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Post by M~ on Jul 17, 2016 0:37:47 GMT
These past weeks we've been talking about white privilege, minority experiences and understanding each other.
Which got me thinking . . .
What do you do to better understand minority groups? Do you mentor? Do you watch or read news with an international focus. CNN En Espanol? BBC? Univision? Do you have friends who belong to minority groups and talk to them regarding their experiences? Do you speak a foreign language and speak with native born people? Do you read AA literature or history or Hispanic literature or history?
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Post by lucyg on Jul 17, 2016 0:49:23 GMT
Me (Jewish), I married a Latin American man, and then I got myself a half-Asian grandson. I guess I will have to marry him off to a black girl and we will have almost all the bases covered. Okay, apologies for being a smart-aleck.
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Post by M~ on Jul 17, 2016 0:53:19 GMT
Me (Jewish), I married a Latin American man, and then I got myself a half-Asian grandson. I guess I will have to marry him off to a black girl and we will have almost all the bases covered. Okay, apologies for being a smart-aleck. Right? A+!
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Post by Merge on Jul 17, 2016 0:55:50 GMT
I'd say, but I don't want to be accused of being condescending.
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Post by M~ on Jul 17, 2016 1:00:06 GMT
I'd say, but I don't want to be accused of being condescending. Not even if I order a serenade for you?
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valleyview
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,816
Jun 27, 2014 18:41:26 GMT
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Post by valleyview on Jul 17, 2016 1:03:36 GMT
Me (Jewish), I married a Latin American man, and then I got myself a half-Asian grandson. I guess I will have to marry him off to a black girl and we will have almost all the bases covered. Okay, apologies for being a smart-aleck. Our sons married outside of our culture, so all of our grandchildren are biracial with dual citizenship. DH and I have learned some new language with bilingual grandson. The others hear mostly English, but DGS attends a multi-cultural daycare. We are very aware of whose lives matter, and how important it is to build bridges.
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Post by gmcwife1 on Jul 17, 2016 1:14:16 GMT
Me (Jewish), I married a Latin American man, and then I got myself a half-Asian grandson. I guess I will have to marry him off to a black girl and we will have almost all the bases covered. Okay, apologies for being a smart-aleck. You sound like me My mom is half Mexican, I married a Puerto Rican, my ds's gf of 7 yrs is Mexican, our dd's boyfriend is Chinese, my dog breeder is black, her mom is black and Japanese and the co-workers I hang out with are Bulgarian, Philapino, Hawaiian, black and white. I love learning about other cultures, customs, traditions and foods. My mom hated being Mexican so I didn't know anything about our culture. I lived in San Diego for two years. I dated a Mexican, that was born in Guadalajara, for 7 yrs, so I've learned a lot about my own ethnic culture.
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Post by chaosisapony on Jul 17, 2016 1:27:11 GMT
These past weeks we've been talking about white privilege, minority experiences and understanding each other. Which got me thinking . . . What do you do to better understand minority groups? Do you mentor? Do you watch or read news with an international focus. CNN En Espanol? BBC? Univision? Do you have friends who belong to minority groups and talk to them regarding their experiences? Do you speak a foreign language and speak with native born people? Do you read AA literature or history or Hispanic literature or history? This topic has been on my mind since I first read about white privilege here. I've really struggled with the concept because what I see on a day to day basis in my life is by far more class based than race based. In fact, the poorest of us in my community tend to be white while the wealthiest, seemingly most "privileged" group would be Indian (from India, not Native American). However, as I have been analyzing and watching things more closely some things have definitely stood out. Probably the biggest thing that has happened was to my friend B's brother. He is Mexican and met and married a Filipino woman. When the woman's family found out they were dating they told her they don't date "dirty Mexicans" and demanded she break up with him. She didn't and they kicked her out of the house, she was 19. It's been 6 or 7 years now since she has had contact with her family. They are happily married with an adorable little girl. When B was telling me the story my jaw about hit the floor, I couldn't believe that this day and age there were still people that felt that way about dating outside of their own race. My coworker insists that all east Indians are Hindus and calls them "doodles". I didn't get it and asked her why. She said "Because that's how they talk. Everything sounds like doo doo doodle". Another jaw dropping moment. A 36 year old white woman not only thinks this is acceptable but doesn't understand why it is rude, hurtful, and inappropriate. I at least got her to accept that Hinduism is a religion, not a race and there are many religions represented among our local East Indian population with most of them being Sikh. Ages ago when I was a little kid we moved around a lot. It was always hard making friends at new schools but as a lower middle class white kid I didn't have too many problems. The last elementary school I attended I started mid year. When I arrived for my first day everyone was outside playing before school started as usual. When I walked in I saw a small group of girls my age playing with a ball. They lost control of it and it bounced over towards me. I grabbed the ball and returned it to them, hoping to make friends with them. As I walked over one of the girls shouted at me "Give me the ball you stupid little Mexican girl!" I didn't bother to correct her, I felt so insulted and so... small. It was very demeaning and that memory has stuck with me my entire life. I would like to think in the 20 years since that happened we've come a long way, but maybe as the above two examples show, we haven't. I realize this in no way answers your questions but the threads here have definitely had an impact on me.
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Deleted
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Apr 28, 2024 21:12:55 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2016 1:51:21 GMT
Me (Jewish), I married a Latin American man, and then I got myself a half-Asian grandson. I guess I will have to marry him off to a black girl and we will have almost all the bases covered. Okay, apologies for being a smart-aleck. My friend's grandchild is black, white and Asian. And adorable!
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Post by seikashaven on Jul 17, 2016 1:53:58 GMT
I am the child of immigrants. I live in a largely East Indian neighbourhood. I work in an engineering firm that is incredibly diverse in terms of employees culture, race and language. And I'm always excited by other people's customs, food and practices.
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raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,095
Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
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Post by raindancer on Jul 17, 2016 1:57:26 GMT
I spent the last 6 years studying public health. I now know that I know almost nothing about different cultures and even with all of the research and program design and studying I've done. I've barely uncovered an inch of the iceberg.
So I keep an open mind, continue to do my part through listening to what people are saying and avoiding putting my preconceived ideas onto them.
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Post by femalebusiness on Jul 17, 2016 2:08:04 GMT
I'm so white that if I lay in the snow I'd disappear but I am Mexican by injection.
I have seen up close and personal how cops and ignorant white people treat brown people and it ain't pretty. The love of my life is Mexican and some of the shit he has tolerated with grace and dignity you would have to have experienced to believe.
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scrapaddie
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,090
Jul 8, 2014 20:17:31 GMT
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Post by scrapaddie on Jul 17, 2016 2:08:18 GMT
I am studying Spanish, and I have worked on habitat trips in central America four times. I also volunteer and work with homeless families, of all colors religions and backgrounds, etc.
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Post by lumo on Jul 17, 2016 2:15:03 GMT
We send our daughter to a very racially diverse magnet school, both for their arts program and the diversity she's exposed to there.
DH is a first-generation American on his mom's side...she was a Russian immigrant to a Canada during WWII. As DD grows up, we're going to ensure she knows she family history and why her family immigrated.
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RosieKat
Drama Llama
PeaJect #12
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Jun 25, 2014 19:28:04 GMT
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Post by RosieKat on Jul 17, 2016 2:38:25 GMT
This is one of those threads that is difficult to answer without sounding ignorant. For example, this truth - "My best friend is from Kenya" sounds too much like "Really, I have black friends!"
I will share that one thing I enjoyed when I was working was when we'd have our international potluck. We had so many people from so many different countries and backgrounds that it was always an amazing feast. (My contribution was usually red beans and rice, lol.) We had people from all areas of the US, and then folks from (off the top of my head, and this was over 10 years ago) Morocco, Jordan, India, Sierra Leone, the Netherlands, Russia, Iraq, Turkey, Mexico, Philippines, Spain, and I'm sure a ton more that I'm forgetting. There was always such pride among the people who participated, so I never feared the potluck germs!
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scrapbug
Full Member
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Jun 26, 2014 0:11:46 GMT
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Post by scrapbug on Jul 17, 2016 2:41:19 GMT
I live in a 97% hispanic city and have lived here for 9 years. So - yeah, I have a pretty good understanding.
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Post by 950nancy on Jul 17, 2016 2:44:20 GMT
We had our children go to the district we taught in. My oldest child was in high school before he realized he only had one white friend. I don't think that is necessarily cultural awareness, but I love the fact he didn't realize that he was the white friend (of everyone else).
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katybee
Drama Llama
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Jun 25, 2014 23:25:39 GMT
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Post by katybee on Jul 17, 2016 2:54:24 GMT
I'm a teacher in a very diverse district. I've learned so much from my families--especiallyMmy students--over the years.
Also, I've been lucky enough to live in very diverse communities over the years. The best way to gain understanding is through true friendship, I don't seek out these friends in order to learn more about their cultures. I seek out friends, and by doing so learn about their cultures. I love the things we have in common, and I love the differences!I don't want everyone to "assimilate." How boring would that be?
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Deleted
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Apr 28, 2024 21:12:55 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2016 3:02:43 GMT
I work in an international office. The full time staff is mostly caucasian but everyone has extensive travel and living abroad experience. There are also a few who were raised in other countries. The part time staff changes every semester but right now comes from Morocco, Saudi, India, Brazil, Russia, Malaysia and Cameroon.
It is hard to spend 9 hours a day in that environment and not develop some cultural awareness. My son is married to a Japanese national. Neither one of them plan to give up their respective citizenship.
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Deleted
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Apr 28, 2024 21:12:55 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2016 3:14:32 GMT
This is not at all a comprehensive list of the cultural awareness in my life but one of the best things I have done is participate in a church community that believes deeply in the adoption of orphans. In my very small circle of friends, in white bread upper middle class East Texas, there are thirty two adopted children from nine different countries. I can't adopt but if we could, we would be right in the thick of it too.
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Post by dualmaestra on Jul 17, 2016 3:38:38 GMT
I'm Mexican and grew up in a very mixed community. I remember my best friends in elementary school were another mexican girl, an african american and a caucasian. Of course that neighborhood has changed significantly over the years, with it no being probably 90% latino.
It my first school, my best teacher friends were Japanese. Over the years I've had many friends of different nationalities. I've learned from them, and I hope they've learned from me.
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Post by workingclassdog on Jul 17, 2016 3:49:17 GMT
These past weeks we've been talking about white privilege, minority experiences and understanding each other. Which got me thinking . . . What do you do to better understand minority groups? Do you mentor? Do you watch or read news with an international focus. CNN En Espanol? BBC? Univision? Do you have friends who belong to minority groups and talk to them regarding their experiences? Do you speak a foreign language and speak with native born people? Do you read AA literature or history or Hispanic literature or history? It's funny... a girlfriend of mine and her daughters and granddaughters are all friends of mine (they are black).. she and I worked together (and hang out together) for a long time and just built up a good relationship. Color has never been an issue or really brought up unless we are discussing something and she wants my point of view or I want her point of view. But she doesn't really buy into all this Black Lives Matter (or her daughters that I know of).. she just simply states.. I'm black. I'm not African American, I'm not this that or the other.. My skin is black and that is what it is. I'm a black American. I love her to death and we get along famously and in fact my mom can't tell us apart on the phone. She says it is her white voice and I say it must be my black voice. and we laugh and it's not a big deal. I also live in a town where there are tons of Mexican and Hispanic people (from whatever Hispanic country they are from) and again I am friends with a lot of them and it isn't a big deal. They talk openly to me and and I talk to them... we sometimes discuss differences and again no big deal. My Hispanic friends are the first to make fun of something they do that is considered cultural.. but they laugh at me if I do something that is considered cultural for me. We get along and in fact if everyone could be like this it would be such a great world.
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Post by *KAS* on Jul 17, 2016 4:06:20 GMT
My high school boyfriend was black and lived in low income housing. I spent a ton of time with him and his family, even though my family didn't accept it. He grew up in the hood, then went on to play in the NFL, then that ended rather quickly and then he got into trouble and ended up in prison. He's out now and has changed his life around. We are still friends to this day. If you look at his history on the surface, people would think he was a bad person. I just know him differently than most people. I see the good in people. Sometimes to my own detriment.
My high school was about 50/50 black/white, and some of my closest friends were black, so I learned through them. One guy I adopted as my 'brother' and my parents called him 'son' (interesting given they didn't want me dating a black guy, but were fine with being super close friends!)
I then dated a few black guys in college and after. I haven't in a long time - 10+ years, but doing so over the years gave me a different perspective I think.
Now I volunteer at a food pantry and I also work with youth of many different backgrounds through work, so just through natural experiences I guess. I don't bury my hand in the sand, especially as a southerner. Nor do I think that I'm superior. I love hearing from people different than myself.
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Jul 17, 2016 4:28:29 GMT
These past weeks we've been talking about white privilege, minority experiences and understanding each other. Which got me thinking . . . What do you do to better understand minority groups? Do you mentor? Do you watch or read news with an international focus. CNN En Espanol? BBC? Univision? Do you have friends who belong to minority groups and talk to them regarding their experiences? Do you speak a foreign language and speak with native born people? Do you read AA literature or history or Hispanic literature or history? I've worked with low income families for a long time of all different ethnicities. (Community grant writing, organizing, schools, arts) I've continually mentored and volunteered. We have friends and family of many different ethnic backgrounds. I've learned several languages as a working adult. One of the most significant is keeping active within our community. We are lucky enough to be very culturally diverse, and through work and even more so the arts, not a week goes by that our family is participating in something community supportive--and a lot of it is community talks. (Last week the talks were about black & white BLM and white privileged).
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Post by PNWMom on Jul 17, 2016 5:24:10 GMT
I am white and was raised in a rural area and remember very specifically the first time I met a black person (I was 15).....then I went to college at a very small private school on the Oregon coast and met my (black) husband the first day I moved into the dorms. That was almost 21 years ago.
What have I done to raise my cultural awareness? My husband and I have conversations all the time (like, at least a few times a week) about racial attitudes and our perceptions of different things going on in the world. I made a point in college to take diversity classes (African Americans in the Pacific Northwest; Geography and cultures of Oceania; African American History since the Civil War; the Civil Rights Movement; Race, Class and Gender).
I work with a very diverse group of people, and have been there for 15 years. I have had extensive conversations with one of our hospital aide's about Islam and her beliefs/practices (why she wears the hijab, lots of teachings/things her religion teaches). I have a longstanding, ongoing dialogue going with a Vietnamese RN I work with, where he tells me minute details of life in Vietnam, along with the incredible story of how he and his family came to the US, and I am his 'go-to' person to explain subtle US practices that he finds confusing. We celebrated a few months ago when he realized that he has now been in the US longer than he lived in Vietnam. He's a hoot--he and his wife and two little kids go on a road trip every summer and are seeing all the National Parks and monuments.
I work with nurses/aides/therapists/social workers, etc from Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, The Philippines, Samoa, Portugal, Canada, India, Latvia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Cote d' Ivoire and Nigeria (probably more, but that is what I remember off the top of my head). We have the most diverse, awesome potlucks with dishes from all around the world.
I love geography, so I play around with maps and atlases and am addicted to jetpunk.com quizzes--I can finally label all the countries on a map of Africa and name all 196 countries of the world (but they cheat a bit and lay them out alphabetically as you answer them, so it is easier to figure out which country you miss). I google different countries and cultures to learn more about them--I had a patient with the last name Sherpa, and learned with a little research that Sherpa is a surname, a culture, a language, and an occupation. I love learning things like that and broadening my knowledge base.
Basically, this white girl from the boonies puts forth a decided effort on a daily basis to understand and learn more about different cultures and ethnicities. I have been very aware of the few situations where I was around a large group of people and was the only white person there. That does not happen often in this country (especially in very white Seattle), and I really embrace the experience of being a little out of my element and being different. I need to understand that. My kids will be seen as black, not biracial. I need to understand to the best of my ability what it is like to be African American in the US so I can help keep them connected with their roots. The white side is not going to be so hard for them to see/understand, but they need to know both.
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Post by coaliesquirrel on Jul 17, 2016 12:48:42 GMT
I don't go out seeking alternate cultural experiences (unless you think going out to our favorite Mexican restaurant weekly or more often qualifies!), but I've got a Chinese friend whose husband is Jewish - our friendship arose naturally at work. I think the main thing I do, though, is listen to other perspectives and believe people when they relate their experiences (not try to convince them they weren't discriminated against or tell them they're imagining bias). I know I will never truly understand what it's like to be in their shoes, but I do listen and try to keep it in mind, and sometimes even ask questions respectfully. One of my favorite things about this board is the diversity of perspectives and being able to learn from what others have to say.
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Post by secondlife on Jul 17, 2016 13:18:40 GMT
I live and work in a very diverse county. My immediate neighbors are Korean, Indian, Pakistani, and a little Chinese, and of very mixed income. Countywide we speak over 90 languages at home. This is a tremendous benefit to me and my family to live in such a place.
As a librarian it's my job to understand the people I work with every day and look for ways to meet their needs.
But it is also a real pleasure to get to know people who don't look like me and learn something about their lives. This is one of the best parts of my job.
I grew up where there was zero diversity. We had one Jewish family in our town and there was one black person in my whole school. I knew that I wanted my family to live where there were lots of different lives and perspectives. I've always read a variety of written work. I don't feel that I actively pursue cultural awareness so much as it is just part of our lives on a daily basis.
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kelly8875
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by kelly8875 on Jul 17, 2016 13:26:07 GMT
I live a predominantly white American, middle aged woman life. But, I think I'm pretty aware to other cultures, and cultural differences. It's just a matter or listening, paying attention to your surroundings, and being open minded. I can't obviously know everything there is to know about all people. But I know the difference between a race and religion, and can fully accept people's beliefs. I think it's easy to accept others beliefs for me, because I don't believe in any religion myself. I don't believe there is ONE God...so believe in what you want.
I just try to stay open minded.
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Post by Florida Cindy on Jul 17, 2016 13:31:43 GMT
My descendants are German and Dutch. I married a Welsh man. We live in a multicultural area. My neighbors are from Haiti, Brazil, Ukraine, Poland, Sweden, Columbia, Honduras, Canada, Jamaica, Guatemala and Mexico. One of my best friends is Hispanic. I can understand a lot more than I can speak. I volunteer at a food bank run by black people. The people who volunteer there are Jamaican, Canadian, Welsh, Italian, Italian and Jewish, Hispanic and Haitian.
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Post by anonrefugee on Jul 17, 2016 14:43:38 GMT
We concentrate on economic diversity and awareness in our home, as do many of those around us. I'm saying that because of what most seem to focus on in volunteer work, service and school presentations. Cultural diversity is an "Is". The city and schools have special days, but when neighborhoods are well integrated, it's more about festival fun and good food than an expectation of education.
But we spend most of our time and efforts talking about the economic side of things. The kids have seen a friend "lose their house". They regularly volunteer at a shelter, food pantry and (not often) at house builds and disaster clean-up crews.
We live in a town that's almost 50% non-Hispanic white, 30% Asian and Indian, 14%Hispanic/Latino (I had to look that up, 2010 data. White has likely reduced as city has population increased.) Most of the Indian population is first generation. One of my closest friends immigrated from Russia, one of my sons oldest friends is from Israel. Oh yeah, have gay relatives too (snark).
We have a low African American population though. It would be interesting to examine the reasons. There are other suburbs with similar statistics of income and education that flip these percentages. They are close to the historical black side of the city.
Most activities reflect these numbers. I wrote about Boy Scouts on another thread. Vegetarian meals are planned for campouts and automatically expected at any sports banquets or club functions. There's no discussion about it.
I have joked we have yet to travel for work, play, or education to any country where I could pass.
Soooo, to answer OP Question: it could be said we do little to actively pursue it. We naturally talk about holidays others are celebrating. We have more mature discussions about race and religion due to current events, but it's not something we have as a cause.
I think it's most important to be aware that others live differently than focus on one aspect of that difference.
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