Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Racial diversity in cohousing

[Alan O'Hashi (adoecos]

 Kathleen, et. al. - In response, when you say:
... whites talking about blacks we know or have met we should not use words 
that indicate to us and maybe others how convincing they are, like articulate, 
well educated, thoughtful, caring, MA or PhD educated etc?

You mean your observation to be a compliment, but how that comes across is that 
the reason you resonate or are attracted to a particular Black person is that 
they are more like you than the assistant pastor down at the Methodist Church. 
I'm pretty sure Obama or Oprah would be more than welcome as cohousing 
community neighbors because they are thoughtful articulate, caring, and 
well-educated.

My Japanese American parents and grandparents were freaked out after the subtle 
and overt racism after World War II. My childhood was purged of anything 
Japanese and I grew up as a Model Minority - I was obedient, spoke perfect 
English, ate my meat and potatoes with a fork.

"Why can't you be like Alan," is what teachers would say to some of the other 
Latin kids. There were no Blacks in the part of town where my parents relocated 
so my sister and I could stay in a suburban school away from urban influences.

These days, it still doesn't matter that I'm the fourth generation in America. 
When I meet people for the first time, I am often asked, "Where are you from?" 
or "How long have you been here?" Those comments arise from general Asian 
stereotypes. Why do I fit into traditional cohousing? I learned to straddle two 
worlds.
I dare you to learn about my path, and how DEI became a hot cohousing topic, 
read my book or watch my documentary at https://www.beyondheartmountain.com ;
You also write:
I wonder, maybe the world would be a better place if just drop all those 
judgments.

The world is made up of individuals. The world's judgments won't change by 
waiting for the other person. If you're committed to being inclusive, that 
means putting in the hard work undoing the tapes in your head to reimagine 
yourself, and making the personal changes to straddle two worlds. You might 
lose friends over it but you'll gain new ones.

Thx
Alan O

Alan O'Hashi 
Donate and get "Beyond Heart Mountain"books and DVDs
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