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Post by iamkristinl16 on Jul 17, 2016 15:54:10 GMT
I think the most important thing you can do is to get to know people and have an open mind. Understand their culture as well as their own individual experiences.
I have seen some pretty blatant racism (like the friend of a Facebook friend saying that the protesters on I94 weren't worth stopping for and he would just run them over) but there is a lot of bias that people don't see. After the Pihilando Castile shooting, there were people saying that they were waiting to get all of the facts before making a judgement--but then making comments about why the girlfriend did this and not that, or trying to justify why the officer may have shot (Castile had a long rap sheet, his girlfriend is a stripper, he looked like a robbery suspect--so of course that gives justification to be treated as such, etc). When I pointed out that she was showing bias by questioning the girlfriends intentions and actions, she did not see it. Another friend shared a video that was supposed to show his girlfriend in a bad light and justifying that it was ok for him to be shot by police (even though when you clicked on the video it said it could not be viewed due to inappropriate context). This is someone who also posts all the time about loving everyone for who they are and "not seeing color". I think there is a lot of ignorance and denial about the biases that many have (and I get that--those of us who don't have to deal with it every day don't see it as easily) but there also seem to be a lot of people who are incapable of critical thinking.
Being more able to see those biases (that we all have at some time or another--Not just white people) and working to change them is so important.
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Post by katlady on Jul 17, 2016 16:08:09 GMT
I am a minority that grew up in a predominately minority area (poverty to low-middle class). The kids I grew up with were either Hispanic or Asian. There were a few African-Americans, and even fewer Caucasians. It wasn't until I went to college that I started to have Caucasian friends. I didn't have to really seek out other cultures. My family is like the UN and our holiday meals includes Ham, Sushi, Tamales, and mashed potatoes. Religion wise, we are Christian, Buddhist and Atheist. Living in So. Cal., it is very easy to learn and mix with other cultures.
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