What is Race, as define by society?

     What is the deciding factor on whether or not you are a "person of color"? At what point does one stop being "white"?  Am I enough of a minority to understand what racism is? To know what being discriminated against really feels like? I am of German decent. Some people look at me and assume I am not a person of color while others only see color, race, and perceived origin because I don't "look white".
     Maybe it's my eyes that define which racial group I should be cataloged with, or it is the color of my skin which isn't too dark or too light. What part of me signals to others that I am not "white"? I have never understood how people made that choice.
     When I was very young and living in Mexico, I was the minority. When I moved to the United States I was still the minority. Even when I am around people that look a lot like me I am still the minority. I am different. I accept that there isn't a large concentration of people that share my racial make up. Even in the small town where I was conceived there was only me. As far as I can tell I am a minority of one. I will always be perceived as being different.
     My children, if you follow that a fourth plus one fourth equal half, are mostly German. No one has volunteered to call my children German. The question they do get asked with some frequency is "Are you part Chinese?" Even with the assumption that they are not one hundred percent of anglo decent they aren't often treated as anything but "white" while I get treated as one hundred percent "not-white". Why?
     About five years ago my daughter came home from school quite upset. There had been a long running discussion on race and racism in one of her classes, and when she had ventured to give her opinion she was dismissed. She was told that she couldn't possibly understand what it meant to be a person of color because she was white.
     My daughter has never identified as being only German or only Chinese or only Mexican or only anything. Watching how people interacted with me, her mother, how they treated me unfairly or acted dismissive of me simply because of how I looked had left an indelible mark on her. She saw herself as being just like me, meaning that she grew up feeling as if she too was a minority. When I was slighted she felt slighted, when I was insulted she felt insulted. Being told that she couldn't possibly understand what it felt like to be discriminated against and thus shouldn't even try to voice her opinion on the subject was akin to a slap on the face, a very ethnically diverse face.
     Even more recently a friend of mine was called out for being "white" and thus incapable of understanding what racial diversity is all about. This is the same friend who grew up in a mostly Mexican-American neighborhood where the language of choice was Spanish. Even back then the very fact that she was "white" meant that she was automatically perceived as being elitist and aloof. Do her experiences give her enough credibility? Can she talk about diversity without others thinking that she is simply pandering to minorities?
     My step-brother, born to descendants of English/Scottish immigrants, suffered a broken arm during an altercation that was started over his hair. He had a head full of really tight and frizzy curls which someone mistook for permed hair made to look like an afro. It was his first week at a new school and he was beaten down because someone thought he was trying to "look black". After a year of dodging fists and death threats my step-brothers and sister had to be transferred to another school.
     I had a friend who was constantly made fun of for having "nappy hair." She was in fourth grade and the girls in school who looked like her made fun of her and excluded her from any social events for not straightening her hair. I often found her crying in the school bathroom. She would run a comb through her hair until her scalp hurt but that didn't change the texture at all. She was ten years old and people were already telling her that her natural state wasn't good enough. That looking like her family wasn't good enough. That her ethnic beauty wasn't good enough. Are those experiences enough for both of them to be able to say "I understand what it feels like to be discriminated against because of the color of my skin and the texture of my hair" without someone taking offense that it is a "white" man or a very young girl who speaks those words?
     What qualifies a person to be able to freely talk or write about diversity and discrimination without becoming the victims of vitriol? How dark does your skin need to be before you are recognized as a person of color? Who should be allowed to talk about discrimination and diversity? At what point does defending diversity cross the line into racism? Is it the name calling? Is calling someone "non-white" as acceptable as calling someone "black" or "white"? Is it even okay to use the phrase "person of color"?
     Of course, in a perfect world everyone should be allowed to talk about race and diversity. Everyone. The answer to healing a racial divide does not lie with one race or the other. It lies with all of us, no matter where our ancestors came from. It shouldn't matter what shade of dark or light your skin is, or if you are white or black or Asian or Native or whatever. It has been my experience that when people put their differences aside for the sake of community everyone starts to be treated as and acting like equals.

The Everest's Take on Mutton Stew: Nepali/Indian Cuisine Review

     I was bemoaning my access to really good Indian food when a friend suggested I try the Everest Restaurant, "a hole in-the-wall kind of place with really good ethnic food. I've heard they have a good mutton dish." The fact that mutton isn't exactly on everyone's menu and that it can be difficult to cook made me curious enough to try it out.
      The decor was simple, almost understated. I read somewhere that if a restaurant spends too much time and resources on making itself look good than the food might be lacking, thus when the decor is simple the food is bound to be excellent. While this is often true of larger places it isn't always so with smaller eateries. Sometimes the food is better than expected, sometimes the food matches the setting. Here at the Everest Restaurant I was pleasantly surprised to find myself surrounded by rich, savory food served piping hot and spiced just as I ordered it.
     When I asked for a cup of hot chai I was given the choice of having it serves sweetened or unsweetened. For me this alone was worth the trip inside. Chai is usually made by brewing black tea and spices, such as cardamom and cloves, in milk. It's my opinion that most places that serve chai in Akron serve it so sweet it is almost cloying. Having the option to try it unsweetened made my evening. It was rich, fragrant, and worthy of a second serving.

       I ordered the Mutton Thali as my friend had suggested, but asked for it to be prepared with the most moderate amount of spiciness, meaning I wanted it to be not too mild but not too hot. A Thali is usually a round tray of several small dishes served at once with copious amounts of rice. This particular dish was served with golden lentil soup, roti (a kind of flat bread), yellow saag with potatoes, rice and milk, and a mango pickle. Although this dish is traditionally eaten with one's hand, using small pieces of roti to scoop up bite-sized morsels, it was brought to the table with a fork and spoon. Instead of making do with the single roti that came with it I ordered some naan. There was enough soft bread in my one order for two persons to share.

     The pickle wasn't to my liking mostly because I didn't know how to eat it. Was I supposed to mix it in with my rice? Add it to one or all of the dishes? Eat it as is? I took a very small bite and then left it alone. The basmati rice was fragrant, the lentil soup was creamy and delicate, and the spiced rice and milk was delicious, but the Mutton soup was definitely the star of this dish. The sauce was aromatic and savory and the meat was tender and free of any gristle. One bite and I was already vested in finishing the dish off by myself, except I had to share some of it with my dinner companion. The spiciness level was spot on for me. My companion found the medium spice level to be almost too hot for him. This is a good example of how different individual palates can be.

     Not being one to leave after trying only one dish, and because I don't like to discriminate between full grown sheep and lambs, I also ordered the Lamb Korma at their highest level of spiciness. It was so good. The braised lamb was as tender as the mutton, but the velvety smoothness of the sauce was a welcomed treat. The cumin gave this dish an almost sweet taste which paired perfectly with the white rice.

     I didn't find it to be spicy hot at all, perhaps because the Thali had dulled my sense of taste. My companion swiped a napkin across his brow to highlight the fact that he did indeed find it spicy hot. Go figure. I suggested he spoon some rice and milk into his mouth to counter the burn. It helped a little.


    While the Thali enticed me to visit again the Korma guaranteed it. The wait staff was attentive and polite, and a peek through the window to the kitchen afforded me a view of clean serving counters and a tidy setup behind the closed door.
     Of course, when I come back I will have to ask them how to eat the mango pickle they serve here. Oh, and the fennel seeds offered at the register, you might be better off trying a smaller portion than what I took. The colored seeds taste better than the plain ones, and if you don't like fennel or the taste of black licorice don't try them.
The Everest Restaurant is located right outside Akron at 2033 State Road, Cuyahoga Falls. 234-706-6630, Open Tuesday through Sunday, Lunch 11 am-2:30 pm, Dinner 5-10 pm. They specialize in Nepali and Indian Cuisine and serve a lunchtime buffet.
https://everestrestaurant.net

 

 


 
     
     

Yoly's Akron; 18th, 19th, & 20th of April, 2016

This is how I see my neighborhood; expansive yet intimate, lively yet quiet, vibrant yet subdued.

Yes, at times it seems like you aren't welcomed here.

This town is full of attitude,

tempered with a touch of hunger for changing the status quo.

It is a cool mix of new and old, the inviting and the foreboding. 

It is an architectural wonder for the eyes.

Just don't feed the pigeons, although the pigeons will argue otherwise, they are fed well enough already.

We bridge bad weather with good company when we can, and however we can.

We may go a little overboard with the bristling personalities, but those are the people who will do the most for you, go the further for you, and take care of you without condition.

You can find beauty in everything here, but only if you are looking for it.

Akron is a city where we create art to stun and confuse, to make you wonder and make you want to play. We don't follow the crowds, we incite them. Here we make our own superheroes, forge them in our own image with our weaknesses as their folly and our strengths as their essence.

Akron is as sweet as you want it to be, and as hard as you make it for yourself.

Akron is transformation.

Akron is welcoming to those who chose to come here and swift to divest itself of anything that would make it seem as anything else.

We truly are a city of bridges, those you cross on foot and those you cross with a handshake.

The views are always worth stopping for.

Every streets leads to something wonderful, whether it's a view, a jazz joint, a plate full of hot food, or home.

Our best and brightest gems are not  baubles, they are our people.

Our knowledge isn't hidden in books, in Akron we write our own story.

We are eccentric and contradictory, but we are good people at heart.

Akronites care about their city like they care about their homes, they care about their neighbors like they care about family.

We don't encounter strangers when we walk down the street, we find new neighbors and future friends.

It may seem at times that there is no hope, no way through or onwards, but we try our hardest to take care of our own. "If I can't help you I will find someone who can" should be our motto.

We can be a little squirrely about things at times. We can get distracted by our visions, our goals, our muses, but we are creators. All the best creators have been a little nuts.

Akron, it's nature, it's nurture, it's home.

How do you see your Akron?