According to 23&me, I’m diverse. Here’s the facts:
The three percent Hispanic in me could eat her body weight in chips and salsa. Tacos, burritos, quesadillas, bring it on.
The two percent East Asian in me appreciates the art of using chopsticks, sushi, and of course spring rolls.
Thirty-seven percent of me always craves pasta, and could put away some breadsticks because let’s be real, “it’s an offer I can’t refuse.”
And then there’s the 58%. Starbucks runs through my veins. My skin soaks up SPF 100 like a sponge. I definitely "Keep up with the Kardashians."
However, the majority of me falls into a population characterized by hate crimes, segregation, poverty plastered on the nightly news. White supremacy, racial profiling, stereotypes, and preferential hiring all contribute to this travesty.
This is today’s 58%. This is our majority, and as we all know, majority rules. A percentage consumed by the latest and greatest, the bigger the better, instant gratification, and self absorbance. But what happens when you do not fit the mold of your genetics? What do you do when majority does not match your morals?
Call me what you want but I am not the typical 58%. My DNA does not disclose my character. It is not a gateway to tradition. My genetics are not an excuse. My prevailing percentage does not encompass me. Because in the end, there is more to diversity than race, ethnicity, or religion. There is a need for equality. And with equality comes the strive for acceptance.
No matter where life takes me, I know that my ability to see beyond a worldly lens doesn’t just make me diverse, it makes me, well… me. It sets me aside from the normal and creates diversity within me.
Being colorblind should not be taught as a visual impairment but as an enhancement. The ability to be culturally or racially colorblind should not be unique in the country formerly known as the ‘Melting Pot’. Holding your purse when you walk past a particular race should not be engraved in women’s innate behavior. Law enforcement officers should never assume a suspect off of first glance and a child should never wonder if they will be accepted into a university based on their family lineage.
Culture should be embraced, and borders removed. We should have a society where I could not write an essay about my equal-view mentality under the title diversity. Unfortunately, that is not a reality, acceptance is diverse.
Equality is not a social norm. Therefore, even though I may not be the most explicitly diverse person you come across, I may not have the melanin, culture or the languages within me; but I challenge my own stereotype. Do you ?
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