The recent uproar over a cherrios commercial displaying an interracial couple made me happy when so many people stood up for the company. But I feel that a much bigger issue is being overlooked in the upcoming interracial saga. And that issue is the desire for cultural identity displayed by cultures in the United States.
Me and my siblings are mixed (Black farther and white mother) And despite our several disagreements, our opinions are the same when it came to the difficulties of growing up mixed. Throughout our childhood, other people, (black and white alike) placed an ultimatum on us. Either assimilate and conform into our culture or be labeled as the other and alienated. THroughout High school, expectations were placed on me to talk, walk, and act particular ways by my black colleagues. My inability to do so automatically labeled me as "white" or even worse "faggot".The expectations on acting "white" by my white colleagues were just as difficult at times. Failure to do so commonly resulting in labels that linked blacks to criminal activity and an insatiable lust towards white women.
This environment of expectations not only will make the lives of mixed children a confusing hell, but it could possibly eliminate the individuality of mixed children and force them to think ethnocentrically very early on.
What do you guys think?