Race issues? An irony, because race is a non-issue. People are just
people, regardless of race. People of a certain race who embody a certain
stereotype do so because they grow up believing thats how they are supposed
to be. If someone is comfortable with that, then great, that's their perogative.
But I believe that they should realize that they don't *have* to be like
that. They can be like anything they want to be. Although, how society
responds to that may influence ones decision. But if people of *all* races,
all over, believed that they weren't *bound* by race, perhaps this would
be a more tolerant, accepting, equal society. That is something we strive
for. And the way to begin that is by not defining people in terms of race,
but by defining them in terms of people in general. When I refer to someone
of a different race than my own, I don't even mention that fact, because
to me, it's not important. The *person* is important. Not what race they
are. We live in a very diverse culture. Different races should embrace
one another rather than looking down on or putting down each other.
Yes, culturally speaking, often being a certain race creates your outlook
on the world around you, the environment you grew up in, but it is up to
you to expand your outlook. What I mean is, while many people of a certain
race have in common they way they are treated by society because there
*are* so many who think in terms of race, people are still just people.
I may be unaquainted with the experiences of, FOR EXAMPLE, a girl who grew
up in a Japanese American environment, but I am also unaquainted with the
experiences someone of my own race who grew up in an environment different
that my own. Race is not te issue. Culture and environment are. And we
should aquaint ourselves with many different cultures, so that eventually,
*no* culture is alien, they are all just...human. That...is what the evolution
of our society depends on.