Extra Credit: The Black-Jew Dialogue

               I had the chance to attend a production of “The Black-Jew Dialogue” on campus on March 4^th. I did not really know what to expect walking in other than the fact that they would be discussing minorities. It ended up being a lot livelier than I had thought. They were very full of energy, jokes and creativity; that in and of itself was impressive considering the content that they were dealing with. They used skits, dances and puppets to entertain the audience while they were bringing up different culture’s stereotypes and labels. They talked about how everybody is a part of a culture, and no one was better than the other – every group of people has had their share of proud and embarrassing moments. At some point, everyone has been disrespectful or cruel to another group, and when you think about it, there aren’t that many differences between all of us. One person’s opinion will not be the same opinion as everyone else’s. To be fully informed, you not only have to learn about your own history, but also listen to other people’s stories to hear where they’re coming from. It’s not cut and dry – no one is completely right or wrong, and all points of view and ways of life should be respected. To understand, you need to stretch yourself beyond what is comfortable to you, and ask questions. Everyone comes from a different place than you, and you need to understand that in your interactions with them.

                It is a good thing that we are all different, and we have this unique experience of being in the melting pot that is America. We get to interact with so many beautiful people from different walks of life. Minorities are not just limited to race, but also can be related to age, religion, and disabilities, etc. There is a huge list of people that can be discriminated against, but the key to getting past it is in understanding each other.  There will be mistakes in conversations with others, but it’s something that needs to be dealt with and not just ignored or else the problem will continue to build. It was quite thought-provoking. They challenged the audience to really take a stand and fight for and with the minority groups. There were good points about the young people of this generation not fighting for what we believe in any more. Social media isn’t always enough – sometimes you really need to sacrifice some things for people to take notice of what you are trying to say. People need to rise together to overcome, not just amount to a few feeble Facebook statuses ranting about a change that the people behind their laptops will never make happen. 

                Behind all the funny remarks there was a really important message that I got to hear. The quote from Martin Amis on the front of their flyer is one that best sums up the entire idea being presented: “The deal with multiculturalism is that the only culture you’re allowed to disapprove of is your own.”