A couple of weeks ago, a travel advisory was issued for the state of Florida.
It went something like this:
“Please be advised that Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals. Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the State of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of and the challenges faced by African Americans and other minorities.”
It is a sad state of affairs when traveling in your own country isn’t safe. You see. As it turns out, I’m gay. I have been for as long as I can remember. I had my first “crush” on a girl when I was around eight or nine years old. I’ve never had a crush on a boy. Not in my whole life. So as you see, this isn’t something I decided to do. I am certain I was born this way. And no one taught me this behavior. Heaven forbid. I went to a Catholic grade school and high school. No. The fact of the matter, this is me. It is like having blond hair or being right-handed. There’s no getting around the point.
So I get a little tired of being discriminated against. Imagine if some states passed laws saying brown-eyed people couldn’t marry one another. Or that people over 5’8″ were not allowed to adopt children.
It is getting harder and harder to be a part of the United States these days unless you are white, heterosexual, and Christian.
I’m a bit glad that most people can’t tell the difference between a homosexual person and a heterosexual person by sight in many, many cases. However, if you are Black, Hispanic, Asian (etc.), or female, it is pretty much a dead giveaway on sight.
And much easier to be discriminated against.
But. The fact is, most people in the United States are White.
Of the 334 million residents, about 76% are White.
Hispanics rank second at 19%
Black or African American account for 14%
Then Asian at 6%
I won’t list all the different races broken down by the Census Bureau. But you get the drift.
But apparently, the United States is becoming more racially diverse. At least, this is a trend which had been exemplified in many of its cities. Of the 68 U.S. cities with a population of 300,000 or more in 2018, about 70% (46 cities) were more racially diverse in 2018 than in 2010. (This is according to a U.S. News & World Report analysis.)
That same report found a few more things, and I will quote:
“A majority of Americans – 64% – say racial and ethnic diversity has a positive impact on the country’s culture, according to the Pew Research Center. At the same time, 47% believe having a racially and ethnically diverse population makes it harder for policymakers to tackle the country’s challenges.”
These are the ten most racially diverse large cities as of 2018, according to the U.S. News*** analysis:
Chicago, IL
Fresno, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Houston, TX
San Jose, CA
Long Beach, CA
New York, NY
Sacramento, CA
Oakland, CA
Stockton, CA
Then there are places like Preble County, Ohio. The white population in this county is 97%. Right. Not so much diversity here.
Discrimination exists regardless of where we go in the United States or even the world. And darn it. It just shouldn’t be that way.
We are all humans. We should all have the same rights, equal rights, where ever we live.
We are human beings. We all should be allowed to “be.” Equally.
***(NOTE: U.S. News calculated racial diversity for U.S. cities with a population of 300,000 or more within their legal boundaries. Population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey were used to determine the share each racial and ethnic group accounted for in the city’s population and how likely it would be for two people chosen at random to be from different racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic ethnicity can be of any race, according to federal standards, but this overlap among groups is captured in the analysis.)
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“Don’t go on discussing what a good person should be. Just be one.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
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“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.”
— Joseph Campbell
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“We are all butterflies. Earth is our chrysalis.”
― LeeAnn Taylor
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Where can you go, if you don’t look like them?
