here. I am White, next to us are Indians, next to them are Koreans, then we have two households of Whites, then we have a Chinese Family. Across the street is another Chinese family, then a Black family, then two more White families, then a Muslim family, then another White family, then an Indian family, then a Black family, then a White family, and then another Black family. So there is definitely a white majority but we still have plenty of other nationalities. The neighborhood I live in is very nice & safe too.

Sorry if I bored you with the above information but just wanted to show that I know about diversity first hand. Here are a few comments about diversity from someone who has lived it:

I don’t think that diversity is a good thing or a bad thing. I don’t think there is anything special about it or anything wrong with it. I don’t think it makes a town worse or better. The reason why I believe this is because diversity doesn’t mean anything. At my school, everyone dresses the same, talks the same, eats the same food, likes the same things, etc. No one is coming to school in traditional outfits, everyone speaks English, and talks about what happened on Idol. No one is teaching others about their culture. It just doesn’t happen. The elementary school I went to was 90% white and there is no difference between that school and my high school. I have a very diverse set of friends and if I lived in a town with a high population of whites, my group of friends would look more like me. I don’t think there would be a difference, friends are friends.

So I just don’t get diversity. We all hang out with each other, there is no difference. I always hear people saying how they need to find a diverse place to live and if that is what they would like, that is fine, but I think people either are in love with the idea of diversity a little too much or think it is a disgusting concept. Most of the people who have opinions on it probably have never lived it.

I know that some blame high crime rates on diversity, and I can’t speak for your town, but that is not true where I live. Like I said above, my street is very diverse and it is very safe. No problems whatsoever. My town is also safe, yes we have petty crime, but nothing worse than that. Nothing that makes it hard to sleep at night. My town has gotten very diverse in the last few years but it is still the same town. No huge spark in crime rate or anything like that. My parents have lived here for 22 years, back then it was 90% white, and they say it is still the same, safe town it was back then.

So thank you for reading this very long post that contains all the thoughts in my head regarding diversity. What do you think about what I wrote in my post? What are your experiences with diversity? Do you think people are too obsessed with loving or hating diversity? Why do people who have never experienced it seem to have such strong opinions?

Oh and sorry about the background information about my town.

[GOPATTA2D]

What town?

[Lakewooder]

I think as you get older you will come to appreciate and treasure the diversity you had in your school. You will see how you will be able 'to deal with' others and make friends while folks who did not have your experience can't.

I was also lucky to go to a very diverse high school.

[EinsteinsGhost]

You have the opportunity, but learning and experiencing is up to you. Some of it has likely happened with you, without you realizing it. And that is a good thing. You can always make it better by going beyond what school has to offer, make friends and participate in other cultures.

[MisterNY]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

I think as you get older you will come to appreciate and treasure the diversity you had in your school. You will see how you will be able 'to deal with' others and make friends while folks who did not have your experience can't.

I was also lucky to go to a very diverse high school.

Ditto, consider your experience to be a good one. Nothing wrong with diversity. Embrace it. I'd say you're in NYC. Am I wrong?

But, you did mention trailer park residents.(no trailer parks in NYC)....Hmm....Just give us more hints.

I'd love that for my kids.

[Missmoose]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

I think as you get older you will come to appreciate and treasure the diversity you had in your school. You will see how you will be able 'to deal with' others and make friends while folks who did not have your experience can't.

I was also lucky to go to a very diverse high school.

Amen.

[wellhellothere]

I would prefer to not give the town's name because it only has one high school and then you would know where I go to school and that is a little too personal for me, sorry. But no it is not NYC, much smaller! If it was a big city, I would say the name but it has less than 50,000 residents.

[MisterNY]

Originally Posted by wellhellothere

I would prefer to not give the town's name because it only has one high school and then you would know where I go to school and that is a little too personal for me, sorry. But no it is not NYC, much smaller! If it was a big city, I would say the name but it has less than 50,000 residents.

Fair enough, but for whatever it's worth, enjoy it. You only live once. Don't downplay diversity. It's a good thing, count your blessings.

[ergohead]

Well Hello

Tell us what your cliques are like.

What color are your jocks?

Your boarders.

Your stoners.

We already know what color your high achievers are.

Your outcrowd.

[wellhellothere]

Don't worry, I know that I am getting an experience that very few will ever get. Most high schools are mostly one race or split between two, from what I have seen. The 2nd most diverse high school in my state is not even as close to being as diverse as mine.