Ethnicity is not something you identify with white people, especially here in the South: Most white people are just considered, well, white.
No depth, no texture to their lives, they are just seen as white. But here on my vsit to New York City for the first time, I discovered something all together different: The ethnic white man.
Here in the South I had been used to the nonlinear white male; those blue eyes of his I saw as a single color, not a multifaceted spectrum of colors like they truly are. I thought they all acted the same, dressed the same.
I should have known better.
One of my best buds in Detroit is Polish; he swears by his grandma's pierogi.
He talks totally different than this other guy I met in New York, who is Romanian (and can incidentally play basketball like MJ himself) and cool as a fan.
Another acquaintance I made in New York is a Russian Jew. Just heard this group of Italian-American women having a conversation. They sounded sooo different than the Southern twang I'm used to. Not to get into archtypes or even stereotypes, but they were all different, so different from what I am used to, being raised in the South.
I am in New York (Manhattan) for the first time and I hear alot of things are segregated like the Old South up here (ethnic enclaves galore). We'll see. Everything is a bit overwhelming, but this is to be continued ...
2 comments:
I like your blogs because they are simple but still make you think.
December 4, 2008 at 11:09 AMThis one in particular is interesting...you said "not to get into archtypes or even stereotypes, but they were all different, so different from what I am used to, being raised in the South"....when in fact, this particular blog is pretty much the classic stereotype that a particular race is ALL the same.
I personally get offended when someone thinks ALL Black people are the same and look alike...it couldn't be farther from the truth. Same thing for White people.
Just like there are Black people with blue, green, brown, gray, black, hazel, etc. color eyes, same goes for White people. I guess it really is about what you are exposed to...
But then again, I grew up in California so I didn't see ONE type of ANYONE. Doesn't it feel good to see culture in EVERY race though? :) You'll see a lot being in New York...trust me...it's one big melting pot of ETHNICITY and CULTURE.
diversity if one of the main reasons why i love being aanew yorker , it was such a culturally rich atmosphere to grow up in.
December 16, 2008 at 10:18 AMPost a Comment