Fun Diversity Training

So the diversity training went really well and we had lots of fun just being there and listening to our speaker, Eric. He was a very smart man who, instead of talking to us for 3 hours, showed us different things that we have never noticed before. I don't want to go into too much detail because I would love to share with the class if Ms. Estelle will let the small group of us who went share the experience.

Within the first 30 minutes Eric told us that he wasn't trying to make us feel guilty, that this isn't that kind of training (though it wasn't really training, just an opening of the eyes). He told us that those things were the past and this is for how we deal with things for the future. The "activities" (I'm not sure what to call them) each had a purpose that were fun but helped us realize something we'd never noticed before. He helped us experience what others deal with on a daily basis or what they have to feel or put up with during life changing events. Some things hurt even.

During one activity in particular, I felt connected to was one near the end of the session. If Melissa lets us do this in class then we can show you what I'm talking about, but I and many others felt a loss. In this activity we actually felt the loss of something important and dear to us. And the reason for this was to show people what it was like or to give you an idea of what is like for a person who comes out of the closet. At first I was angry at the loss but when he explained the meaning of this game I remembered a while back (6 years ago or so) that I had felt the same thing.

I remember having a few friends walk away from me when I came out as bisexual. I remember the girls who wanted someone to pick on, judging me and call me names for it. They told me I shouldn't even be allowed near the locker room because there were girls changing in there. It was like I became someone completely different. I was lucky though, my family didn't change at all, they still loved me for me and nothing changed that. I didn't even realize that the past bugged me that much until this training session. I hadn't even really thought about it in years. I'm not broken up about it anymore but it made me remember that and made it all the more real for what it was like for others. Others who weren't as lucky as I was.

I look forward to sharing more in class (not about personal experiences don't worry, I won't bore you with that) about the session. He has some very good lessons to teach and it would be great to share them with you all.

Fighting Whites

"The idea started among some University of Northern Colorado students as a satirical commentary on a local high school's American Indian mascot." Student of a northern Colorado University called their mascots The
Fighting Whites. Read up on it, it's really interesting.

This is their merchandise store:
http://www.cafepress.com/fightinwhite

Here is the article about them:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/647579/posts

My Personal Opinion

I'm not speaking on behalf of anyone other than myself but I find that I want to see if anyone shares my opinion. I grew up as an incredibly non-judgmental person because my parents wanted me to respect everyone as I would want to be respected. So as I've grown older I've come to realize that this had made me almost blind to racism. I don't look at a man and see how dark his skin is or see of girl of Asian decent and think that she must do well in school. I find stereotypes irritate me because I know how untrue they can be and I become angry when I hear other people's comments on a person's race. I don't understand people who can yell across a room to an Asian woman and tell her that she is wrong for being in America and that she is what is wrong with this nation now (I've had this experience happen in front of me and I was so shocked I couldn't say anything).

I first noticed that I didn't notice people's difference much when I walked by a man who had the darkest skin I'd ever seen. He was a very dark black man and the only reason I noticed was because my skin near his almost glowed because of how white and pale I am. For the first time I realized that this man was a black man where as before he was just a guy walking down the street on his way to a destination I didn't need to know. I looked around at this point and noticed how many Asian men and women were around, how many white people, how many different races where walking by. I don't say this like I had been ignoring them before and that in my mind I assumed they were all white or something crazy like that, what I mean by saying this is that these people to me where just that, people. They weren't defined in my mind by the color of their skin, they were defined by their attitude, their expressions, or maybe where they were heading. I would meet a new person and I would learn about them, ask them how they are and if they were fine then that was what they were. If they asked me how my day was going, then they were fine and nice.

I'm not sure why I feel this is important for people to know about me but after I realized how I see people compared to how others see the same people, I felt like I had something better. I felt that because I can look at a person and see them for that person then I was able to understand them better and respect them for being the person they are. I don't mind if you argue with my ideas but I'd like to think that maybe more people can look at others the way I do. Seeing people for the people they are instead of basing their thoughts on the ideas that people have added into our minds based on a person's race.