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By Pat McCarthy
I think diversity on all levels of life
is valuable. Being around people of different races, religions,
and cultures helps to dispel erroneous stereotypes and opens one's
world to new ideas and ways of doing things. Every culture has strengths
and weaknesses, and it is only by learning about them that we can
adopt some of the strengths in our own lives.
Living in Nigeria, for example, where family
is all-important, influenced me to become closer to my own family.
(It also introduced me to 72 hour parties, but that's another story.)
Living in Thailand, where the people are overwhelmingly Buddhist,
helped my spirituality. In Ethiopia, I am able to witness the enduring
strength of a people who have experienced great hardships and natural
disasters, yet can still smile and hope for a better future. I have
learned how unimportant material possessions really are. And, perhaps
most important for me as an American, I have learned how alike Americans
are, no matter what our race or religion, and how our sameness makes
us different from other cultures. Our strength is our diversity.
I wish all Americans had the opportunity to live in other countries.
Perhaps then more of us would become aware of and focus on our overwhelming
similarities rather than our minor differences.
Unfortunately, I have seen that other nations
seem to be as color-conscious as the U.S. Many Nigerians, Thais
and Ethiopians seem to find lighter-skinned people more attractive.
My daughter, who is light-skinned, caused near-riots in markets
in Nigeria, with teenage and young adult men trampling each other
to try to talk to her. It got so bad that I finally enlisted the
help of the U.S. Embassy Marines, one of whom would accompany us
to markets, holding her hand and acting as her boyfriend, so that
she wouldn't be bothered. (Nigerians don't tend to approach women
who are with a man)
Thai people who are dark-skinned are thought
to be lower class, since only laborers work in the sun, and many
Thai people told me they thought Michael Jackson (who appeared in
Bangkok while I was there) was right to lighten his skin. I read
a story in a Thai newspaper that said Chinese prostitutes in Bangkok
were highly prized because of their lighter complexions.
Several Ethiopians have told me that they
consider other Africans ugly because of their dark skin and "crude"
facial features. (Most Ethiopians have wavy rather than curly hair,
and their facial features look more European or Arabic than the
typical Africans'.)
Some of my Foreign Service colleagues who
have lived in other countries tell me it's pretty much the same
all over the world. Perhaps a large part of this is due to the fact
that the most powerful countries in the world (the U.S. in particular)
have majority white populations. Therefore, light skin may be equated
with power, which is "beautiful" to people in Third World countries.
Whatever the reason, I am, needless to
say, disappointed by this vision, and hope that someday all people
will realize that while, superficially at least, beauty comes from
within, and it doesn't matter how one appears on the outside.
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