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Location: Everybody is going to hurt you, you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for-B Marley
9,516 posts, read 20,061,347 times
Reputation: 9419
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronzou
I'm a human. Color/race/ethnicity is just another way to keep everything separated into groups.
I don't see it that way and I doubt most others do either. If they're anything like me, they're just interested in other people and cultures. I love hearing about other cultures and where people's families came from--how they got where they are. For instance, my great grandfather, the last chief of the Tsimshian nation, brought his tribe over to Annette Island from British Columbia. Not a terribly long journey but different worlds.
I'm a human. Color/race/ethnicity is just another way to keep everything separated into groups.
I'm just me.
I agree, why in the world we have to see in terms of that stuff. People each and everyone. We can still learn of their cultures and all, but we are all HUMAN.
I'm a human. Color/race/ethnicity is just another way to keep everything separated into groups.
I'm just me.
I think Ronzou makes a good point. We're all just human. From most of the threads it is Caucasian Americans who are Christian. I'm not. I'm Jewish. People are putting each other into groups, which causes us to hate each other because we're different. That's not the right thing to do, but it's the easiest. If we all accept each other, we'll get farther than we ever had a chance of without accepting each other.
I'm a human. Color/race/ethnicity is just another way to keep everything separated into groups.
I'm just me.
Beautifully put.
I, too, am a human. I have a huge variety of ethnic identities in my background, and I could identify myself as this, that or the other thing in terms of belief system, gender, profession or other criteria, but when you get down to brass tacks, I am a human. No more, no less, just a human being.
Location: Everybody is going to hurt you, you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for-B Marley
9,516 posts, read 20,061,347 times
Reputation: 9419
Quote:
Originally Posted by sapphire-rose
I agree, why in the world we have to see in terms of that stuff. People each and everyone. We can still learn of their cultures and all, but we are all HUMAN.
You don't think anyone disputes that, do you?
Last edited by Whyte Byrd; 02-01-2009 at 08:45 PM..
I see no problem with identifying with a particular racial, ethnic, religious, or linguistic group. Creating self-selecting groups is not a problem in and of itself. However, I do see a problem with it when that gets in the way of you connecting with people with whom you have a lot in common besides what I listed above. For example, I would see it as a problem if you had nice neighbors of another race/ethnicity/religion who had children the same age as yours, enjoyed having barbeques as you do, liked skiing as you do, etc. but with whom you preferred not to associate due to the fact that their race/ethnicity/religion is distinct from yours. On the other hand, I see absolutely nothing wrong with trying to be someone's friend knowing nothing about them except that they have some kind of unchangeable characteristic like race/ethnicity/religion/language in common with you.
Personally, I rely very little on race and religion in choosing friends. Though most of my friends are Caucasian, being Caucasian in and of itself is not a criterion to which I give any value when choosing friends. Also, though I am a Christian, I am not religious and thus do not outwardly seek out Christian friends. However, I find that I do have more Mediterranean European and Latin American friends than most people do... I guess it's that I identify with that culture and feel comfortable around those who share it. Also, since I speak fluent Spanish and conversational French, I do find myself attracted to people who also speak one or both of those languages. Most of my friends speak neither of those languages, and that certainly doesn't keep them from being great friends of mine. However, when I meet people for the first time, people automatically get "extra points" if they speak one of the non-English languages that I do.
Put simply: it's fine to use race/ethnicity/language/religion as a unifying factor, but not okay to ONLY go by these characteristics when choosing friends. I have learned that some of the people who have the most in common with me grew up with a different religion or culture and have a different skin color than me. Use all of these characteristics as a unifier, but try to avoid using them as a divider.
Last edited by Marlin331; 02-01-2009 at 09:30 PM..
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Acceptance
