Re: I should probably keep my mouth shut, but..........

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: : Elaine says:  This is not to say that one should not interract on many levels with those from other backgrounds and/or points of view. Of course they should; for their own improvement as a person, for the opportunity to open one's mind, & to fulfill the human obligation to be thy brother's keeper. 

: : ****What about the idea that they're just people,

: >>> That WAS the point, made in the context of polarization & why
: people do tend to socialize with those they share more commonalities with than differences, & the clarification that followed was for the benefit of those who would presume (such as yourself?) I was suggesting a 'should' rather than a 'why.'

: : no better, no worse, not teachers or lab rats or subjects of scrutiny, just people. 

: >>> That's quite a leap from my words. It wasn't about better or worse, but of shared interests and/or familiarities.

: : If you limit your life to those like yourself, what a boring, self-affirming existence that would be.  The fun is with the beauty of difference, in race, experience, life force even. 

: >>> Yes, I agree, but I wasn't suggesting otherwise. Even with the tendency to self-associate, few people limit themselves so thoroughly as to self-affirm. 

: : Elaine says:  Polarization is a human trait & nothing you or anyone else says will change that. We are naturally drawn to those with whom we share common bonds, be it ethnicity, religion, politics, economic status, etc. People tend to run with those they feel most comfortable with, with those whom seem most familiar in ways, thoughts, & customs. 

: : ****Naturally drawn, or automatically exposed and indoctrinated? 

: >>> In some ways, indoctrinated; in most ways, naturally drawn.
: Why do people form stronger friendships with some over others? Does a subliminal indoctrination cause one to like one person better than another or is it a shared interest/familiarity in some way? People, in general, are attracted to those with whom they can relate to on various levels. We're not talking about occasional meetings or working a soup kitchen, but of bonds. People need them, form them, & cultivate them, but they are not equally shared.

: : As hokey as the old Star Trek line is, I truely believe as a species we tend more to "boldly go where no man has gone before."  If that were not the case, there would have been no westward expansion or intermarriage of countless ethnicities in this country.  There are definately a great number of us willing and excited about running with those who are different, who challenge our thoughts and ideas, who bring discomfort and delight in the form of the unexpected.  

: >>> A westward expansion has been underway across the world for thousands of years & rarely has its motivation been to delight in those who are different. Though we, in America, do live in a 'mixed society' & most of us are exposed to a large spectrum of ethnicities, the proportion of intermarriages is low. 

: : Those statements, in my mind, illustrate the view in a mirror rather than a window.

: >>> They illustrate the human condition & its frailty; the need to belong as well as the contentment sought among those one feels good about, whatever the reason. View? They are observations, not opinions.


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