MLK Day Celebration Contest - Embracing our diversity! <3

[Lady Tubbington]

dramallama

[Pirate_Kitty_Katty]

Yay! This is one of the best holidays to celebrate!

* Username Pirate_Kitty_Katty

* Title of Story People Are People

* Content of story~~ I live in a large city in the Northeastern USA that is chock-full of colleges and universities. There are huge numbers of international students who come here to study, and while most of them go home after their studies are complete, some of them settle here and raise families.

My favorite take-out shop started out serving authentic South Indian food. After only a few years they now also offer North Indian, Punjabi, Chinese, Mexican and Sushi, as well as several dishes that are a fusion of two or more (and they are all delicious!). I've learned from talking to the staff there that most of the base ingredients are familiar and easy to get in my regular supermarket, only some of the spices will mean a trip to a specialty shop.

Our local laundromat has TV's which are usually playing one of several foreign-language channels, and more than once I've found myself explaining to a friend who came with me what is going on in the movie, even though I don't speak the language that it's in.

Our local library offers books in several different languages, not only in the main library, but also in all the neighborhood branches. They often have workshops where people who are learning English have a chance to see a familiar book in their own language next to one in English to help get over some of the "rough spots" in translating. Recently, there was a series on fairy tales from all over the world, and everyone was invited to share a favorite tale from their own ethnic background. It wasn't long before we all realized that except for the details in each one, most of the stories were very similar.

From all of this and more, I've learned that as different as we all are on the outside, inside we all have the same hopes, fears and dreams of success and happiness. Inside, we are all still human beings.

[Tainted Tarts]

* Tainted Tarts
* Unity in Diversity: Faith

* I live in the Philippines, born in a conservative and religious Catholic family. For all of my childhood I had definite boundaries of what was right and wrong. I was taught the ways of Jesus Christ and the values he had portrayed. Even if I wasn’t told to do so, I started viewing non-Catholics as bad people, unable to love or care for other people. As I grew older (I am now 18 ), these boundaries I have set have become blurred.

When I went to high school (it was an all-girl Catholic school), there were students who were Muslims and Born Agains who were allowed to enrol. It was accepting students of other religions, but it still practices our faith. It was awkward to be able to interact with them. And I soon found out, that they were like me – just a school girl who gets excited with boy bands and listens to music and studies during exams and eats a lot of junk food even if our parents tell us not to. These friends of mine have shown me that despite the differences we have, we still have a lot of similarities to share, we still needed each other when we have problems, we still give each other a helping hand when we have a goal to pursue.

Faith is a very sensitive issue, causing wars and holocausts. However, I realized that this is not what Jesus wanted for me to do (and also realize it is not what their beliefs tell them to do). I didn’t have to hate those who don’t believe him, this is not what my parents taught me to do. Even if there are people who hate on me because of my beliefs, I didn’t have to hate them back, instead show a better example.

My Muslim friends at school have shown to me that just because they believe in Allah and I believe in Jesus Christ, and my Born Again friends have different belief practices than me, it doesn’t mean we can’t be together. They made me realize that not all non-Catholics are bad, the same way that not all Catholics are good. Our faith matters so much to each of us, and yet we still find a lot of things to agree on.

I still firmly believe in Jesus Christ, and even if the boundaries I had before are gone, I am happily making more friendships with people now that I have set our differences aside. It gave me more room to love, making me leave the hate behind.

[Sexy_Angel_Kisses_7]

I am Canadian but I fully understand how important Martin Luther King was....he had a major impact on both US and Canada

[MissDotHacker]

*Username - MissDotHacker
*Title of Story - Embracing Differences
*Content of story -
A few years ago I applied for a job working in a group home, I got called in for an interview the next day and was hired on the spot. My first day of work I went in knowing that the people I would be working with all had some sort of mental disability with down syndrome being the most common. I went in with expectations of having to have a lot of patience and being able to deal with issues their disability would cause them. I was totally wrong.

The year I worked with the people totally changed me mentality. I could not believe how different people in the community could be, some embracing the people and others being rude and acting like they were scared of the people. The second always made me sad because they were all wonderful people. While they appeared a bit different they wanted all the same things I did, family, friends, love, laughter, happiness and I must say out of all the people I know these men and women had the privilege of being some of the happiest people I know. They showed me that no matter what your race, religion, or mental ability that you can learn something from someone and be the better for it.

[TheArtistsLover]

Username: Frozenter1
Tittle of Story: Nothing But Hell
Story:
I am defined by my disease. I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when I was only ten, since then life has been hell. Every day I wake up and hope I can go thought the day without throwing up. In the almost regular event that I do throw up it last for days and almost always sends me to the ER. There the doctors fumble through my medical records, without thought that this may be chronic and my mother knows about it. I get retched doctors who never even try to treat the true cause of my problem but fix the symptom only. I am also bullied because my condition involve's my bathroom habits. I'm labeled as a freak and it's rumored I cut myself. I have two friend one my beautiful girlfriend Corrieana and my best friend Jeremy. They both love me for who I am, not because I'm perfect. I love my family, but other than my mother none under stand the extent of my illness. My brothers tell me I'm just being a big baby. My sister is not old enough yet to realize what she says is hurtful, but my brothers have thought her to say I'm skinny and ugly. When my day is done and I check my Facebook I see that I've been sent tons of hurtful messages saying I'm ugly, stupid, emo, and to go cut myself. I delete them and go to bed only to be woken up by my colon. I then will sit on the toilet for an hour and wish I was back in bed. I feel as if my life is nothing but hell.

That's a day in my life. How about yours? How are you diverse? Pm me your story. I want to hear it and you want to tell it.

[hesempty13]

Wanton Whore

hesempty13

Wanton Whore

hesempty13

who da faq's marther luther king? o.O

Er, are you joking, or serious?o__ o
Well, if you aren't from America, maybe that's understandable.

serious o.O

was she some saint or something? trust the yanks to have a public holiday for some religious celebration stare
Can't wait for america to have the guts completely separate church affairs from state affairs... and to kick the gun lobby in the nuts xD

Oh, not at all, and it's Martin Luther King, not Marther, ha ha! He was an Black man who fought for desegregation in America. Back then, the Whites often saw themselves as the more powerful race and did horrible things to Blacks and any other race even people of different religion like the Jews. He believed in Gandhi's way of non-violent protesting and it really made a huge turn in many American's views of acceptance. He used to power of love. e truly was an incredible man who sadly had to die too soon to see what great progress he made.

and that's the magic of friendship emotion_awesome


Now if only he was still around to show the yanks how to be friends with islamics rolleyes

[Cookie_Booger]

hopehopehope

Cookie_Booger

My family and most of my cousins are mixed with almost all races: African-American, Caucasian, Asian, yaddayaddayadda... so, we're pretty much a smoothie of races. We also have different beliefs, some are gay some are straight, some are Christian, Catholic, Agnostic, Atheist or whatever. But no matter what, we still love each other for who they are, and not what they are.
My gramma tells me that a good person is still a good person no matter how different they look or whichever religion they believe in. :]

lol, i love the phrase "a smoothie of races". COOL!
c.

I forgot to add European in there. : P
Hehe, thanks. Wonder how that tastes like. rofl

[radish]

* NaomiNaomi.

* Waiting.

* On the dawn of a new day, forty minutes to my Creative Writing class, I nonchalantly type away on my computer relaying my own MLK entry to this here contest. To my left, there sits a young, bedraggled Latina woman staring, almost mesmerized, at the open space near her thigh. Her foot shaking impatiently for her upcoming class. A young, preoccupied black man sits before me, concentrated mostly on his iPhone, blaring a hip-hop beat that permeates as a hum in my university's center lounge area. And I, a young, pale skinned American whose looks bear nothing to her Trinidadian parents, continues to type away without a care in the world.

Us three individuals know nothing of each -- not our hopes, our fears, our majors, or even our names. Our cultures are spread across this entire spanning world, each secluded to the land masses they call home. Yet, here we are, unknown, but well versed in an activity we know far too well. We're waiting. The three of us are preoccupied with other activities, yet with this single, mundane action, we are capable of tolerating each other. We respect each others space, grant each other the time we wish, and know the oncoming moment when one of us might get and leave will come (the gorgeous-eyed Hispanic woman just upped and left -- I loved her coat!).

There isn't any racial tongue lashing leaving our egos and self images bruised and pile of ouchies, there isn't any glares, awful gestures, or insistent trembling from irrational fears. We're doing as everyone does, waiting, and sharing a flowing moment of time until we have to eventually part ways from our silent and ambiguous company.

[beccimaus]

Ignorance no longer exists
i live in a quite hugh city, once i was in a bus and saw a young couple entering, he was black and she was white.
they sat down side to side,
the next stop an old women entered and shouted at the black man: hey boy, why do you stay here next to that girl? Go, give me your seat and stay in the back of the bus where no seats are left for guys like you.
she actually didnt seem to stop and continued to should, even at the girl.
The man just decided to stand up when an other man asked the women to stop and the boy to stay at his seat, then he usked those of use who didnt sit to take the left seats.

In the and, it was the old women standing, the rest of us just sat down. We stayed like that even when the old lady asked us to give her our seat. We didn't
I hope, she changed her mind after that and sees black and white people equally!

[Angel_of_Death1665]

Username: Angel_of_Death1665
* Title of Story: Life
* Content of story: Through out my life I've come across so many different people, I used to ride the bus and I spoke to this one lady who was blind, we talk and talk, and I learned a lot about her job and how she picked out her cloths for the day ^_^, it was kool each outfit had a brale tag so she knew what the outfit was. I'm grateful for the world we live in now, since 100 years ago, she would have likely been considered worthless, were as today being blind is just another difference that needs to be understood.

[Yichem]

* yichem
* a homophobe class
* if u red my older post in this thread i m very bad at english so deal with it!!! sweatdrop So today for my french course i worked on christian siriano a designer(i wanna be designer too xp )partly beacuz he worked for gaia and his story is amazing for me.so my class went to then school library with the teacher at the last period.i go on wikipedia to folund things on christian and at one of the last paragraph it is wrote that he is gay by the moment the guy that i worked with said HE S GAY?!!!! LOL!!!! and everybody(mostly guy) camed and judged him by his sexual orientation i was very sad and learn a lot about those people that could be gay later like him and there is nothing bad!!!

[MultiGamer1495]

My username is x J e s s i c a C a t and this is my story about freedom and diversity and how it has changed my life.

Title: Martin Luther King Jr's Risk

Without MLK Jr, we would be no where, especially black people and women. Now that the blacks and whites are equal we don't have to go to different schools, and all of the laws are totally equal for everyone no matter what color or gender you are. Without MLK Jr, life would be miserable for so many people. He risked so much to get freedom and equality for EVERYONE. I admire him so much and he did something no one else had the balls to do back then. He stood up for everyone and we should be so happy and proud that we have people in our country that are willing to risk their lives for the sake of other people. A lot of the time we don't look back and realize what people did for our freedom and we take way too many things for granted. If MLK Jr. hadn't made that speech, who knows where we'd be now? I love and admire the people like MLK Jr. and Rosa Parks because they changed the world in so many great ways. Can you imagine the fear one would go through standing up for all of those people, not knowing what would happen to them afterwards? I personally know that I've been in situations where if there was still not equality between men and women and blacks and whites, I would've been sorry. We are all so lucky to have as much freedom and equality as we do. Hopefully more and more people will realize and be thankful for that.

[TxTiNK]

heart

[MissDotHacker]

* Username - MissDotHacker
* Title of Story - Anthropology opened my eyes
* Content of story -

When I was in college I took an anthropology class not even sure what it was really. I was delighted when I found out I would get to study other cultures. It was thanks to this class that I started to realize the US was really the only culture that did not seem to value senior citizens. I took a hard look at myself and realized I never gave them much thought. Since I lived next to a senior center this bothered me a lot and I decided to go interact with these people. It was amazing, they all taught me a lot about life, and not only that but showed me that I have a lot to learn from other cultures. I have changed the way I look at senior citizens and I still go to nursing homes to interact with them.