If you happen to watch any form of television ever, you will almost always be bombarded with racial slurs and issues. It seems like talk shows (I'm thinking Oprah, Dr. Phil, Tyra) are always talking about different issues surrounding race, social economics, and other racial issues. One thing that I, being caucasion, hear a lot is that I will never understand what it is like to be African American.
Well, my friends, I think I've come pretty close! On Thursday, I went to a party at a beach club with one of the other RCA volunteers, Jen, and several of my other girlfriends. When we got to this party, however, Jen and I immediately noticed that we were THE ONLY white people at this club. Everyone else was Indian. Everyone. Now, generally, this is not a bad thing. I enjoy hanging out with all of my Indian friends that I have here. However, I now understand how minorities feel. I felt like I was constantly being stared at. It's almost as if people felt they had license to stare at me BECAUSE I was white. I mean, it also could have been my terrible "white girl" dancing skills, which is a huge possibility if you've ever seen me dance. The point is, I now think I have a little bit of an understanding about what our African America brothers and sisters might go through every day.
It's quite strange. As I walk down the street, I get stared at by Arabs. When I went to the Navy base, I got stared at by American men. And now, coming to this Indian party, I got stared at by everyone in the room. I can anticipate that I probably will not ever go anywhere without getting stared at for some reason or another!
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