Apparently, I’m an enigma where I live, at least to some people. Evidenced by some of the things that people have said to me and/or some of the reactions I’ve received by things that I’ve done, said, or just by how I present myself, I’ve gathered a small but interesting collection of quotes. I’m only including a handful here. I don’t necessarily think I’m a puzzle, a conundrum, a mystery, a riddle, or a perplexity. I am, however, a lover of language and synonymns. 
So what, or rather who, am I? How do I define myself? Are these qualities so hard to join, so hard to put side by side?
I don’t know if it’s just where I live, or if it’s prevalent in other places too. It didn’t seem to be as much of an issue where I grew up. And people, that’s only a 45-minute drive from here! It’s not like I moved to a really rural area. It’s just an odd area, this town of mine. Many, or at least some people here just seem uncomfortable if they can’t put you in a nice and neatly labelled box. If I’m a liberal, then I must be a godless heathen, right? Well, no, sorry. And if I’m a married straight woman, then I must be uncomfortable around gays and jokes about gays are OK, right? Well, no, that’s not OK either.
So I confuse people.
Just in the past few weeks to a month, I’ve had the following comments directed towards me. The first one I’ve already discussed:
* It’s awkward for a white woman to be so interested in diversity.*
* Why would you be interested in diversity unless it directly affects you?* [never mind that my family is made up of two Caucasians and one Asian; that didn't seem to matter to this person]
*You’re only interested in diversity because you have to be interested in it.* [for work]
* You’re obsessed with the gays.*
For the record:
* I’m a white woman who’s interested in diversity (as we all should be).
* I’m a straight woman who is not only interested in GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) issues, but has also researched and written a little bit about them. I’m also a faculty member of a GLBT Committee on the campus where I work.
* I’m a registered Democrat, but I vote on the issues and the people running, not necessarily by party line.
* I’m politically liberal.
* I’m a liberal Christian.
* I’m an adoptive mother who is interested in adoption reform. That doesn’t mean that I am anti-adoption however, just that I think that changes need to be made to protect all parts of the adoption triad (particularly the birth/first parents and the adoptees).
I believe that all of these can co-exist within me quite well. It may not always be easy, but then again, it’s not always easy being me 
. But no one else has that job, but me.
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I haven’t really talked about my faith with these people, nor have I talked about my political leanings. I’m a bit afraid that doing so might make their heads explode. Maybe I’ll just save those discussions for a really slow, boring day. Then, at least exploding heads will be a nice diversion.
Posted in Diversity
