K_Kelly wrote:
There was another thread on race in this area of the forum that got me asking. The current places I hang out don't have a very diverse race mixture, but that's because my local suburb is +90% white, and the entire county +80%. I don't have a very strong opinion for or against multiracialism, but it can be an interesting experience.
That's not unheard of. Even in big cities with a large mix of races they still tend to be segregated-- people tend to live around people that share the same experiences as them. I wouldn't go out of my way to find people of different races in your area, it's a little weird and might turn some of them off-- it's almost like you're boxing them off as a 'novelty', which is not a good place to start a real friendship if that's what you're after. I'd say go to places you know they tend to gravitate, say an ethnic restaurant or business and just be friendly, you may meet people you click with or you may find their culture is not one that jives with you. Also, when in Rome do as the Romans, be polite and if someone corrects you on the etiquette they expect just apologize and tell the truth: you're ignorant on the etiquette.
I've got a fair amount of Native American friends and Mexican friends, but I live in a very unsegregated place and I've been friends with them since I was a child and it happened naturally through schooling, so I can't really give advice on making multicultural friends as an adult. Most Mexicans and Native Americans I meet now are through previous connections, so there's virtually no awkwardness at all, I'm just part of the group so to speak: once Juan says you're 'down' the entire Martinez clan accepts you kind of thing. Lol, I probably shouldn't have used Juan, most of my Mexican friends have English names like Kenny, Bob, and Dave, lol, but you get the idea better that way.
22 May 2017, 6:12 pm
