Post your take on cultural / racial differences and melting pot

[ThisIsWhoIAm]

What do you think of the native american + caucasian + afro american mixture for example? do you think there is a good chance that eventually people would really get along with each other? Like, will there come a time that fear and discrimination of any side will be mostly put behind by the general public, and there would be a uniting of cultures, to create one big culture? There's also the matter of genetic connections between the races. Do you think these mixed families will help bring an end to the old ways of cultural and racial separations?

You can give any example that you like, doesn't have to be the united states.

*Important to note: This thread is note about peace between countries, but peace within countries within the citizens themselves. Although feel freely to speak of anything somewhat related

 

[Sriracha]

End the idea of being separated by race/ethnicity and adopt the idea that we are separated by socio-economic class. Of course there is racial separation within the classes, but you won't see it as prevalent in the upper middle class and upper classes. They see division by education and your standing at the country club (tongue and cheek, I think you understand what I mean.)

I see more of racial separation in the lower classes. Often you will see the division because those who have more money or can do better for themselves strive to get into a middle class situation because the resources are better, such as schools (or less crime in neighborhoods.) That basically leaves the impoverished to "high-risk" schools to which no parent wants their child in attendance.

 

[MindYourHead]

There is always talk about how we need to be blind to race, color, origin, religion, social status, hat size, etc.
Yet, we continue to place labels on ourselves and others which has the opposite effect.
It is human nature to congregate together with people with the similar traits. Seems we are naturally predisposed to segregate ourselves. There must be an evolutionary reason we are programmed to think and behave this way.

It goes to reason though that at some point after 1,000 years of all the different races of people mixing together you could end up with one race of people. How boring would that be?
Not sure if there will ever come a time when everyone gets along and lives in harmony. I'm not sure humans really want to live that way.

 

[Colt]

To be honest I feel as if almost too much emphasis is placed on race and ethnicity these days. This may just be because I'm white, but I couldn't really give less of a damn about my German heritage. I'm proud to be an American. I think that's a part of the cultural divide as well. I see so many people who seem as if they are ashamed of being American that I think they may want to relate to something that's not necessarily American.

It could also harken back to the universal need for individuation. To be a part of a group, but differentiate ourselves within that group.

 

[the]

Poor to middle class people care about race, rich people care about breeding and earning potential.

 

[Cornerstone]

Racial differences hasn't really been an issue for me since going to secondary school.
There was only one black kid in my class of 30 in primary school but it was more mixed later on in a more working-class area, too.
Nowadays, there are people of various races in all sectors of society but amongst the poor, there is a clear racial divide.

Take the 2nd city of England for example.

There is the big, bustling city centre where everybody mingles together but if you really look at the residential areas there is undeniable ghettoisation.
One ghetto is poor black, another poor south Asian (Indian/Pakistani) and there are arguably more for the 'white trash'.
Then there are working class areas, middle class suburbs and then there are places the rich live whether in the cities or in the more rural houses and estates.

Of course the lines are blurred because there is no official status like there was when the hierarchy was not purely based on money but on blood and prestige.
There is social mobility but there is also a seemingly unbreakable glass ceiling in the current culture.

 

[Nixie]

I think that it is easy to ignore your heritage if it plays no significant role in your life. Most Native Americans I know are well aware of their tribal heritage though, as am I. I take exception to the idea that because you are aware of those things that make you different from someone else that it somehow is negative. Western thinking has always supported their conclusions based in linear thinking patterns....that something is ahead or behind or first or second or on top or on bottom. Not all people see the world in such a way. I doubt that you will find many Native Americans that would wish to see the end of their tribes nor to become part of a homogenous group. Tribal identity as well as, tribal continuity are things to be strengthened and protected. Acknowleding Who You Are and Where You Come From does not mean judging others as Less Than.

 

[Tin Man]

Poor to middle class people care about race, rich people care about breeding and earning potential.

It's actually poor to middle class Americans. England was a major contributor to slave labour and yet they don't care anywhere near as much about cultural and racial differences.

 

[the]

It's actually poor to middle class Americans. England was a major contributor to slave labour and yet they don't care anywhere near as much about cultural and racial differences.

Naturally as an American I dont even consider other countries in most of my statements.

 

[bionic]

Acknowleding Who You Are and Where You Come From does not mean judging others as Less Than.

Yeah, I agree. I do not think wanting to understand and learn about your ancestry is a negative thing at all and it doesn't make me look down on other people. It just inspires me to learn more about other cultures. There is also a certain amount of pride that is valued when you come from another culture. I can appreciate that in other people who hold that pride since I hold a lot of pride in my own multi-ethnic background as well. I think everyone can get along as long as they are aware and respect the fact that not everyone is like them. I think it's unrealistic to think that one big culture will occur when each culture still practices and takes pride in their traditions. If anything, I think we should stop looking at it as cultural/racial separation but realize that everyone can co-exist together with their differences if each individuals makes the effort to cohabit.

-------------

Since I live in NYC, a mecca of the American melting pot and an international city, I experience people of different cultures everyday. Also, I notice a lot of New Yorkers do not see themselves as Americans because the majority of them are immigrants and/or they came from immigrant families. So many of them (my family included) are trying to hold onto their traditions as they try to adapt to this "American way of life". I don't even know what an "American way of life" is since the New York lifestyle is different than other places like California or Texas. Its hard to identify with people from different states when I see myself as a New Yorker, not American. So if anything, I think we're more geographically divided in the US.

Personally, I'm multi-ethnic of Puerto Rican/Italian/Irish/German. It was very important for me growing up to understand each culture I came from. My nanna instilled very traditional Italian morals in me and taught me Italian. My first language is Spanish, not English. I was so interested and inspired by my lineage that I also took it upon myself to research each side when I was younger.

Why would I not take some pride in this? Why would I not teach my future children about where they come from? It doesn't separate me from other people, it just teaches me to embrace the achievements that were made by my ancestors. If anything, this helps me to personally identify Who I Am but it does not define how I treat others.

 

[ThisIsWhoIAm]

Most of you guys were speaking of the race separation in the lower classes, and some of you were speaking about their heritage. What do you guys see in the future though?
Do you believe there's a way for people to truly understand other races/cultures?
Do you believe that eventually there will be racially divided countries / cities?
Do you believe that eventually there will not be racially divided countries and everyone will get along and be more familiar with other's cultures?

 

[Sriracha]

Do you believe there's a way for people to truly understand other races/cultures?
The only way to achieve it is by total immersion. Not everyone has the time or money to do so if they have that interest. Not all cultures would accept that individual either.

Do you believe that eventually there will be racially divided countries / cities?

There already are ... socioeconomically speaking it is called "white flight." However; this can also be attributed to any race/culture leaving an area because they no longer wish to be a minority in their community.

Do you believe that eventually there will not be racially divided countries and everyone will get along and be more familiar with other's cultures?
No.

I have some very good European friends who are dealing with this very issue. Muslim (either Somalian or Arab) refugees infiltrating into their country, not adopting the laws of their countries and consuming government resources. Their government treats the refugees better than its own citizens. The resentment is both with the way the government handles the issue and the refugees themselves. They feel they are losing their homogenous culture and want their old country back. This kind of problem exists in the USA, but in an entirely different way ... because we are a land of immigrants. The main complaint is illegals taking advantage of our government while not paying taxes. We won't "lose" our homogeneity. The USA is an awesome place, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the world. Your questions might also spark "generational" differences in answers.

 

[Apone]

It's nice to have a community and such, but when it's a culture that's inextricably bound to your race or nationality, then it's probably going to alienate other people… emphasizing it as part of your identity is like emphasizing the fact that other people don't belong. If you're okay with that then more power to you and to be honest I don't really care, but I do think that possessiveness over one's culture is a tactic that has always been used to divide people. I also think that people who identify with their own culture too strongly tend to be susceptible to things like racism and nationalism and all kinds of things that I absolutely despise.

I don't even have a culture as far as I know-- Canadian isn't exactly distinct or even very interesting (I'll admit it)… I don't even really care about hockey or whatever else we have (I don't even know how I would begin to describe Canadian customs-- there aren't any). And my heritage is a mix of a lot of different things, so I wouldn't even know where to begin with that. I did go to England once and I definitely didn't feel connected to those people, and that's probably the biggest part of my heritage.

If I was really into it, I could probably go back to Ireland or Scotland or somewhere in Eastern Europe, but I probably shouldn't write off the Native American parts… or if I was really extreme I could trace the English parts back to the Vikings who raped my great x 20 grandmother-- or maybe I could go back to the neanderthals and say that that's my culture. But I guess it's sort of a rule that if you want to identify with a culture, it has to be one that's around now… I guess I don't know anyone who would be into naked dancing and fingerpainting in firelit caves.

I also think that it's really ironic that people are so precious about their rituals and customs, as if those things never used to evolve on their own and were just frozen in a perfect state at the moment that the capitalists turned the world into a money-focused free-for-all. I'd rather just find a really nice community of likeminded people and we could have our own thing-- that would be my ideal heritage.