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January 12, 2006, 2:00 pm PST
01/12 Racism Experiment
Quote From: szklana I totally agree. I'm multi-ethnic (and in an interracial soon-to-be-marriage, as well!), and I do have an identity. I am very proud of being who I am, and I only wish that society as a whole would be more accepting of multi-ethnic people. People who don't understand simply assume that we're all struggling to find our identities or suffer unneccesarily because we don't fit neatly into any category. Multi-ethnic people DO have a lot of issues that are unique, but a lot of it has to do with the lack of acceptance or understanding of multiculturalism or multiethnicity. We can't fill out forms that ask about our ethnicity without being confused or knowing that we'll be checking off a box that means "you don't count". It's either "choose one" or "you don't matter to us". It's no huge surprise why some multi-ethnic people are coaxed into denying all but one part of their backgrounds, and that's both annoying and sad.
It'd make my day if everyone woke up one morning and was able to be proud of who they are AND not marginalize other people based on their ethnic backgrounds. But that's impossible for some, maybe even for most. I was raised in an area where there was little or no contact with anyone other than white people. My Dad was an extreme racist until about ten years before he died. I think he was like George on your show, he finally met some African/American's and became friends with them. As I got older I came to recognise some of his beliefs that were handed down to me, so I changed my attitude. My husband and I raised our kids to accept everyone as equal, and I believe our adult children do not see skin color they only see people, some good and some bad. As I watched the show today I also wondered how it might have been if my white Swedish grandparents had been treated as different as people of color when they came to America in the early 1920's? I am half Swede and half mix, should I be labeled "SWEDISH/AMERICAN"?
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