In college I briefly dated a white guy who believed he had been Native American in a previous life. He was obsessed with a Native American girl I knew and believed he had been in love with her for many lifetimes. He was really into his 'identity' and did things like write nasty letters to the school paper about Columbus Day. My friends and I nicknamed him Astral Projection Man because he claimed to have this ability. I didn't realize this kind of behavior might actually be a phenomenon. I'm sure I'd be put off if I met someone who dressed up in a yamika and tallis and claimed to be a 'deep-down' Jew.
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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, I'm not sure how much religious basis there is for Jewish social justice activism. I think it has more to do with the experience of knowing what oppression is like. Jews have faced hatred, discrimination and genocide for thousands of years. In the grand scheme of time, the Holocaust was an eyeblink ago. Our relative economic success in the United States is deceptive; most of us are just a few generations removed from immigrant conditions and even poverty. Even though I have faced almost no discrimination as a modern-day U.S. Jew, I am keenly aware that I am the great-granddaughter of a Holocaust victim, and that my father grew up in a poor Jewish neighborhood in a city (Minneapolis) that was a hotbed of anti-Semitism not very long ago. I feel empathy for oppressed people and 'the underdog,' and I feel this has a lot to do with being Jewish. When I was a child, my father bought me books about Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Jr. and Caesar Chavez, and taught me that they were about the same thing.
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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, Funny you should ask. It's Coming Out Week, and college campuses across the country are offering programs for gay and straight students. At the liberal arts college where I teach, there are a variety of speakers. At today's chapel service, a lesbian student gave the homily and came out to the audience. Our campus offers an Out House, where gay students and straight student allies live together. A statewide organization comes here yearly and offers a program about gay students for faculty members. I attended, and now have a banner o my bulletin board that reads, 'Safe Place,' inviting gay students to feel free to speak to me openly. For students on this campus, it's kind of a mixed bag; many of the students come from conservative backgrounds and are uncomfortable or naive about homosexuality, but the school itself is fairly liberal and has made efforts to make gay students feel welcome. I'm sure experiences for gay students differ by school. I attended large state universities where there were many resources for gay students. At small, conservative schools, I'm sure resources are limited.
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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, I don't know why there are so few Asian men represented in the media, but it's a shame. Usually, the only ones you see are martial artists. One nice exception to this is Curtis, a 29-year-old Asian-American lawyer who is on Big Brother. He's intelligent, funny, sexy and might actually win!
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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, I think this has a lot to do with how bisexual women are portrayed in the media - especially pornography, but also in venues like The Jerry Springer Show. The media usually portrays bisexuality as something kinky and desirable to straight men. A monogamous lesbian is someone sexually unavailable to men and possibly threatening, so we don't see many in the media. Instead, we see oversexualized, promiscuous bisexual women, who of course are attracted to men.
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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, Is this pointy-hat week at Y?Forum?
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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, This is the most blatantly, overtly racist post I've ever seen on Y?Forum. I am sorry you have lived 67 years and feel this much animosity towards anybody.
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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, I speak not from experience (I'd love to hear what people from rainbow families have to say about this), but from strong conviction. I absolutely think that gay couples should be able to adopt children. I believe that having children is a basic human right, and to deny gay people this right is inhumane. I understand the objection that the kids might be the brunt of harassment to some degree. However, if more gay couples do adopt children, the stigma will go away. I'm sure it might be difficult sometimes for a child in that situation, but I believe children are served well by parents who stand up for what they believe in. I also think it's bogus that kids need parents of different genders. A child is lucky to have two loving, committed parents.
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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, I agree with Crystal. Most people who would not vote for Jew in the year 2000 probably wouldn't vote for Gore anyways. Soem people might fear the 'dual loyalties' thing, but I'm optimistic enough to think that mostly phased out with JFK. As a Jew, I am kind of excited about the nomination (although he's too conservative for my tastes, Jew or not.) However, frankly, it would be more groundbreaking to nominate a woman or a person of color for the VP position. That would be a lot more gutsy than nominating a Jew. When most people turn on the TV and see Lieberman, what they see is yet another powerful white man in politics.
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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, I'm glad you asked that question, Shannon, because my students ask it all the time, and I'm not sure how to answer it. One issue is that even though media outlets technically are open to people of all groups, in reality most TV is 'White TV.' How many people of color do you see nominated for Academy Awards? How many sitcoms, comic strips, movies do you see about people of color? They are the exceptions, by far. BET, entertainment awards for people of color, ethnic beauty contests, etc., are an attempt to give people of color recognition in a world where mostly only whites get recognition. I know the concept of BET seems as racist to you as 'WET' would be, but in order for this to be true, we would have to have a culture where all groups genuinely were treated equal. The fact is, white people in this culture have way more power than black people, and black people are not regarded very highly in or culture in many ways. Try to have some empathy for what it must be like to turn on the TV and constantly see people who are not like you, and you'll understand why there is a need to 'make up the difference' with things like BET.
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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, Why do little white girls have names like Ashley and Jessica and Amy? These names aren't any more 'normal' than the popular African-American names you listed - they're just more 'white.' White people sometimes are accustomed to thinking what we do is the 'norm,' and that names like Ashley and Brittany and Brooke are culture-neutral, while names like Yolanda or Juanita or Fatima are culturally specific and 'abnormal.' Just as white people often choose common 'white' names, people who are not white often choose names that are popular in their own communities and reflect their own traditions. Oh, and it's my understanding that Keisha and Towanda are fairly common African-American names, so they're not the least bit 'made-up.'
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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, I've lived on the East Coast and in the Midwest. Yes, there's more money on the East Coast, and more things like nice department stores, fancy restaurants, extravagent weddings, Prada bags, etc. However, it's definitely a stereotype to say most people live like that. In addition, along with the greater extremes of wealth, there are great extremes of poverty on the East Coast. Washington, D.C., may be full of status-oriented people, but it's also full of areas that look like Third World countries.
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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, Since you live in South Jersey (where I grew up), you are fortunate to be in the vicinity of many synagogues. Make appointments with rabbis in a few of them, and tell them what you told us. They will be happy to answer your questions and help guide you on your spiritual path, and give you information about conversion. Attend some religious services and events. For myself, rediscovering my Jewish heritage has not meant much of a 'lifestyle change,' but I am not a religious person, so you'll have to figure out for yourself how devout you want to be and how many changes you'll need to make in your life. If you can afford to do so, why not travel to Israel? I did so recently, and nothing has made me feel more Jewish.
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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, I don't have an answer for you, but I want you to know I think that's horrible! If I were selling a house, and someone told me to remove all traces of Jewishness from my home, I would be furious. I can't believe there are white people who are still that uncomfortable with African Americans.
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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, I'm sure my family has black ancestry. My father has nappy black hair and a nose and lips that look pretty African. He almost looks biracial. My cousin uses black hair care products. I've never actually heard Jews try to deny black ancestry, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear it. It bothers me quite a bit that there is so much animosity between African Americans and Jewish Americans. We have a lot in common, ancestrally and otherwise.
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Name : Rhiannon, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 29, City : Eden Prairie, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Professor, Social class : Middle class, 
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