Your post is a classic example of white privilege. Check out the comments on this post for more info.

There are white people who protest in Portland for the legalization of marijuana. No one ever suggests that they up and move to Amsterdam. There are white people in the South who protest against the presence of black people. No one ever tells them to move to Scandinavia. But the minute a non-white person says that he wants change, all of a sudden all the holier-than-thou types tell them to go back to Asia or Africa.

I’m not sure what you mean by “get real.” My opinion is more real than yours since it includes the opinions of both those who do and do not look like me.

No one is forcing you to live in Portland, Oregon, or the USA, am I correct?

But you expect everyone to drop what they’re doing, and rush to remake Portland over into an image more to your liking because, well… because you want them to?

Get real.

Oops, forgot to add that part. I think I was trying to get around to it and was getting tired. I haven’t been taking care of myself as far sleep goes.

But basically, with out the diversity, less people are exposed to it- and therefore less likely to have the appropriate social skills in dealing with this particular type of diversity. I feel that, subconsciously, the atmosphere where people don’t understand how you think creates an environment/subculture that will prevent people from speaking up. In other words, the lack of diversity can cause an individual to have to suppress part of their identity in order to “make it” in life.

“Diverse enough”, mind you, is not a statistic but a condition – a non quantifiable condition. “Diverse enough” would be a state where an individual would be accepted for his views and identity because the community has fostered the social skills required to do so. “Diverse enough” would be when an individual would be able to remain as her/himself and still have the opportunity to succeed.

Mind you, not necessarily the same opportunity, but the opportunity.

REMINDER: This is my personal opinion of why diversity matters.

Jason

Exactly. The point is to diversify so that people feel included.

Cynic:

You still haven’t answered!

It’s like this:

Cynic: “What’s the quota?”
Jaehwan: “I don’t believe in quotas.”
Cynic: “What’s the quota? You didn’t answer my question.”

Truth is, I did. I don’t agree with your premise that there has to be a quota. You can’t assign a belief to a person and then accuse that person of dodging when he doesn’t agree with your premise, namely that a person needs to believe in quotas if he wants more diversity.

Left-wing activists are always going on (and on and on and on) about things (neighborhoods, cities, schools, professions, companies, etc etc etc) being ‘not diverse enough’, based on counting European heads, but they never say at what point things will be ‘diverse enough’, so I’ve asked you a simple question, which you keep refusing to answer.

C’mon, let’s get real. It’s not just the “left-wing activists.” Most major companies, including Microsoft, Google, and Exxon Mobil, all have some statement of intent on their websites that mentions diversity, yet none of them name a number or percentage that they’re striving to reach. (Though you may be right about it being a left-wing movement–Halliburton doesn’t have a statement of diversity, but that’s because they rely more on powerful friends in government…wait, I guess not any more!) Supporting diversity is becoming more and more commonplace. If you’ve got beef, you should be taking it up with everyone, including left-wingers AND heads of major corporations.

If you prefer for everything to be defined in terms of numbers, that’s your call and methodology. You would be one of the few who uses this methodology however.

Oh, come on, you can do better than that! :p

Left-wing activists are always going on (and on and on and on) about things (neighborhoods, cities, schools, professions, companies, etc etc etc) being ‘not diverse enough’, based on counting European heads, but they never say at what point things will be ‘diverse enough’, so I’ve asked you a simple question, which you keep refusing to answer. At what point does Portland become acceptably ‘diverse’ for your taste?

From my experiences in Portland, I wouldn’t say that the culture there does too much to support the interests of many people of color. I’ve never been able to really put a finger on it when I’m down there, but its like I don’t really feel like I fit in there.

Wish I could elaborate for you.

I don’t recall ever saying that I was looking for a number or that I would try to find one. In fact, my post details a story that happened to me, not an incident of number crunching where I happened to be appalled my some figures or percentages.

I think Portland needs more racial minorities so that we get more recognition and respect. I’ll leave it at that. If you prefer for everything to be defined in terms of numbers, that’s your call and methodology. You would be one of the few who uses this methodology however.

You feel that Portland is too white – clearly at some point it becomes ‘just white enough’. What point is that?