White People

I was reading a great series of posts on A Cup of Jo where she was talking about how yuppified life has become when your friends begin complaining about the duck confit or sharing stories about how someone got drunk at a wedding in Sri Lanka and fell off the edge of the infinity pool. As she says, "Wait, What? Awesome. Top that!" Yeah, I really don't think I can but I now have my eyes wide open for flagrant displays of this behavior!

A few clicks away, I then found myself on this blog: Stuff White People Like. The list is chock full of things I do, in fact, like (e.g., living by water, whole foods, yoga, indie music) -- along with hilarious copy pointing out the ridiculous nuances of each.

Regarding gentrification, he writes, "White people like to live in these neighborhoods because they get credibility and respect from other white people for living in a more “authentic” neighborhood where they are exposed to “true culture” every day. So whenever their friends mention their home in the suburbs or richer urban area, these people can say “oh, it’s so boring out there, so fake. In our neighborhood, things are just more real.” This superiority is important as white people jockey for position in their circle of friends."

Cracks me up. When we first moved back here and were looking for homes, many people suggested the town next to us because it has greater diversity. While I do wholeheartedly agree with that in concept, I couldn't help but think that by "diversity" they really meant the opportunity for our kids to grow up alongside other affluent children from hyper-educated parents who happen to be from different cultures, religions or races. Because, otherwise, if I was really aiming for cultural diversity, wouldn't I simply move to the inner city where they could meet families from all walks of life? And save some money on my mortgage in the process?