Diversity

At STI a big part of my job are my teaching duties. One of the units I teach involves diversity. I want our upper Midwest students to take a look at diversity in their lives because now is the time we just might connect with them and help them deal with this issue.

Whether one is talking cultural diversity or racial or religious or disabilities, etc., diversity comes in many different ways. Recently Evie and I stayed with her cousin and boyfriend Charles. I have loved Charles from the first time we talked on the phone. Then to meet in person, he is just a super guy. I consider it an honor to have him in my life.

Charles, Rhonda, Evie and me were visiting around the table one night and the topic of diversity came up. I was blown away when Charles shared that until recently he was a bigot! He shared that as a black person he didn't like a lot of white people. My reaction was, "You are kidding me! Persons of color couldn't possibly be prejudiced. After all what they go through on a daily basis with discrimination as a colored person couldn't possibly be a racist!"

Since then I have been thinking about the whole diversity issue. I was blessed to be raised in a home where the color of your skin or country of origin was insignificant. In fact my parents made a point to make sure we were introduced to persons of color and from various cultures. I consider that a real blessing as I look back on the white rural communities where I lived as a young person.

So I got thinking. How do I make a difference in helping my wonderful relatives and friends deal with diversity in their own lives. I came to the conclusion that the only way one can deal with managing diversity is to deal with it on an individual basis. In other words, it starts with me.

So yesterday I stopped by a gas station. I was getting the nozzle in the tank and heard a voice say, "How's your day going?" I looked around and the only person in the immediate area was a young Hispanic man. I was kind of taken back because having a person of color start a conversation with me doesn't happen much. So I immediately responded with, " I am great and even better now that my path has met yours!" We both smiled. He proceeded to tell me about how just the day before he had gotten stuck up by the cathedral in a huge downpour of rain and just about got washed away in his car. We proceeded to talk. I loved it. As he left I told him to have a great day and thanked him for being so friendly.

I always thought I understood why some people of color often don't speak to me until I speak to them. I have always assumed that they had been treated so poorly by Caucasians they had given up on trying to interact with us. But then I reflected on Charles's comment and wondered how many people are prejudiced towards me. Boy that hurt just thinking about it. I am a pretty nice guy who loves people and am friendly even to telephone poles as Evie tells me!

We have become such a society of individuals and all try to act like we don't need other people in our lives. And that life is really all about us.

Well, I have decided that I HAVE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE! I have to reach out to all people and encourage them to do the same in their own lives. Like the song says, "let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me!" So it is beginning with me. I encourage you to also let it begin with you. Not recognizing there are others in the same room because we want to look and act cool might just give that other person the idea that we don't like nor accept them because they are in a wheelchair or have a scarf over their head or have a white cane or dark skin or talk different than we do, etc.

This afternoon I had coffee with a very special friend, Donoso Escobar who originally came to the U.S. from Nicaragua. He is one of the finest men I know and we truly love one another. So do our families. I shared my most recent discovery about diversity with Donoso today and he gave me some very good perspectives. And on the way home I got tears in my eyes thinking that there are people who discriminate again my friend Donoso. I mean, people just don't get any better than people like him! WOW!

Something to think about!

Markus