Saturday, July 19, 2008

On Being an Outsider

The Post tomorrow carries a piece by a Princeton grad, black and female, who is now a Post reporter, discussing her and perhaps Michelle Obama's experiences at Princeton (just stumbled across it).

It struck a cord--she found herself not in the in-group (i.e., the rich preppies) and therefore became more conscious of her blackness. I had a similar experience almost 50 years ago. Not that I was black, but I was a farm boy from upstate NY in a college whose tone was set by urban New York City dwellers. It made me more conscious of being an outsider. But since I wasn't a member of a recognized minority, I was pushed out, not into another group.

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