Livonia multiculturalism

there have been a lot of op-ed pieces popping up lately about the two Muslim women who were turned away from their prime seats at the Obama rally last week in Detroit. im trying to figure out why. its old news, and it wasnt much when it was new news.

sure, it never should have happened and whoever the hapless volunteers were who made the decision feel terrible, im sure. its over. Obama called the women to apologize, and in the most recent Free Press article i read, one of them is still throwing her support his way and the other didnt comment. because the thing is, it wasnt Obama who asked them to move. and if anyone is going to open the minds of america its Obama.

when this happened last week, i thought back to the first person i knew who wore the hijab. she was a girl i went to high school with. it took me a couple years to figure out it was a religious thing. i just thought she did it for the sake culture, rather than religion. like i said before, i had a very culturally open upbrining, and really didnt think twice about it. one day, someone in a class said to me 'you know shes muslim. thats why she wears a that headdress.'
'headdress??? its a scarf. and who cares if shes muslim? come back when you find a cannibal.'

come to think of it, i was good friends with a girl who's father is from India, but i dont know what religion she is/was. but i do know that she is a vegan, which i found to be interesting and very respectable. i crushed on another girl whos family was from Lebanon and absolutely mystified me. talk about culture shock... that was my first direct contact with arab christians. they sure arent like catholics. then i was best friends with a girl who spoke Ukranian at home. i was there enough to start understanding the constant fights with her mother. for coming from one of the whitest cities ever, i had some pretty multicultural friends. maybe thats where my naive notion that we can all get along if we quit being assholes comes from. becuase i had planty of differences with them, but we got along great. for the most part i was fascinated and just tried not to ask offensive questions. and if a pretty enthusiastinc carnivore like me can date a vegetarian, i think theres hope. and really, isnt that the idea? well, that and ending an unjust war, ballancing the budget, fixing health care, and generally restoring our image in the world... theres more to worry about than the blunders of a couple of campiagn volunteers. lots more.