DCZards wrote:I find this debate about the habits, history and alleged innate behavior of African Americans maddeningly frustrating. Why is it that we only seem to dissect the behavior and traits of black people on this thread?
I won’t add to the debate other than to say that I am EXTREMELY proud of--and marvel at--what black folks have achieved and overcome in this country, often against odds and obstacles that most would shrink from. We are indeed a majestic people.
As to Nate’s suggestion that the races should live separate and apart: I live in upper NW DC, and spend a lot of time in downtown Silver Spring, MD, which has to be one of the most racially and ethnically diverse areas of the DMV...if not the country. I don’t get why anyone would not want to avail themselves of the rich experiences and cultural enlightment that comes from living amongst that kind of diversity. I'm sure I would be absolutely miserable living in the kind of homogenous (safe) setting that Nate seems to advocate for...where everyone walks, talks and looks like me
I've lived in Logan/Shaw/Downtown most of my adult life, and I've enjoyed so much of what this city has. For a non-port city, there has always been a wide variety of restaurants, thanks to the diplomatic corps. I certainly got more exposure to go go and hip hop (to name just a few kinds of music) and slam poetry and theater than I likely would have in Arlington. Coaching in DC Rec and church leagues and getting my *** kicked on DC courts showed me a lot about how the city game is played. Teaching at Cardoza gave me a lot of insight into the joys and sorrows of city school systems.
Living within diversity, most people don't really even have to try to very hard, as preconceptions will gradually be supplanted by concrete information. I see this among my own white family and friends; generally, those most apprehensive of
others are those with the least exposure to
others. Most people in this city, country, world are just trying to live their lives and get along, and the more people interact, without superficially defined and tacitly enforced divisions, the better for everyone.
payitforward wrote:Once, in this thread, I asked if people would talk about how they came to hold their political opinions. The response to had request was, in general, pretty negative. I still think it would increase understanding.
The above info probably speaks a little to that question, and my upbringing prepared me somewhat to seek out and experience different things. When I was younger, I never really thought of my parents as anything but my parents, but at some point I realized they were the union of a Jew and a WASP (pardon the phrasing, but that was literally how it was described in those days) and that their parents didn't really like the marriage. It was like they were all afraid of the boogeyman. I started early on distrusting prejudice.
My parents were interested in politics, and Federal employees cannot be involved in national politics, so they became very involved in Arlington politics, joining and organizing for Arlingtonians for a Better County (ABC, as they always called it) which, as my mother described it, was an organization that advocated for better services in South Arlington, then as now the poorer half of the county (south of Route 50). They frequently held meetings at our house, and though I never had a clue what they were talking about, I could see they were passionate and they sure sounded like they knew what they were talking about. Politics was something people cared enough about to devote their free time to it.
In 1968 my mother chose to support Nixon (in hindsight, I think his quasi-libertarian shtick and pledge to deescalate the Vietnam War attracted her). My father supported Humphrey. They put posters up in the house advertising their preferred choices. We thought that was funny until Nixon won and they were divorced by the end of the year. Politics breaks up families. Re the Vietnam War, over time I came to see that the escalation of that war could be attributed to both Democrats and Republicans, which contributed early on to a distrust of political parties.
My father worked for the State Department, traveled around the world, seemed to speak every language, exposed us to all sorts of food (especially East Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines), and came back from trips with pictures and stories of cultures quite unlike anything I had experienced. One summer, we had two Nigerian men stay as guests at our house, and since there were no blacks living in our community (our complex had a restrictive covenant, subsequently deemed unconstitutional), this was a novelty to me and, as I later learned, the cause of great consternation among some of our neighbors. These things, people, places, cultures, beliefs that were different and interesting to me were different and disturbing to some people.
I know that's more anecdote than insight, and it's a long time ago, but I think these early observations and experiences had a lot of influence on the way I see things now. Growing up, my better informed older sister was my guide on most specific political views, although she's a pretty straight down the line liberal today and sometimes seems disappointed that I don't join her in every position.
About the only other thing I can add is that I've always had many relatives that were conservatives/Republicans, with many relatives starting in Kansas/Oklahoma/southeast Colorado and many ending up in the central valley of California. Reagan people. That experience has taught me how to politely disagree without calling someone a moron and upsetting Thanksgiving dinner. Likewise, I'm a bit of an outlier at Jewish family get togethers if Israel-Palestine comes up.
I've seen some of these people change, so why not offer an alternate point of view? My stepfather, who was a lifelong Republican, surprised me by voicing support for Jesse Jackson, and after later voting for George W, voted for Obama twice. My mother, attracted to libertarianism, eventually abandoned the Republican party as "hopelessly bigoted" and increasingly in the thrall of Christian conservatism. She had a popular California cousin who came out, forcing a number of the California conservatives to confront their homophobia. Both my younger sisters were briefly Republicans, but appear to have abandoned the party for reasons similar to my mother's reasons.
This tome is for you, hands...
PS: A lot of the above is exactly why I engage in discussions with people on issues (race, gender, religion, to name a few) about which we strongly disagree. I don't blame anyone for faulting that approach, and maybe it's not always the right way, but it's the only way I know, and sometimes I think I've actually seen it work.
EDIT TO ADD: My mother was an engineer and a very smart woman, and she and my three sisters and my wife--all of them quite talented in their own rights--have had a great influence on the way I view the intelligence and abilities of women.
