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Hello there. I'm a white person, and in general I can make it through the day without really giving this fact any thought. I mean, it's not that my skin color isn't obvious; it's just that's not something that I dwell on.
But there have been times when I've been in situations where I've been the only white person present, and I have felt VERY self-conscious of my race. Keep in mind, I'm not talking about situations where I might actually be in danger (though, sadly, there have been a few of those too); but rather, situations in which it seemed very unlikely that anyone would wish me any harm. Once, my friend and I were the only two white people in a church filled with something like 400 black people. Another time, I was the only white person in a church with around 100 Asian people. In both cases, I was received warmly and treated well. But I still felt very, very subconscious.
I've heard it said that some minority people cannot go through their day without being aware of their race. Is this is a common experience? Is it more of an issue if they live in an area where they are in the distinct minority, or is it true even if they live in an area populated with many people of their same race?
This is interesting, Bus-Man. Once we were near Times Square at a comedy club where the concierge assured us we would not be "out of place", but we were the only whites there. Nothing was negative, but it was a different experience and made me think about how it feels to be a minority. The comedian singled us out for good-natured ridicule!
Now it is a constant awareness since we are in a Latin country. Though I never sense any resentment, I worry about it a bit. It is consciousness-raising to now be the minority.
Hello there. I'm a white person, and in general I can make it through the day without really giving this fact any thought. I mean, it's not that my skin color isn't obvious; it's just that's not something that I dwell on.
But there have been times when I've been in situations where I've been the only white person present, and I have felt VERY self-conscious of my race. Keep in mind, I'm not talking about situations where I might actually be in danger (though, sadly, there have been a few of those too); but rather, situations in which it seemed very unlikely that anyone would wish me any harm. Once, my friend and I were the only two white people in a church filled with something like 400 black people. Another time, I was the only white person in a church with around 100 Asian people. In both cases, I was received warmly and treated well. But I still felt very, very subconscious.
I've heard it said that some minority people cannot go through their day without being aware of their race. Is this is a common experience? Is it more of an issue if they live in an area where they are in the distinct minority, or is it true even if they live in an area populated with many people of their same race?
Yes, I'm black and I'm always aware of it. It doesn't always matter, but it's not something that I forget about.
Well as a white dude living just off an ivy league campus, the closest I come to feeling like the odd person out is when I walk through the campus on a day when class is in session and half the people I encounter are Asian*. Compared to what many minorities have to put up with, I have nothing to whine about. My far bigger problem is that 100% of the students are about 40 years younger than me ;-) So I feel old more than anything else.
I suspect if you took any random person you would find there is something -- their race, their age, their weight, their hair -- something -- that they are excessively aware of because of comparing themselves to others or to some useless and irrelevant ideal.
* Actually 19% of the undergrads are Asian, but more of them live near my area of the campus.
No. I'm white. I grew up in an all white small town and moved to an area that is very diverse. At first I thought about race a lot when I saw a non white person. I'm back to not thinking about race anymore.
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