I thought of something last night that I had long forgotten

[senseandsensibility]

It was a nice memory, and I want to share it with any DUers who might be interested or like me, tired of all bad news we are pelted with daily.

Here goes: more than thirty years ago I was very naive, beginning teacher who showed up for her first job in an inner city school. I had grown up in a fairly diverse area, but at this particular school I was decidedly in the minority (I'm white) and all the administrators were Hispanic and spoke Spanish. I love them, the school, and the students and within a week or two I knew that I had found the right school and the right school district. I was happy and open-minded in a way that I miss.

One day I came into the office after school and everyone was speaking Spanish. They greeted me in English, and then resumed their conversation in English. I said go ahead and keep speaking Spanish. I like to listen and try to understand. They said no, politely, and kept up the conversation in English.
Later, one of the Administrators explained that they liked to speak Spanish among themselves, but if anyone who was monolingual came in, they switched to English so that it wouldn't seem as though they were talking about them. I was so impressed with this thoughtfulness. And I was so impressed with their ability to switch effortlessly between languages.

As I continued teaching in that community over the decades, I learned so much from the different communities that lived there.
It really was an honor to teach there. That's why the shooting in San Jose, CA hit me so hard this week. That school was very close to the scene of the killings. The victims seemed so familiar.
I wish that everyone had the chance to live and work in such a place. I feel that there would be less hate in the world.

[CrispyQ]

1. My Hispanic friend invites me to her family events

& always makes a special pot of vegetarian refried beans cuz she knows I'm veg. Homemade, not out of a can.

A few years back a relatively new DUer posted that he'd always been a conservative, a republican, without question. Then he had a chance to travel abroad. When he returned, it didn't happen overnight, but over the next few months he came to question the way he'd viewed the world & realized he'd turned into a liberal.

We need to build a bigger table, not a stupid wall. (Somewhere on the internet someone has said that much more eloquently.)

[MyOwnPeace]

3. THAT is GREAT!!!!!!!

"We need to build a bigger table, not a stupid wall...."

[calimary]

18. OUTSTANDING comment!

Hope to see it on bumper stickers everywhere!

It’s REALLY good!

[senseandsensibility]

4. Isn't Hispanic culture wonderful?

You're lucky to have such a good friend.

[CrispyQ]

43. Yes, & yes! -nt

[halfulglas]

16. I've always been a Democrat but became more liberal after traveling abroad.

In the 1980's we stayed with our exchange student's family in Germany for 3 weeks. They hosted us in their home for part of the time and helped us plan rail and car trips to a number of the cities. Versus planned tours you learn much more when staying with the local populace because you can exchange ideas and ask questions. They will be polite but usually honest with you. Like "I can't believe you have to return to work so soon after having a baby," etc. For my part I couldn't believe how much time off they got for everything. Only one of the reasons US quality of life is so much lower than many countries on international scale. It was an eye opening trip in so many ways.

If a few people were rude to us, it made us learn more of why they felt that way, not just say these people hate us.

On the other hand a few camping trips in the 90's across the US in the 90's impressed me with how nice our fellow Americans are for the most part but woefully uneducated in our own history or geography. Many people in the midwest and west feel the people on the coasts ignore them and look down on them but they often think the east coast is New York and Washington, D.C. In conversations at the campgrounds trying to explain in conversations where we were from they couldn't pick out cities in Pennsylvania or Maryland, etc. Trying to explain where the town I lived was near (a city) would just bring a questioning look, then I would suggest another bigger city would still bring another huh. Many times didn't know where a state was.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is liberal sometimes means being more open and curious, wanting to know more. Not being afraid of change because change can mean growth.

[senseandsensibility]

28. I agree

Their ignorance is often born of lack of curiousity and fear of the unknown. The more that these qualities are fed by FAUX news and others, the worse it gets. It's hard to know what to do about it.

[CrispyQ]

38. We need a rural/urban exchange program here in the States.

I can't believe we haven't done something like this before, except that the powers that be don't want us working toward uniting & prefer to have us fighting & tearing at each other.

[GulfCoast66]

34. That DU member might have been me! I posted that several times.

Now, I was never a crazy evangelical conservative but bought into the whole Reagan small government bullshit.

My first European trip was a very extended work trip to Italy. 6 weeks and pre-euro. 9 more trips have followed. All but one not work but long vacations.

It took way more than a few months and Obama to finally complete the conversion. I now call myself a Social Democrat. Not to be confused with Democratic socialist.

There are a good many ex-conservatives on DU. We often have the zeal of converts!

I hope you have a meaningful Memorial Day holiday.

[CrispyQ]

39. Thank you for posting!

I don't recall if it was you or not, but the post made an impression, so keep telling your story!

[seta1950]

41. You said it perfectly

Thanks

[MyOwnPeace]

2. Beautiful perspective........

to actually appreciate the diversity and be surrounded by others that understand it and work to be 'inclusive.'

Sadly, you have given an example of the TRUE 'Make America Great Again' desire - and one that is the polar opposite of what IQ45 and his followers have in mind....

[senseandsensibility]

5. Absolutely.

Very well said. I think more of us with these experiences need to speak up, although sometimes we don't have a receptive audience.

[llmart]

15. I speak up and share my experiences whenever I can.

I worked at a university in faculty hiring and I met people from all over the world on a daily basis. Prior to that I'd worked mostly in huge corporations at a middle management level where I almost always worked with only white people. I never really liked my job at corporations but could never put my finger on it other than everyone seemed so uptight and conservative, aka boring. Some of the faculty I met at the university were here doing important research in various areas such as medicine, technology, engineering. Some were musicians in our big city orchestras and taught students in a specific instrument. Many times I met their families too. It was absolutely the best job I had but I didn't come to it until my 60's and I retired from there. I learned so much from the people I met. I was always a liberal so it didn't really change that, but it did reinforce my believing that all over the world people are basically very similar. They love their families, their children, want fulfilling work and to follow their passions, etc.

This is why students who go to state universities oftentimes become liberal if they aren't already. They find out that the world is much larger and more interesting if it's diverse.

[Diamond_Dog]

6. What a nice story!

Thank you for sharing it.

[senseandsensibility]

13. Thank you for saying that.

It was an emotional release for me to write it. I had tears in my eyes throughout.

[Amaryllis]

22. I had tears by the end...I taught developmental English and ESL at communiy college level and loved

the diversity. It really taught me to see what we have in common rather than how we are different.

[senseandsensibility]

31. Absolutely.

When people have no experience with others different than themselves, they believe things like FAUX news. I'll bet you were a great teacher!

[Amaryllis]

44. ONe of the things i often did was write a sentence on the board and have students from different

language groups tell/write how it would be in their language...different subject/verb order, no articles in Japanese, right to left in Arabic, etc. We all enjoyed that and it led to interesting discussions.

[Hekate]

7. KnR

[HUAJIAO]

8. Did you learn to speak Spanish?

[senseandsensibility]

14. Let's just say my Spanish improved.

I made efforts throughout the years, like studying a Spanish/English dictionary and even watching novelas on Telemundo. I got to where I could understand most of what was said in casual conversation. But really learning a new language as an adult,, is difficult as I'm sure you know. It would have taken an immersion experience, such as my brother in law who moved to South America and lived a family for a summer.

My Hispanic co-workers were impressed that I was trying, though. They never gave me a hard time. As the years went by, the population and staff changed and the number of different cultures and languages increased. I got a special credential for teaching ESL, which did not require bilingualism.

[malaise]

9. What a beautiful post

Rec

[senseandsensibility]

29. You're so kind!

[Warpy]

10. I've always gone for the most diverse areas

Boston was a port of entry. NM has northern Europeans at a lower percentage than Hispanos. I worked in health care, meaning I worked with people from all over the planet as colleagues and patients every day. Some people are very uncomfortable with intercultural friction. I've always thought it made life more interesting, like the little bit of salt in the chocolate cake.

I'm not surprised your friend came around. It's the reason big cities tend to be liberal, lots of interaction with people who don't look like us or always think the way we do.

[yonder]

11. Great post.

[erronis]

12. This is a nice memory and I appreciate your sharing. Multilingualism is also a threat

to many "americans" that can only speak one dialect of english, and usually poorly.

So many countries and peoples around the world are comfortable switching between languages and dialects. Their brains have been exercised and it also shows in other capabilities such as business acumen, empathy, appreciation for art, and love of diversity.

[seta1950]

42. Multilingualism is a gift

I am multilingual (5) and am very fortunate to live in Southern California, we learned all these languages from kindergarten so it was quite easy.

[Stinky The Clown]

17. Thank you!

[NBachers]

19. I love swimming in the multicultural soup of the San Francisco Bay area. I am truly fortunate.

I also love my beloved hometown on the Erie Canal in western New York. But, when I go back there, it’s still pretty much all Euro. After a while I start looking around and saying to myself, “Waitaminnit, where’s everyone else?”

[BobTheSubgenius]

20. Many years ago, I took a train trip across Canada. In Alberta, a bunch of teenagers boarded,

and I hung out with them for the rest of the trip. I remember being so impressed by them - me with English and very halting French, and all of them being fluently tri-lingual; English, French and Ukrainian.

[Mr.Bill]

21. I grew up in San Jose.

I went to a high school that was 49% hispanis (mostly Mexican) and 39% black. I looked like Opie Taylor. I wouldn't trade my immersion into such diversity for anything.

[senseandsensibility]

23. Yeah, I'm so white

I'm transparent, yet I felt very welcome there. It's so odd how others react completely differently to those unlike themselves. The recent shooting in San Jose has made me relive these memories.

[Mr.Bill]

24. In my 20s, when I was in the workforce

and the wave of Vietnamese immigrants arrived in Santa Clara county and many started working side by side with us, (I worked in the printing industry) it was easy to tell which of my co-workers went to schools in the wealthier areas that were almost all white. They had little to no adeptness at interacting with people of other cultures, sometime with ugly results. It's a skill I pride myself in having, and I learned it in East Side San Jose in the 60s.

I never had kids of my own, but if I had I would have tried to raise them in a diverse neighborhood. The food, the culture, the languages and the family structures are nothing but enriching.

[hunter]

37. I grew up in a 99% white, mostly affluent, city.

My wife and I made a very deliberate decision not to raise our children in a similar environment.

We did it for idealistic reasons but it turned out to be a good economic decision for our children as well.

As adults our children enjoy working with people from all over the world and all sorts of U.S.A. communities. They are comfortable anywhere they travel. Their friends are diverse.

Many kids in my hometown were not so lucky. They'd wreck their cars as teenagers and their fathers would by them new cars. Their parents were always there to bail them out, even for crimes like rape or manslaughter that would get a black kid sent to prison for decades. Etc..

Those who survived and never experienced the world as something other than privileged tourists are some of the most messed up people I know, even as "successful" high income adults.

It must be fucking sad to live in a McMansion and feel such spiritual emptiness that you seek solace in some prosperity gospel church where everyone drives a nice car, wears expensive clothes, and looks just like you.

My siblings and I probably got lucky in that respect. My parents are artists who had day jobs and more children than they could comfortably support. I don't think any of us imagined we'd stay and put down roots in the land of affluenza. None of us did, including my parents.

[Atticus]

25. You are definitely "good people". nt

[senseandsensibility]

32. Back atcha!

[BigmanPigman]

26. My classroom was always multi lingual

with most of the kids equally divided into thirds (Asian, Hispanic, White). I loved the variety of languages and cultures that I got to learn about and experience. As a teacher I learned a lot. The kids often translated for their parents at conferences. There was a constant stream of party invitations at their homes...they were the best part of the job, especially the Filipino parties. Yummy food!

[senseandsensibility]

27. I remember when I was a student teacher

(still in college) the students threw me a good-bye party on my last day. The Filipino students brought a delicacy, which I've forgotten the name of somehow. It was fried like an eggroll. So yummy. Their efforts to get me to dance were not successful, although at that age I sometimes went to clubs and was a decent dancer. Too shy to dance in front of them, though. I kind of regret it. Should have shown them my moves! Lol.

[BigmanPigman]

30. Yes, tons of lumpia!

They would have a freshly roasted pig sometimes and there was always a pile of little shoes left outside the front door as was the custom. The families always made me tons of plates to take home too. So generous!

[senseandsensibility]

33. Lumpia! That's it!

Maybe I'll google a recipe. It was delicious.

[barbtries]

35. i agree, the world would be a better place.

i'm so glad i live in a diverse community.

[Lonestarblue]

36. This story reminds me of an idea that has floated around but gone nowhere.

And that is a year of required national service for every young person after he or she turns 18. A federal program would have to pay their salaries, but the goal would be to get them into jobs where they would have the diverse experiences that lead to better understanding and acceptance of people not exactly like them. They could be teachers’ aides, healthcare aides, work in government, in parks, in business—there are many possibilities. And because it isn’t the military, there should be few exceptions to service (bone spurs are not an excuse), mainly mental or physical issues that preclude service.

I believe that such a program could help to prevent some of the tribalism that we see now. And it would help to keep young people busy and out of trouble!

[Nittersing]

40. My Dad taught at the graduate level (at NYU)

and would get so frustrated with what he called "professional students" who seemed absolutely clueless about the real world and very lacking in every day common sense.

He always felt that every kid ought to be required to take at least one year off from school, get a job and get a clue.