I’ve been wanting to explore this issue for a while now, but every time I bring it up, I find that all the transplants agree with me, and all the Bay Areans give out the death vibe.
Here’s the outrageous statement: the Bay Area isn’t all that accepting of races.
Just because there are lot of cultures here does not mean that we fully accept each other or that most of us interact. As Dave Chapelle observes, SF and the Peninsula is so “crime” free because you kicked all the minorities to the East Bay. Okay, he said black, but that’s not the point. For the most part, you can point at a city in the Bay and give a certain personality and race to it. What’s up with that?
I learned at Penn that there are different levels of social interaction among races. Short version: there’s acknowledgement, acceptance, imitation and understanding. First you note the differences/integration. Then, you accept that the other race(s) are different from yours but there isn’t interaction. In the third stage, you show interest and start interacting with the other race and learning their culture. Finally, you understand their race/culture as well as your own and you’re able to integrate both into a society.
For the most part, the Bay Area is still in the acceptance and maybe starting to trickle into imitation. Of course, the cities (Oakland, Berkeley, SF, and San Jose) are developed in terms of race relations. Compared to much of the US, there is more integrated and multiracial families, which is great! But it’s not quite there. There are a lot of races, but they’re segregated into their own communities, towns, etc.
I can’t even count how many dirty looks I got from Asians when they saw that I was dating my ex, who was black and vice versa. From the Asians, the look felt like “you have so much going for you; why are you dating him?” From the blacks, “why are you dating an Asian girl? Stay w/in your race.” I’m not saying that’s true of all Asians, all blacks or any other race. I’m just saying that these judgments are pretty widespread. I’m okay with the fact that most ppl may want to date someone of their own race. More understanding. Easier to share similar pasts, etc. BUT at least accept that not everyone is like that.
Anyways, just an observation. It’s not a stereotypical happy hippie town here.
