I’m reading “Outsider’s Within”…..

…..and I’m realizing that the people who contributed to this book know more about white America and white people than I do.

I never knew what a middle class white American was….maybe until I got my first job and actually met some middle class white people. Still, it didn’t sink in. It took me several years at that job to see the difference between my life and theirs and then several more years to realize that they were actually the majority, not me.

Then, over say the past ten years or so I’ve had some time to think a bit more about it. My four years in dental school (2002-2006) were my real eye opener to what upper middle class white people are. I was officially out of my hometown and surrounded by “them”.

It’s a funny feeling. I don’t know if I feel cheated or not. People still mistake me for one of “them”. I still have problems interacting with “them”. I struggle with whether or not I should become one of “them”. But – I do know that I currently hate and deeply resent being mistaken for one of “them”. I try to view “them” objectively, but it’s tough. I find that I often don’t like “them”.