Diversity

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One of the things that always makes me feel good about visiting New York City is that shows me another part of America.

A lot of what is American, actually.

There are the guys painted in silver and gold.

Then we passed the women painted or naked...just a bit of covering.

There's a Chinese contingent over here...a family of French folks on the train...blacks...Hispanics...Muslim...Japanese.

And the languages are not all English.

There were plenty of different forms of communication being used.

I spent a lot of time watching the boys react to seeing people who didn't look exactly like them...and you know what?...I didn't see any change in them.

At all.

It makes me shake my head, actually, because it seems that when you return to the 'real world' there's a lot of pure hatred for people...groups of people...by people who are judging those they don't know.

There was a huge discussion going on someone's Facebook page.

It was all about immigration.

There were a lot of:

"Those people"

Types of quotes.

Listen up, folks, when you start grouping people together as "Those people" you just might be a racist.

But perhaps the tide is turning.

Kids don't seem to have such preconceived notions.

They don't fear all black people...unless they are taught to, I guess.

They don't lump the Asian into a box...or even think about them as "Those People."

Diversity.

New York City is certainly busting at the seams with it.

"We have to keep those people out of our country," someone wrote.

Sam stared straight up at one of the massive buildings and I watched as he turned to take the entire block in. Then he asked a question straight up, as kids are prone to do.

"Who built all of this?" He asked.

My immediate response, in my own head, was 'immigrants....hard-working immigrants working side-by-side with hard-working Americans.'

I didn't hit him with that.

"A whole bunch of hard-working people," I said.

And that really is what is lost when people start spewing about "those people."

"Those people"

were once

"Your people."

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