Adding on to my previous post, I encourage diversity and learning about different religions, geographies, and cultures. I think it’s debilitating to limit interactions to people who are similar. We all know people who only congregate in their own ethnic circles. All their friends are Asian. All their friends are Indian. I think that’s why we make fun of the Marina because everyone looks the same, talks the same. It’s not because the people who live in the Marina are snooty or because they act like they’re stumbling out of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. It’s because once you talk to one Marina inhabitor, you’ve talked to them all. Which is why people love the Mission—because you can bump into a musician, a cop, a writer, a massage therapist—all while having a few cocktails at the Elbo Room!
When I went to Cal for college, I saw it as my opportunity to expand my horizons beyond what I’d picked up at my 400-student Catholic high school. Sporadically I went to Filipino events, but I didn’t stake my social calendar around the Pilipino Posse. What were Filipinos at Cal going to teach me about my culture that I didn’t learn in my 18 years growing up in a strict immigrant household? Even now, I’ll encounter Filipinos who are surprised that we went to school at the same time, graduated the same year, yet they do not know me. Personally, I take that as a compliment.
I am very proud of the network I’m surrounded by—that my friends come from all religions, all ethnicities, sexual orientations…you name it. You can call me a diversity whore. But really, let’s assess. How am I enriching my life through my environment and the people I interact with?
As a fellow diversity whore that frankly does not completely fit into her Marina habitat, I loved this piece! Never took a Chicano Studies class at Cal (certainly got a lot of heat for it) and opted for African American Studies and the History of India. Growing up in East Oakland and the daughter of a Del Monte cannery worker…I refused to be parochial and wanted to learn about the world outside of 35th Ave and E.14th! My life and perspective have been deeply shaped and exponentially enriched by taking this philosophy into adulthood. Here’s to diversity whoredom!
That’s why you’re my friend and I love you! I have fond memories of your Quinceanera on 35th, and your mom teaching us how to make enchiladas (I wasn’t a good student). We still have to co-author a compendium of bizarro things our moms do to pinch pennies.