open mind

i guess what the show black/white really boiled down to for me was whether or not a person has the capacity to be openminded. can you be brave enough to admit that you don't know everything, that you haven't seen everything, that there's something you can stand to learn, that not everthing is what you expect or deem it to be? it seems that the most closedminded people were the ones who got the least out of this experiment, and the more openminded a person was, the more likely it was for them to get anything of value out of it. generationally, i'm scared. though i'm glad to see that the parents in this experiment - brian and renee, bruno and carmen - are not our future, i really wonder what is to become of the nicholases of the world? and are there enough roses in the world? what will the blank wall in the museum look like 30 years from now?

it's a long held opinion of mine that i don't want to live in a colorblind society. i don't want the color of my skin to become meaningless. i don't want it to lose meaning to me or to anyone else. when people see me, i want them to know who my ancestors were, and i do take pleasure in the identity, history and culture that my skin color ties me to. i just want to be valued more for the content of my character than i am judged for the color of my skin. what i'm asking for is tolerance and understanding. what i try to extend to others is tolerance and understanding. what i expect in people of other races is that i'll find differences in culture and experiences and opinions... in addition to finding similarities and commonalities in the human experience. i enjoy the richness and the mystery of others' difference and the diversity of my world. that requires openmindedness. i try to nurture my own openmindedness as much as i can.

...even though racism does exist, right alongside classism, religious intolerance, homophobia and xenophobia. i accept that for what it is. i combat what i can where i can and keep it moving. of course, it's not that simple - i've been harassed, underestimated, insulted, provoked, enraged, disappointed...

but then again, it IS that simple. it takes an open mind, patience, and resolve. but it can be done. and it has been done, time and time again, by my ancestors in this country, under worse conditions, to achieve and live with vigor for my sake. they did so i could. so i will.