[ExI] are we not just one race, the human race?

[John Grigg]

 Natasha, I sometimes notice in myself the strong desire to be separate from
others who are "different in a possibly negative way" and I think it is in
large part an innate/evolutionary behavior, which can be at least up to a
point, overcome.   I will see someone with a severe physical/mental
deformity and at some level I will feel repelled by them.  And yet I feel
ashamed of myself at the same time.

I try to fight this urge to escape them and where it seems appropriate I say
hello to the person and make some smalltalk (and then the feeling of
repulsion generally fades away almost immediately).  The mentally
retarded don't "bother" me (I generally find them sweet and charming and I
grew up around a friend with a younger sibling who was seriously
mentally retarded and who would hang out with us on occasion) but angry
schizophrenics yelling to themselves at the top of their lungs as they walk
the streets do cause me to stay out of their way.  I just don't have the
training to deal with them.

In college I worked for a nonprofit organization that took mainstream and
mentally handicapped teens into the wilderness for adventure and skill
building.  The experience gave me confidence that "mentally handicapped"
and "non-handicapped" youth can learn to work together and even develop real
friendships.  It was one of the best experiences of my life.

I really admire your work/volunteering for the disadvantaged (especially
considering the depth of it).  There is even more to you than I realized.
When you hit your 1,000th birthday I will have totally lost track of your
accomplishments!  : )


John
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