My People Are You

I don't get it.  True, I was born in a cosmopolitan, ethnically diverse state.I never asked where anyone from from.  I was an original, a native to Maryland.  I spent my first thirty-six years there. I was an anomaly for few of the Baltimore-Washington community are natives.  But they get there as fast as they can.

I have had the pleasure of living in small towns and outside large cities since athen.  I have also met a variety of fascinating people.They have no boundaries and many are from outside the United States.  They come here for a dream.  An openness. Jobs.  Schools. 

What I have experienced is this. Most small towns tend to be insular.  That is, they don't cotton to 'strangers', outsiders, new people, definitely new ways of thinking and being.  It takes a while for them to let you in. 

In the north, there is a certain coldness when you meet new people sometimes.  Once you make a friend, they are friends for life.  In the south, people are generally, instantly friendly. Often the first question you are asked is, "where are you from?"  Until I moved south, I was never asked the question. My family of origin would call that rather impertinent.  Assumptive. I ponder it and the sensibilities associated with the person asking it. 

I call it curious.  Further down in the conversation I am further asked if I am local.  I am now.  I wasn't considered local for the first year. Tragic for them.  Freeing for me.

In reading a political blog yesterday by an author I always felt to be progressive, I was a bit taken aback.  Insulted.  She wanted to know, "who are your people?" as though it was a pass to get in.  Understanding from where she comes, I will let some of it slide.  She spoke about the ethnic make-up of the state. The make-up of the North Carolina congress. And understandably, she wants it to reflect the concerns and wishes of the people who live here.

I have been lucky to be socialized in places where that doesn't matter.  People don't need to place you, label you or define you.  They accept you because they accept themselves. Isn't that really the issue?

My world consists of anyone who is in it.  I don't care about color, ethnicity or the like.  My people are everywhere because we all share the same DNA.

My people are you.