Prejudices
I believe that one of the shortcomings of my life is that I'm too whitebread. It really does bother me, because I wish that I had more cultural awareness. I wish I had more black friends, friends with very different beliefs, gay friends, etc.
I know two girls who are gay. I'm not exceptionally close to either of them, but I would loosely use the term friend to refer to them both. One I've met walking Otis; the other is in my education program.
They're together. Girlfriends. I find this amusing. How random is that?
I just told this story to my roommate and she looked at me like I was crazy. Which is probably true, but I really do wish I had a more diverse group of friends. One thing I sincerely worry about is raising children with the family and social network I currently have. I strongly believe that all prejudices come from a fear or misunderstanding of the unknown and unfamiliar.
White people with black friends are more likely to care about blacks' rights. Straight people with gay friends are more likely to care about gay rights. I want my kids to care about these things and I would really be disappointed in their upbringing if they carried a lot of prejudices.
In another semi-related tangent, I'd like to say that I really enjoy ABC Family's show "Switched". If you haven't seen it, the premise is that they take two kids - generally high-school age - and switch them into each others' families, schools, towns, jobs, hobbies, etc. Of course, they pick two pretty different settings. You know, like a city kid with a kid on a farm, or a Northerner and a Southerner - whatever. The result is a lot of fun, and I think it's a great way to show kids (the target audience) lots of cultural differences. Also, it's nothing like that show The Simple Life where someone comes out looking dumb. Every show is always done with complete respect for both cultures involved. I give it two thumbs up.
I know two girls who are gay. I'm not exceptionally close to either of them, but I would loosely use the term friend to refer to them both. One I've met walking Otis; the other is in my education program.
They're together. Girlfriends. I find this amusing. How random is that?
I just told this story to my roommate and she looked at me like I was crazy. Which is probably true, but I really do wish I had a more diverse group of friends. One thing I sincerely worry about is raising children with the family and social network I currently have. I strongly believe that all prejudices come from a fear or misunderstanding of the unknown and unfamiliar.
White people with black friends are more likely to care about blacks' rights. Straight people with gay friends are more likely to care about gay rights. I want my kids to care about these things and I would really be disappointed in their upbringing if they carried a lot of prejudices.
In another semi-related tangent, I'd like to say that I really enjoy ABC Family's show "Switched". If you haven't seen it, the premise is that they take two kids - generally high-school age - and switch them into each others' families, schools, towns, jobs, hobbies, etc. Of course, they pick two pretty different settings. You know, like a city kid with a kid on a farm, or a Northerner and a Southerner - whatever. The result is a lot of fun, and I think it's a great way to show kids (the target audience) lots of cultural differences. Also, it's nothing like that show The Simple Life where someone comes out looking dumb. Every show is always done with complete respect for both cultures involved. I give it two thumbs up.