I see white people

I had it figured out coming from my all black high school, and "Chocolate city" of Washington D.C. The white kids, making up 10 percent of my school, hung out with each other, and sat at the "white kid table" at lunch. Here at IU every table is the "white kid" table, minus a few in the Union now and then.\nMinorities can go days on campus without seeing anyone who looks like them. Trust me, I've searched for others (read: girls) like me. Occasionally I thought I had discovered a beautiful soul sister only to find a white girl with a tan. It took awhile for the culture shock to wear off, but when it did I discovered a gazillion white folks. As a social scientist, I had to come out of my box to try and learn. Here's what I found...\nAll white people are NOT rich. I believed if you were white, then you couldn't be poor, based on previous observation (TV). Logic dictates this couldn't be true but it's like knowing there are starving children in countries around the globe: everyone knows it's happening but when you see it you're still shocked. \nI can now kind of tell white people apart. This sounds horrible, but so many white people all at once confused the hell out of me. To make it worse the common white girl names like "Jenny" were extremely confusing. Yet I remember the day when, like a Magic Eye poster, I recognized a white friend who appeared out of the milky sea. For me, this was a turning point at IU. \nI hate when white people sing along to rap. I was a fool to not see it coming. White kids purchase the most hip hop, and the genre is becoming a worldwide phenomenon. However, rappers have a tendency to use a certain word that rhymes with "bigger." This double-edged loaded word has often morphed me into paranoia at local clubs whenever Kanye West comes on. \nWhite people love to be made fun of. I don't understand it, but advertisements constantly show whites trying to get "jiggy." Successful comedians such as Dave Chappelle have made MILLIONS capitalizing on this trend, yet I've never heard a concerned citizen complain about how whites are portrayed in the media. Someone should get on this.\nMost importantly, I realized if I could be wrong, confused and ignorant about all groups, then I might never find the truth. Ignorance is not bliss, and I am fighting hard to get rid of my own stupid assumptions. But learning is about trying to critically explore the earth with an unbiased eye. We cannot be afraid to explore our differences, biases, and assumptions, in order to learn beyond our own perspective. We might not find the truth, but we damn sure will get past a lot of the lies we tell ourselves including the ones in this column. Be horrified when you think you are right, as there is always something new to "learn"