Racial and ethnic groups

[HappySquidward]

Do you find it harder to approach or fit in when you're around people of a different racial or ethnic group? I'm multi-racial and I don't affilate myself with any goup. I'm not sure if it effects how I relate to others, or if it's the result of feeling I don't belong with other people.

In one of my group therapy sessions someone said it was hard to make friends because most of the people at their school were of a different race. At first this sounded kinda racist to me, but now that I think about it most people hang out with others of their own groups.

I just want to know what you guys think about this.

 

[WeirdyMcGee]

The racial group issue seems to depend on location, I think?

Technically I am multi-racial as well. Were I born full blooded Aboriginal, I may have been accepted into the group at school with the rest of the Aboriginal kids; but because I wasn't full- they literally shunned me because I didn't look like them.
That sounds racist, yes?
I've never judged a person by their race, personally but have been judged by people calling me rude names- mainly white slurs.
That happened far more in small towns than in the city.

In college, I moved to the city and was immediately accepted into a group with several combined races; similar personalities.

 

[Razzlecherry]

I tend to not see this as being an issue. The racial factor doesn't come up for me unless someones complaining, which really bothers me. It shouldn't be such a big deal, yet people make it out to be one.

 

[9407]

Not an issue for me. When I was a kid most of the other black kids hated me because they thought I was too soft and "whitewashed" (I went to school in a bad area). Now since I've changed and I'm not as "soft" or "whitewashed" anymore they're cool with me and I get along with them. I can get along with anyone as long as they're not annoying, racist, stupid, etc.

 

[Etbow23]

Sometimes. It depends on the social situation. But I don't really believe in human race, I think we confuse it with ethnicity and social class. I think some members of certain ethnicity can be a bit more difficult to reach, but once you do you don't feel as uncomfortable anymore.

 

[Nathália]

I've always hung out with people different from me. Race has always been this confusing subject for me because most of my family is mixed and we all look so different. I think that it's a social thing because I can have just as much in common with someone that looks opposite from me. I could also be totally different from someone that looks similar to me and vis versa. It is possible for people to have more in common culturally and want to be around people who have similar culture, but race does not necessarily come with that and sometimes it do.

 

[JuiceB]

Race isn't of any importance in my mind. I more worried about if that person is ignorant or not.

 

[HappySquidward]

Thanks for all your posts! I guess the reason I posted this is because where I live people tend to seperate usually by color. Durring highschool I moved between two schools. One had mostly black students while the other had white. I had a terrible time fitting in at either school, thought perhaps my race/ethnicity could had something to do with it. However, I had a few acquaintances from differen't races. Maybe I'm afraid of being the only one visually (and maybe culturally) different in a group, it can feel a bit intimidating.

 

[Starry]

I don't have any problem with race, but I remember once going for a walk with my husband when were living in Birmingham... We were just exploring a route, which ended up taking us to an Indian/Pakistan area of the city... I felt incredibly threatened there. People were staring at us because we stood out for being a different race and I felt quite scared. Of course, how much of it was to do with racial segregation and how much was to do with the fact that a lot of the areas which have become racially segregated are complete dumps with a high crime rate, I do not know.

However, at my schools we had pupils from lots of different races and everyone seemed to intermix well with no problems. I had a friend who was from India in primary school, and got on with her better than most people...

So to answer your question, no I don't find it harder to fit in with different race or ethnic groups, unless the groups are hostile towards my ethnicity.

 

[pbgirl]

Well I live in London.Eng so it's pretty diverse here but I'm planning on moving to Herefordshire or surrounding areas, I may be working in Bromyard, Herefordshire so at mo looking to live in Worcester....
I'm black British and never usually have problems with race.....Even my brother lives in Ledbury (although he can pass as being mixed, he has a lighter complexion than i have) which I would say is predominantly Caucasian. I just wanted to know what it is like in those areas and what would I be expecting.....

 

[Starry]

^ I can't speak for the areas of Herefordshire near Bromyard or closer to Worcester, but the areas of Herefordshire I'm familiar with are predominantly Caucasian... I've seen only a very small handful of other races, although the numbers have crept up a little in the past couple of years... When I first came to Herefordshire I saw only one or two Indian people and only three or so black people on any one day, and most days I saw none. Now it's much frequent but still a vast minority (I used to live in Birmingham, so I was very used to seeing other races, the sudden lack of them made me notice).

 

[Nowascki]

In my country the racial thing practically doesn't exist. One of the few things about here in my opinion.

 

[spider04]

Where I live I see people from all ethnic groups I think and most of them were also born here, their parents or grandparents were immigrants. They also speak the native language from here so it all feels normal to me, racism doesn't exist here too.

 

[xDreamseller]

Black, white, asian, whatever, I don't care. What I do care about is how an individual acts, not some stupid racial stereotype.

Clothes, posture and language tell you a whole hell of a lot more about someone than the color of their skin.

If I was in a class and was the only white person, I may feel a little bit of an outcast at the start, just because I look different. Then again, if the class didn't accept you eventually, they are the ones with the problem, not you.

 

[Hellhound]

On the contrary, I love foreigners and people of other races. I think I might be a Xenophile.