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I was just reading a study on a city nearby to me, and the people responding felt that by having such a small percentage of others their similar race living in that town, they felt they 'lost touch'.
Im the type of person who feels just as comfortable around my race, as I would all the other major race groups here in the states. I have had periods where I had 0 Black friends for years. I dated and socialized with only Hispanics (where I was living influenced that alot). Then, I relocated a couple thousand miles and for a while, Black friends were all I had. It was one extreme to the next. Yet when I was growing up...majority of my best friends were White.
So, when I hear someone say (lets use the case of my race, Black) that we have strong 'bonds and spritual connections' (or whatever its called)....I just dont feel that. Truth be told, If I had a choice (which I do) to be around nothing but my race as opposed to another race...I'd go with the other race! I just dont feel I have to be around another Black person to make me feel whole or even to relate on the same subjects.
I know Blacks and Hispanics tend to be particularly 'cliquish' when it comes down to it, sometimes exclusively being with their own race in every aspect...dating, friends, work....I'd go crazy if I was to stick to any 1 race all my life. They all have attributes I cant stand, and things I love about them.
Are you the same way, or do you feel you have to be around other races? And if you are around other races, do you accept your own? I know some people who are open to other races, yet they hate their own! I cant stand people like that. And thats the thing about people it seems...if they are open minded to other races, they seem to turn on their own, and thats not right either. I love being around other Blacks as well, but I also venture out and connect with others also.
Maybe since I've traveled so many places, I just dont buy into all this B.S. about feeling more connection with your own race. I dont feel anymore or less 'spirtually connected' with my race than with someone who isn't.
Last edited by Joei; 02-24-2010 at 02:57 AM..
Reason: 1
Hmmm...I guess I'm really lucky to be a part of the human race - I'm always surrounded by my own race.
Homo sapiens is not a race. It is a species.
Meanwhile, if you woke up tomorrow in Riga, you would probably not feel very bonded with the people speaking Latvian out in the streets. Even though they look like the same race as yourself.
Please try to follow the thread and comprehend the subject matter, instead of cruising the site lashing out at people who use different terms than those that you prefer.
I'm white and I lived in Uganda for 2 years. I made some very dear friends there and easily bonded with them even though our cultures are so completely different. Although it couldn't be the same as being friends with someone from my own culture as I had to be careful not to use slang or make jokes that they wouldn't understand. My culture was one they just couldn't understand. Still love them though and will be friends with them for life.
I don't feel I have to be around my race to bond at all but it is obviously a lot easier and more comfortable to be surrounded by people who are like-minded or share cultural traits with us.
I do however quite like being out of my comfort zone so actually enjoy contact and interaction with people from all races and cultures.
Which is why travelling is my life-passion. It is quite possible for human beings to "bond" with others they have on the surface little in common.
I agree that human nature is to be clique-ish and we are after all very much herd animals. We find comfort in belonging to a specific group, it validates our beliefs, culture, religion etc... The "other" is always going to be looked upon with suspicion and fear mostly because we have little understanding of what is foreign to us.
It can be overcome though and hopefully at some point we will realise that deep down we are belong to the same specie. The Human genus is one which can be immensely adaptable and I personally find it sad that often we cling to our own herd for dear life missing out on wonderful experiences in the process.
Life is one great big adventure and our sheer variety of races, creeds, cultures etc... is what makes us such a fascinating specie to begin with. I prefer a polychrome world and once we take the first step in allowing others into our lives it is amazing how rewarding it can be.
I speak as someone who has travelled all over the world and stayed with many tribal people. The initial awkwardness is usually very quickly replaced by the discovery of our shared humanity and the traits which unite rather than divide us. Of course this has to be a two way street and prejudices , racism and xenophobia go both ways . When both sides can let go of silly notions about our own kind being somehow "superior" then true bonding can occur and in my experience does.
I have had fantastic encounters with people all over the world , even without a shared language. I have had fits of giggles with people in Jungles about universal things, and shared tears with others .
At the end of the day we are all humans , a fact many of us tend to forget , paralysed by fear and suspicion , maybe that we might actually all get along and find out how misguided our prejudices were.
Yes it is easier to stick with our own group but IMO incredibly tedious , intellectually unchallenging and of little interest to me.
I am white but feel no more deep connection with white people than I do with other races. Even within one own's race there is so much sheer variety in terms of philosophies, faiths, culture, education , tastes, style etc.. than it is much easier to take people as people. Some people you get on with and like others you don't. Race has little to do with it.
In many ways even within one's own race there is quite a gap between so many different people. One only has to look at the difference of ideology in terms of politics or religion to see that these are divisive enough, to add to this by judging someone on their nationality or race is simply stupid and intellectually disingenuous .
I find it better to try and put my prejudices behind and judge people on their own merit. I have made many enriching friendships and connected with people who on the surface I had nothing in common. I have also found that I am more likely to get on with an Amazonian Indian or a Berber than a Fundamentalist White Christian Palin supporter... I share more values with an Amazonian Indian as odd as it may seem.
Meanwhile, if you woke up tomorrow in Riga, you would probably not feel very bonded with the people speaking Latvian out in the streets. Even though they look like the same race as yourself.
Spanking comment.
I also feel that I would enter into the spirit of living among whatever races and cultures but only if we can easily communicate. Say, I could easily feel bonded with Chinese people if they spoke reasonably good English. But if I would be thrown into community where people speak only Mandarin, then I would probably feel kinda uncongenial.
Btw, I'm from Riga and although I share more cultural and historical similarities with, say, Poles I think I would feel much better among Americans because of the language.
If we were all the same the world would be an incredibly boring place.
Spot on !
What a tedious world it would be if we all thought the same, dressed the same, ate the same thing etc...
It never ceases to amaze me how many people "travel" around the world only to seek the same people, experiences and food they have at home... Brits on the Costa Del Sol spring to mind but I think of all inclusive resorts, cruise ships etc... when one is never out of one's comfort zone, one never interacts with the locals on a different basis than as a waiter or a maid . Tourism for those who really wanted to stay at home but needed more sun or wanted to tick things off their list of places to "see" before they died...
A polychrome world is so much more interesting and as I see life as a learning process a lot more enriching too.
Seeking only our "kind" is to me a one way ticket to "ennui-city"... There is a big world out there, why not take a chance , wander off the beaten path and explore a little...
Well, duh. The Bible says you are made after your own kind. This becomes no more obvious than when in a multiracial city, or a city like Detroit for example.
I know Blacks and Hispanics tend to be particularly 'cliquish' when it comes down to it, sometimes exclusively being with their own race in every aspect...dating, friends, work....I'd go crazy if I was to stick to any 1 race all my life. They all have attributes I cant stand, and things I love about them.
That's an interesting comment. Do you not know any whites who share these attributes? I do. I know whites who are literally on edge if they are not in the overwhelming majority in a given location--especially ENCLOSED spaces. In corporate environments, I'm often the only non-white in a room of 25 to 50 pople. A white person in the same situation would freak--generally speaking, of course. Even if they don't openly freak, the situation would be painfully uncomfortable for them. And it would show. See, they don't like the way we move, speak, dress or have those funny sounding names. Now, if I were to display said discomfort, I'd be accused of being overly sensitive, not trying to fit in and making others feel uncomfortable with my discomfort. But I digress.
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There is a big world out there, why not take a chance , wander off the beaten path and explore a little...
