A famous politician, John Hume, once said: Difference is of the essence of humanity. Difference is an accident of birth and it should therefore never be the source of hatred or conflict. The answer to difference is to respect it. Therein lies a most fundamental principle of peace: respect for diversity.
April is Diversity Awareness Month at Ohio University. Apparently, October (the month that diversity is celebrated nationally) was already taken. Maybe that has something to do with Halloween. Normally, I would roll my eyes at something as generic as Diversity Awareness Month. However, diversity awareness is important and should be encouraged.
The interesting thing about discussing diversity and the importance of equality and recognizing inequalities is the potential vehement response. If people want to highlight the struggles of a certain demographic, members of a different demographic insist that their struggles are being dismissed. Why, when talking about the disproportionate number of black males in the country's prisons, does someone else have to point out poverty in southeast Ohio? When the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community comments on legislation that is unfavorable to them, someone else has to point out the Latinos' struggle with immigration laws. Unwilling to acknowledge that every man is fighting his own battle
people give their own (good, but especially bad) experience precedence without thinking of others.- listen to what happened to me. The problem is that the struggles of your friend do not lessen your pain at all. Just because your friend got an F in history doesn't mean that you're not mad about getting a D in economics. The same goes with diversity. The struggles of different demographics cannot (and do not) cancel each other out. Discussing these struggles gives us an opportunity not to debate which is worse but instead to find solutions.
This month is a time for people truly to reach outside of their boxes and expand their horizons. Diversity does not mean dissolving into one monolithic entity. It doesn't mean denying what makes us different, but instead celebrating those differences in ourselves and in others.-
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Alissa Griffith
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