Have you met one?

I grew up in a rural-ish small town. Most people there were white and middle class. Our town was not particularly close to much action, had no nightlife to speak of, didn't have a movie theatre -- by all accounts, unremarkable and boring. And by no means was there diversity of any sort.

It wasn't until I went to college when I first met friends of other nationalities. It wasn't until I went to graduate school that I became good friends with people of other nationalities -- in fact, in graduate school several of my closest friends were non-white and non-American.

Being friends with a diverse set of people really broadened my horizons. Before I went to graduate school, I probably would have admitted that not all Muslims were terrorists (albeit a little begrudingly). Now I've got a handful of really close Muslim friends -- I even spent Thanksgiving at my Muslim friends' house this year, and I roomed with another at a conference. It was terrific. And it really didn't even cross my mind that I was going to do ____ with a Muslim friend -- I consider them a friend like any other normal friend.

All this to say? Broadening my horizons and leaving my sheltered, all-white town has changed me and made me appreciate others more. I am very grateful for this. In America we (self included) have such a selfish and myopic world view. We expect everyone to speak English, even when we go abroad. We think we're the center of the world, and have some expectation that the world should do what we want. We're quick to dismiss the cultures and experiences of others.

I get so sad when I see all of the hate in the world. I remember when someone very close to me expressed concern when I first became friends with Turks. "I think the Turks are barbaric." she said. I wondered if she ever met any Turks; I would be surprised if she had. How could she have in our small town full of white Americans?

It is a lot easier to throw stones (physical or proverbial) when you think you're throwing them at a group of nameless, faceless homogeneous bad guys who you've been taught to view in a one dimensional way. Once you realize that Israelis or Palestinians or Pakistanis or whichever group you disagree with are a group of people made up of a whole bunch of individuals with feelings and issues and personalities, it's a lot harder to hate them. Disagree with them? Maybe. Are there some that are jerks or ideologically misguided? Undoubtedly. But are they all that way? Doubtful. And do they all want to kill us? Doubtful as well, but increasingly likely the more and more we throw stones.

Let's not also forget that we too have our own special group of crazies in the US.

I am sad when people think they can characterize a people group based solely on what they hear in the news or read online. For example, I love Iranians. The Iranians I know are some of the nicest, most generous people I've met and are actually quite progressive. I hate it when I hear all Persians characterized as violent Shia-militia types with bombs strapped to their chest chanting death to America. None of the Iranians I know (admittedly, a biased sample who are educated and have the means to come to America) are like this. I want to introduce the Persian haters to some of my Persian friends -- I think they'd be hard pressed to hate all Persians after a dinner with my friends.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this -- before you dismiss an entire demographic, make sure you meet someone from that demographic. And even if you meet one, realize the demographic is comprised of individuals -- some good, some bad. I mean would you claim to know what all females from Ohio are like just because you know me? Of course not; that's crazy. But it's even crazier to claim you know what all females from Ohio are like just because you saw a couple of news stories or heard from a friend what they're like.