Think About It . . .
Consider race. Consider ethnicity. Consider gender. Consider class and economics. Consider sexual orientation. Consider difference.
What color is your skin? From what part of the world did your predecessors travel to the Americas? How long ago? Did they walk, sail or fly? Did they come of their own free will? Is the US your home? Do you feel welcome here? Do people speak your language here? When you go into a store, how do people react? Have you ever been made to feel inferior or ashamed because of a characteristic you were born with? Have you ever felt like an alien in your own community? Do you have a community? Do you feel safe in public places? at night? in your home? Do school or work vacations coincide with your religious holidays? Can you easily find novels about people like you and that reflect your experience of life in the US? Are you represented in the US House and/or Senate? Your money says, "In God We Trust"; do you? Have you ever been called: nigger, negro, spic, greaser, beaner, gook, chink, jap, kike, fag, faggot, dyke, bitch, cunt, whore, slut, tease, half-breed, White trash, trailer trash, spook, coon, redskin? How did you feel about that? Have you ever used one of those words to describe someone else? Have you used it to that person's face? How did you feel about it? Have you ever heard one of these words used to describe someone else and not objected? How did you feel about it? When you sit with your friends for a meal, do others criticize you for self-segregation? Are you a White male? If not, what percentage of your White male counterpart's salary will equal your salary? 100%? 90%? 80%? 70%? 60%? 50%? 40%? 30%? 20%? 10%? Less than 10%? Have you benefited from affirmative action? Did you call it affirmative action or connections? Have you benefited from welfare? Did you call it welfare or a tax break? Are you free? Do you believe in liberty and justice for all? Have you found that in the United States? Do you find the government to be one of, by and for the people? All the people? Are you sure?
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