Children and grandchildren of immigrants have probably heard these words before: “You have to stick to your own kind!” Be it for friendships, dating or marriage, older immigrant generations seem to have a very narrow view about interacting with others. Whether it’s out of fear of losing their cultural roots, language barriers or culture clash, this fear of the other remains a very ignorant way, and though it may have worked twenty or thirty years ago, it no longer works today.
Cultural differences among younger generations are no longer a big issue. Since schools these days are filled with kids from various backgrounds, youths are exposed to different ethnicities and religious beliefs from a young age. This exposure allows them to interact with and learn about different cultures, while developing interesting friendships. Everyone is friends with everyone, regardless of skin colour, ethnicity or religion.
What’s more, cultures are blending together through coupling and marriage, and producing children of mixed backgrounds. The city of Montreal is filled with mixed individuals, from backgrounds such as Haitian-Italian to Filipino-German. I myself am a product of cultural blending, having a Portuguese father and an Italian mother. When my mom started dating my dad, she was a little apprehensive about her parents’ reactions to her non-Italian choice. In the end, my grandparents embraced my dad and realized a little Portuguese in the family wouldn’t hurt anyone.
In contrast to those old immigrant “rules”, my parents, having defied them themselves, raised my brother and I very openly. From when we were very young, we were taught to accept and respect everyone, because though we may be different, we’re all equals. Once I hit the dating age, my dad’s only rule was that I could date whomever I wanted, as long as they weren’t “douche bags”.
I know some people still have this mentality that “your own kind is the best kind” engrained, and in the end, everyone’s entitled to be with whoever makes them happy. But I say, why limit yourself to vanilla when there are so many flavours to choose from?
