Did you know there are people who are NOT just like you?

I spent two and a half hours in a cross-cultural awareness class this morning. Those are always such eye-opening experiences really. People who seem at least fairly smart become total ignoramuses in those sorts of classes. All under the guise of showing how open-minded they are.

For example, the instructor asked volunteers to talk about what the community they grew up in was like. One woman told how she grew up in a small, all-white town and now lives in St. Paul where one of her neighbors is Hmong. Wow! Diversity! But the real kicker was the woman who talked about growing up in White Bear Lake in the 1950s. She said there was this one black family that lived in the neighborhood and the two boys of the family went to her school and rode the same bus as she. She made a point during her story to say how "nice" those boys were 3 times and then related a story about how one time one of the boys offered her his seat on the bus. She just thought that as so NICE of him, especially during the 50s. The fact that she proclaimed their "niceness" like it was some sort of anomaly just amazed me.

Another exercise involved the instructor showing us a video which showed all sorts of cultural breakdowns if the world were to be reduced to just 100 people. So, like, 57 of those people would be Asian, 70 of them would be non-Christian, and 11 of them would be gay. This last was a bone of contention for a couple of my classmates. One gentleman didn't believe that many people would admit. "Why would they?" he exclaimed. When I mentioned that some people are actually open and unafraid and completely proud of their sexuality because there's nothing wrong with being gay, he actually scoff and giggled with the person next to him. Another woman pointed out that being openly gay is not as acceptable to other cultures, so she was suspicious of that 11 number as well. To which I replied, "Any suspicious might be with how LOW that number is since you don't believe others would actually admit to homosexuality." That kind of shut them up, but I earned no cool points from them. Not that I want the kind of cool points handed out by homophobes.

I also stepped onto my little high horse about the phrase "melting pot". I absolutely abhor that phrase. No matter what Schoolhouse Rock proclaims, this nation will NEVER be a melting pot. Anyone who expects everyone in the US to take on one face is just delusional. While we might share some general cultural norms that others associate with being American, there are a number of unique differences between groups of people in this country that those who live here should recognize. Those differences may take some influence from the culture at large, but ultimately, the group dynamic remains. Much like in a stew, carrots don't become onions just because they're cooked in the same broth. The carrots might take on some of the onion's flavor and vice versa, but it's still a carrot. Meanwhile the broth itself takes on flavor from every meat, vegetable, herb, and spice that gets tossed in. And it's delicious because of it! Likewise, America is awesome BECAUSE it's so diverse, not in spite of it as your Rush Limbaughs of the world might like to think.

Anyway, that damn class gave me a pounding headache right above my left eye, at the bridge of my nose, and behind my right eye. I wish I could leave now.