Thanks Ben, those are good thoughts and well written. I do think that race matters, not in terms of acceptability, ability, or character, but our stimulus value and how others perceive us in terms of their beliefs and attitudes on race. The times that I have been the only white guy in the room are interesting because they were so few, and the only daily prejudice I tend to deal with is that I am fat. It has to make a difference in your life when you spend a large amount of your day looking or talking differently. I am a southerner, and when I visited northern Minnesota people would come across the room just to hear me talk! But that is so different from people holding negative assumptions about me because of the way I look or talk. So I know that is important.
Yes, hanging out with people who are different from us is good for us all. It stretches and educates me and my family. I think we must share many of our moral values for it to be a good thing, but the other values are more free to vary. Does that make sense to you?
Good solid people come from all political, sexual, and other orientations as well as all cultures, races, and religions. Obviously! But the moral orientation is important for me to feel comfortable and safe. And the guys I hang with are diverse in race and religion and politics and sexuality, but they are all solid moral guys. I guess that is more important than I realized.
Thanks pal, I appreciate your thoughts and your ability to see where my heart was and where it wasn't!
Trey
Drtrey3 Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Father of Four including 5 year old triplets
culture, not race
Thanks Ben, those are good thoughts and well written. I do think that race matters, not in terms of acceptability, ability, or character, but our stimulus value and how others perceive us in terms of their beliefs and attitudes on race. The times that I have been the only white guy in the room are interesting because they were so few, and the only daily prejudice I tend to deal with is that I am fat. It has to make a difference in your life when you spend a large amount of your day looking or talking differently. I am a southerner, and when I visited northern Minnesota people would come across the room just to hear me talk! But that is so different from people holding negative assumptions about me because of the way I look or talk. So I know that is important.
Yes, hanging out with people who are different from us is good for us all. It stretches and educates me and my family. I think we must share many of our moral values for it to be a good thing, but the other values are more free to vary. Does that make sense to you?
Good solid people come from all political, sexual, and other orientations as well as all cultures, races, and religions. Obviously! But the moral orientation is important for me to feel comfortable and safe. And the guys I hang with are diverse in race and religion and politics and sexuality, but they are all solid moral guys. I guess that is more important than I realized.
Thanks pal, I appreciate your thoughts and your ability to see where my heart was and where it wasn't!
Trey
Drtrey3 Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Father of Four including 5 year old triplets