Long…rambly… Possibly without a point.

[adelheide]

Well, it’s Blog Against Racism Week. At first, I thought, What the heck do I, as an educated white woman, have to say about racism? Well, plenty. First and foremost that racism has to be one of the dumbest, direst -isms around. I mean, how can you reject someone just because of the color of their skin or the shape of their features? That makes

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[adelheide]

Well, bear in mind, I grew up in California in the 70’s. It was a completely different world then. (Good grief, I sound like one of those people who say, “I had to walk uphill in the snow-both ways!-to get to school!”) The Vietnam War was still going on. We were waist-deep in hippies and Earth Children. And looming at the end of the decade, like some coked-up vulture, was disco. But we were very much the peace, love, and happiness generation. Okay, yes, we came up with pet rocks. It was all the pot, okay?

I really do like my building. The neighbors on my left are a young white couple with a toddler. Across the hall from them is a young black couple with a 5-year-old who likes to flirt. Directly across from me are an older black woman, her daughter, and her granddaughter. By the elevator is an older Pakistani couple. To my right is a young Hispanic couple. The guy had a bad habit of listening to his music too loud. The last time I had to knock on his door, I told him that the next knock was going to be from the cops. His SO was standing by the door, glaring at him, and as I left, I heard her giving him holy Hell.

I like that I have a variety of people in my building. Old, young, different ethnicities, everything. I also like going to neighborhoods in the city. Little Italy, Chinatown, Koreatown, Greektown, even Andersonville (which is now an “ethnic” neighborhood of sorts). I like the diversity and culture and everything about things outside my own experience. I had a rather generic Americana home and always looked forward to meeting new people and learning new things. And I think diversity in everything is so important and vital. I do agree with you that the homogenation of our society is a concern. We are not one identity. The people that like and want that make me nervous.