The result was that I avoided the one place in the Bay Area I could go and feel not so different. It never dawned on me that the people who were telling me not to go there were the people who might go there and feel uncomfortable.
Oh man, this is exactly what happened to us when we moved to D.C. Everyone we knew said "Oh, you don't want to live in Prince Georges County, it's bad there." When we realized the people who said that look very different than the PG county demographic, it became clear what their reservation was.
This article really hit home to me as well though because as a mixed race guy I never really fit in anywhere, but can kind of blend in no matter where I go - a double edged sword. As bad as it sounds, my father (black) was the one who self assimilated into white culture from birth (he was adopted) such that I grew up just assuming we were white, especially given that my mother is white.
When I look back on it, that was a huge benefit in some cases where I feel comfortable in the (largely white) networks of power and elitism, but also makes me feel like it kind of cedes the game.
At the end of the day though, I don't identify as any race or culture other than "American" and with that approach I almost never have issues assimilating.
Oh man, this is exactly what happened to us when we moved to D.C. Everyone we knew said "Oh, you don't want to live in Prince Georges County, it's bad there." When we realized the people who said that look very different than the PG county demographic, it became clear what their reservation was.
This article really hit home to me as well though because as a mixed race guy I never really fit in anywhere, but can kind of blend in no matter where I go - a double edged sword. As bad as it sounds, my father (black) was the one who self assimilated into white culture from birth (he was adopted) such that I grew up just assuming we were white, especially given that my mother is white.
When I look back on it, that was a huge benefit in some cases where I feel comfortable in the (largely white) networks of power and elitism, but also makes me feel like it kind of cedes the game.
At the end of the day though, I don't identify as any race or culture other than "American" and with that approach I almost never have issues assimilating.