Cultural Disconnect

Skateboarding was where I found my first home. A group of people that accepted me even though I was, well, me. 

Skate culture at the time was a safe haven for misfits. It drew people from all walks of life and even though it was a pain in the ass it was somehow enchanting to get yelled at by jocks, kicked out of places, and be harassed by the police. 

As entertaining as all that was, I do remember being upset about the label that was put on me and my friends: that we were stupid, lazy, and destined for failure. It made me angry. 

Because of this, I used to think I could relate to others who were systemically marginalized.

But there's a difference. I can choose to leave my skateboard at home. The cops gave us shit but our lives weren't in danger. Jocks were just having fun with us but didn't really want to cause any serious harm. Being judged negatively for being a skateboarder is not even on the same planet as dealing with systemic racism.  

This all probably sounds painfully obvious, and it should be. But for a lot of people, including myself at one point, it isn't. There's a cultural disconnect. 

For people who grew up in my shoes, this is where doing the work comes in. Trying to understand as much as we can knowing we will never understand. Being willing to listen to other people's perspectives, take them seriously, and act on them — not simply dismiss them because "It doesn't feel like that for me." Being willing to see what is so easy to ignore.

I am so small, so imperfect, and so ignorant about what needs to happen to start steering the ship in the right direction. So here I am sharing an experience. Owning a mindset I had that was completely wrong in hopes that someone who sees this will be able to share it with someone who can benefit from it.