It's A Small World After All

I'm taking this "cultural diversity/discrimination" course right now, and my participation grade sucks because I genuinely, honestly Don't. Get. It.

Initially to get into Celebration School, you had to win a lottery system. I believe looking back on it that the lottery was not actually random. Mostly because all of the students came from completely different backgrounds and were all smart and relatively non-violent. I pretty much grew up on the It's a Small World ride. Diversity makes people dance and sing, right?

We were taught from the very beginning that if you chose to hang out with people who were exactly like you, your life would be boring. We had Multicultural Day once a year with a full Olympic-esque flag parade, homemade cuisine from all over the world, and dancing. (Note: Grinding, although acceptable in some cultures, is still not allowed during school's Multicultural Day. They will kick you out. But that's a whole 'nother blog.)

Instead of homerooms we had "kivas"--big open meeting spaces named after American-Indian assembly rooms. When we did a school performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, our Joseph was black. My best friend's name is Shivali. (Hint: She's not white.)

So when we're in class discussing discrimination and stereotypes, I Don't. Get. It. And I'm sure my professor thinks I'm in denial. One guest speaker we had said that to not see racism everywhere is to be childlike.

My question is: What's so wrong with being childlike? If everyone were more childlike maybe we wouldn't need to have these discussions. I think the world needs fewer kids who act like adults, and more adults who act like kids.

So take those international flags and wave on, Celebration. Just keep the grinding to a minimum.