The Lost Boys Move From Neverland

This week in sociology we watched a movie about a group of Sudanese refugees who were granted entrance to the United States and decided to come over to make their lives better. I have always been a very culturally aware person, maybe not as much as I could be, but very much so when compared to the "average American"(whatever that may look like). Anyways, when I heard the Lost Boy's perspective on Americans before coming to the USA, for example how they said we were lazy people, I could somewhat agree with him. There is a lot of success and a lot of hardworking people in the United States, however, some have become lazy, not needing to work extremely hard to get by. Compared to typical life for the lost boys the majority of Americans have it easy, we can buy pre-slaughtered, and cleaned meat, our food is packaged and already made, our water runs into our showers and toilets, our drinking water is purified and comes in bottles. This comparison and stereotype of Americans being lazy, although not completely true, didn't faze me. What did, was what they said when they were in America. I was literally disgusted by the way they were treated. I try to be a friendly person to strangers. I have learned this from my mom, to always be open to meeting new people, and because of it I have friends all over the country and world that I keep in contact with. For example, when I was in Nashville last summer, I met a girl from China and we still email back and forth. However, a lot of times people aren't as friendly back to me, like when I was in New York city and standing by someone in line, I started talking to them and literally received one word responses. This weekend I was a director for Operation Snowball, a retreat that promotes healthy lifestyle choices and expanding your boundaries, one big part of it is meeting new people. Thinking about the lost boys this weekend while I was leading my retreat, I realized that even suburban teenagers in the midwest (what's supposed to be a ridiculously friendly area in the US) require a specific weekend retreat to meet new people and feel comfortable talking to strangers. This was kind of a culture shock to me, allowing me to remove myself from what I was comfortable with doing and seeing, and realizing how other cultures may respond to it. Another thing that really got to me was when he said that they were no longer to walk into convenience stores in large groups because the store owners were stereotyping them and grew afraid. I was really disappointed to hear that, but not at all surprised. Even I am guilty of doing this. When I am walking on the street of a city, rather than asking a black man for directions I would most likely choose a white man. Although this may not always be the case, I realize how much I look at  race and gender and immediately make assumptions and judgements. This movie was really amazing to watch because it opened up my eyes to how closed off and isolated Americans have become. We are no longer about the inclusive, welcoming community, but the self.