Connecting with someone of a different color, race or culture

When you visit other countries, you see people of other cultures in their natural habitat (for want of a better word). This gives you an insight into the natural nature of those people. The trouble is, that so many different races have chosen to live in what is basically a European culture. This causes confusion for us and them. We see them as foreigners, while they want to be accepted as being part of our culture. I think this is the main cause of what is known as 'racism'.
 
Huh? That's as clear as mud. "Different races have chosen to live......................causes confusion for us..........they want to be accepted.........main cause of racism..........

HUH? Sounds awful somehow...........please continue.
 

JaniceM said:
As the older generations (that I knew) used to say: PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE.. all that matters is how individuals live their lives and how they treat others.
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Yep! My father always stressed that our opinions about anyone should be based on that individual's words and deeds. If there is any inconsistency between the two--go with their deeds/behaviors--keeping in mind the old saying about 'i see so much of what you do i can't hear (believe) a word you say'.
 
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Lavinia said:
When you visit other countries, you see people of other cultures in their natural habitat (for want of a better word). This gives you an insight into the natural nature of those people. The trouble is, that so many different races have chosen to live in what is basically a European culture. This causes confusion for us and them. We see them as foreigners, while they want to be accepted as being part of our culture. I think this is the main cause of what is known as 'racism'.
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So you are totally ignorant of the Colonial invasion and exploitation of their countries by the European nations? The fact that 'Europeans' made clear they did not even view those people as human beings. i guess the US is NOT only country with a serious deficits in the teaching of history.
 
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feywon said:
So you are totally ignorant of the Colonial invasion and exploitation of their countries by the European nations? The fact that 'Europeans' made clear they did not even view those people as human beings. i guess the US is only country with a serious deficits in the teaching of history.
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I don't see how that is relevant to the subject. I have lived in other countries (as opposed to visiting on holiday) so I'm well aware of the attitude of white people towards other races.
The vast majority of Americans have never left their homeland so have no personal experience of seeing other races in their own countries.
 
I have met people of color who still hold a grudge over what white elites did to their particular race. But this is so true with all races that have to navigate through past predujudicies. Many people have rejectd me because of race...and I am white. People of color tend to congregate around their own kind. Of course there are all kinds of variants of that. I treat everyone one the same. If they don't want to engage....bye.
 
Sometimes people see prejudice when it really isn't. If a black person is rude to me, is it because I'm white, or maybe they are just a jerk, or maybe I deserve it?

Once long ago my wife and I parked in a spot in a drive in movie. Right after that a car full of rowdies parked right next to us. Then a black family pulled in on the other side. I pulled out to get away from the rowdies, and as I did I wondered whether the black family thought it was because of them. I suspect maybe they did.
 
Capt Lightning said:
Sometimes differences came to the surface - like between Indians and Pakistanis, or Iranians and Iraqis. Although similar in appearance, they were worlds apart in other areas.
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I went to grad school with a lot of foreign students, an interesting pair were an Israeli and an Iraqi. They were both reserve officers in their respective armies. They got on well and became friends. The Israeli finished first and at his going away party they toasted to "see you in Lebanon". Fortunately the Iraqi was able to get US residency and did not have to go back to Saddam's army, so it never happened.

I always found in the Muslim Middle Eastern countries I was in that the Jews and Muslims got on fine at a personal level. Even in Saudi I worked with a couple of Jews and that was known to the Saudis, they did not seem to mind. To get into Saudi you have to declare a religion, and Judaism is not recognized, so they must have declared some other religion on their Visas.
 
Lavinia said:
I don't see how that is relevant to the subject. I have lived in other countries (as opposed to visiting on holiday) so I'm well aware of the attitude of white people towards other races.
The vast majority of Americans have never left their homeland so have no personal experience of seeing other races in their own countries.
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Yet you think the cause of racism is people of other colors coming to Europe/UK/America not the fact that those racist attitudes existed from the colonial era? I was responding to your statement in #77. "I think this is the main cause of what is known as 'racism'.
So if my comment irrelevant...hmm....whatever...

But i have mention that even Americans and others who live for months in other countries don't necessarily really see the citizens of those places accurately for a variety of reasons. Depending on why they are there, the attitudes they bring with them and the nature of their interactions with locals
 
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win231 said:
I happen to enjoy people with different accents, languages and appearances.
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My wife and I enjoyed our twice yearly trips to the US, where we were welcomed, and some welcome it was. Could be that we have only ever been to the States that were once The Confederacy. Officially The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland remained neutral throughout the American Civil War. It legally recognised the belligerent status of the Confederate States of America (CSA) but never recognised it as a nation and neither signed a treaty with it nor ever exchanged ambassadors.
In the end, despite leaning toward the South in many ways, Britain never officially helped or recognised the Confederacy. Perhaps the largest reason was the institution of slavery, which was, by then, illegal in Britain.

Maybe it was our English accents, who knows, but I must say that wherever we went, wherever we dined, the welcome was just so emphatic. How I love the US, how I love Memphis.
 
horseless carriage said:
My wife and I enjoyed our twice yearly trips to the US, where we were welcomed, and some welcome it was. Could be that we have only ever been to the States that were once The Confederacy. Officially The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland remained neutral throughout the American Civil War. It legally recognised the belligerent status of the Confederate States of America (CSA) but never recognised it as a nation and neither signed a treaty with it nor ever exchanged ambassadors.
In the end, despite leaning toward the South in many ways, Britain never officially helped or recognised the Confederacy. Perhaps the largest reason was the institution of slavery, which was, by then, illegal in Britain.

Maybe it was our English accents, who knows, but I must say that wherever we went, wherever we dined, the welcome was just so emphatic. How I love the US, how I love Memphis.
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People all over the US are very welcoming to UK visitors and ex-pats.

Few Americans are likely aware of GB's lukewarm support of the Confederacy as it didn't play a significant role in the progress or outcome of the war.
 
StarSong said:
Few Americans are likely aware of GB's lukewarm support of the Confederacy as it didn't play a significant role in the progress or outcome of the war.
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Even few Southerners are aware since there was very little actual aid. I think UK 'support' was mostly based on the need for Southern cotton for UK textile mills which the US/Union navy blockade shut down. And maybe a little residual sting from losing to the former colony represented by the Union side for the second time less than 50 years earlier. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were staunch abolitionists so certainly did not support the Confederacy on moral grounds.
 
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As I mentioned previously, there have been Italians in my life that I really liked or love (my BFF). One I forgot to mention is Genie. Genie was a senior citizen who lived in my mother's building more than 20 years ago. My first encounter with her left me with the feeling that maybe she didn't like Black people, but as @Grampa Don pointed out, sometimes we attribute certain actions to racism and they are not. At a gathering in the senior community room, the need for a camera came up. Genie offered to go get hers. From that day on Genie was friends with my mom and I. She'd invite us to her apartment for tea and cookies. Sometimes I'd go without my mother (don't remember why that was). We had the best talks and Genie was funny! She hated the Bush family and her DIL. She told me some incredible stories about her life. I grew to love her. At some point she had to move in with her son in another state. Unfortunately, it was probably the son who's wife she hated. I'm pretty sure Genie has passed on by now but I think of her every time I pass that building.
 
One of the things I love about Atlanta is that so many people live there who are from around the world. I have made good friends there, just visiting my mother. Her neighborhood has everything you'd want in a diverse environment. I find the differences among people to be fascinating.
 

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