[Atheist]

I was inspired a bit by Shaddim's post about racism. It got me thinking about racial diversity in general and my experiences. I've lived and worked all over the place and almost always in large cities. After moving to Trinidad, I found myself surrounded by a majority of either African or Indian peoples. Now living in St. Maarten it's a mix of people from all over. I guess what I'm getting at is that I've discovered I like to live in a diverse population... people from all around the globe speaking a myriad of languages. With that in mind, I now wonder what it's like to live in a country with a population of people with just a single racial/cultural/ethnic background. I would find that boring to say the least. Everyone looking and sounding the same. (I suppose this may explain the fact that my partner is Trinidadian of African descent).

Anyone want to chime in here? Do you prefer a culture where everyone is kinda similar? Is it comforting in a way? I have family that are classic WASPs that are at the other end of the spectrum from myself. They like surrounding themselves with people that are very similar. They don't travel far from their homes and can't even understand why someone would want to leave the U.S. (even for a vacation).

[Laminar]

My hometown is 98.7% caucasian according to city-data.com. My college is also predominately white, as is my major. The school is taking measures to correct this, but in the process is stepping on average white males like me, and some undeserving beneficiaries are slipping through the cracks. For example - a classmate of my sister is technically 25% Filipino, so she got a full ride through college. Except she's a blond-haired, blue-eyed American.

[Eug]

Toronto has been called in the past the most ethnically diverse city in the world.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...l_temp/1/1/31/

All I can say is I'm happy with the plethora of restaurants.

P.S. A friend of mine is Swedish. Whenever her dad visits, all they do is go to restaurants. She says the Chinese (and other "ethnic") food in Sweden usually sucks.

[Doofy]

Racial diversity... a good thing for you personally?

I really can't say I notice anyone's race at all. I had a think about this not so long back and it seems I'm properly colour-blind.

[Eug]

I can't say I'm completely colour-blind. It's usually pretty easy to spot the skin tone difference between a white guy and a black guy. You'd have to be blind to be colour-blind. Err... Wait.



BTW, speaking of colour-blind: I know someone who is a Chinese woman married to a white guy (Scottish heritage). I was amused by their little kid. They're in a very white neighbourhood, and a Chinese family moved in. The kid was intrigued cuz it was the first Chinese family he had seen in the neighbourhood... not realizing that his mom was Chinese and he himself was half-Chinese.

[Shaddim]

Hell, I didn't even know that there were different races until I turned 7ish. Sure, I'd seen black and Asian people before, but I didn't see it as a "difference".

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Shaddim 

Hell, I didn't even know that there were different races until I turned 7ish. Sure, I'd seen black and Asian people before, but I didn't see it as a "difference".

I'm sorta regressing back to that.

It's like when I watch a Will Smith movie, I'm not thinking "Will Smith is a black dude" - not even subconsciously - I'm thinking "Oh hell no, kick the baddies' asses, Will".

[Eug]

Will Smith is black?

But yeah, I don't really "notice" him as black in movies, but if I were asked to identify him I'd remember that he was.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Eug 

But yeah, I don't really "notice" him as black in movies, but if I were asked to identify him I'd remember that he was.

Obviously you can identify him as black, in the same way that you can identify that Tom Cruise is short and mental, or how Rutger Hauer is a blonde dude. But you don't see it when he's in front of you - he's just a dude you're rooting for - that's colour-blind.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Toronto has been called in the past the most ethnically diverse city in the world.

The first thing that struck me when I visited Toronto is how many languages I heard even before I left the airport. It was crazy for a guy who hears about 95% English and 5% Spanish in his hometown.

My grandparents did a pretty good job of making their kids and grandkids as colorblind as possible, but it's easy to distinguish the four main groups in my area:

1. Blacks who look at you very suspiciously, thinking you might be a part of racist group 2 or snooty group 4.
2. White redneck types who come into town for Wal-Mart shopping and blaring country music through their .
3. Mexican-American (or sometimes just Mexican) laborers.
4. Black and white middle/upper class that looks down upon groups 1-3.

The church that I work up consists of all four groups, except without the disdain. We have very little division; everyone generally gets along great. It's a nice change from the racially volatile South.

But if you go to the state fair (the wife and I made that mistake last weekend), you can clearly see the divide. Groups 1-3 stick in their own little cliques, and group 4 is nowhere to be found.

[King Bob On The Cob]

I'm fine with racial diversity, but cultural? Honestly, I'm getting sick of being told that I have to respect some other culture, while at the same time hearing of my friends being abused at home due because "that's how it is back in China, Mexico, Iran, or Indonesia". Screw that. If that's what I'm supposed to support, F the muli-culturalism, join the damn melting pot. If you want to act exactly like you're in your country, well, then, just stay there. (Sorry, I just found out that one of my friend's sister got sent to the hospital by her father last night, and I'm pissed).

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

I really can't say I notice anyone's race at all. I had a think about this not so long back and it seems I'm properly colour-blind.

I'd really like to see how you do on this Implicit Association test.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

I'd really like to see how you do on this Implicit Association test.

I got bored halfway through, that's how I did.

[voodoo]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

I really can't say I notice anyone's race at all. I had a think about this not so long back and it seems I'm properly colour-blind.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by King Bob On The Cob 

I'm fine with racial diversity, but cultural? Honestly, I'm getting sick of being told that I have to respect some other culture, while at the same time hearing of my friends being abused at home due because "that's how it is back in China, Mexico, Iran, or Indonesia". Screw that. If that's what I'm supposed to support, F the muli-culturalism, join the damn melting pot. If you want to act exactly like you're in your country, well, then, just stay there. (Sorry, I just found out that one of my friend's sister got sent to the hospital by her father last night, and I'm pissed).

There was a stupid French judge a while back that was lenient on a Chinese man that stabbed his wife. The judge claimed that the stress of immigration and differing cultural norms affected his decision.

The judge was universally criticized, by the general population and Chinese immigrants alike.

Respect of cultural diversity doesn't mean acceptance of criminal behaviour. Anyone that tells you it's OK to put someone in the hospital like that because that's the norm back home is an idiot or dangerous or both.

[Eug]

Here's another one:

http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?id=607

Women’s rights and Haitian groups are outraged over a ruling by a Quebec judge sentenced two Haitian men to house arrest for the gang rape of a young Haitian woman. Judge Monique Dubreuil sentenced Patrick Lucien and Evens Sannon to 100 hours of community service and 18 months of house arrest. Also, the assailants are not allowed to contact the victim.

Prosecutor Helene DiSalvo asked for four and five years for Lucien and Sannon, respectively. The judge commented on her controversial, mild sentence, “the absence of regret of the two accused seems to be related more to the cultural context, particularly with regard to relations to women.”

Eric Faustin, director of a Haitian religious organization in Montreal said, “She’s saying it’s normal for Haitian men to carry out group rape and not feel any remorse. I find that outrageous.” Women’s rights activist Evelyne Margron condemned the ruling, “The judge is saying that Haitian women consent to being sexually assaulted. It is as false in Haiti as elsewhere. I fear that if the victim had been a white Canadian, the judge would have been less lenient.”

Like I said, respect of cultural diversity doesn't necessitate acceptance of criminal behaviour.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by Eug 

P.S. A friend of mine is Swedish. Whenever her dad visits, all they do is go to restaurants. She says the Chinese (and other "ethnic") food in Sweden usually sucks.

This is true for most of Scandinavia. The best thing about living where I am living (apart from the climate) is the insane amount of good CHEAP Asian restaurants around here. I'm talking cheaper eating out than in. The quality of the food is amazing too!

[Atheist]

I guess where I was attempting to go with this thread was more about your own personal experiences/preferences. I think I stressed the racial part of things a bit in my original post. What I was really trying to get at was how much diversity do you like in your life? I've discovered that as the years go on I seem to seek out people with different backgrounds than myself. This tends towards people of different races or ethnicities.

[- - e r i k - -]

I love ethnical diversity. Sure, we laugh at each others expense, but more diversity is good for the cultural and economic ecosystems.