Drew's education extends far beyond the classroom

Yesterday I had two really interesting conversations. The first was with a Somali Refugee I am working with at the Cape Town Refugee Center and the second was with a barber giving me a haircut.

While getting tea and coffee my coworkers started a conversation with me and some other coworkers about how he think the United States should be more open to polygamy. He argued that if everyone in the relationship enters into the relationship consensually and fully understanding of the dynamic of the relationship that it is those individuals right to take part in that relationship. This was then linked to his belief in the right to have as many children regardless of the social context (the Chinese example), then to overpopulation, then to families unable to provide for all of their children, then to God showing people the way to providing what’s necessary, and finally to the oh so fun topic of the existence of God. This point came up when my coworker said he could never debate or discuss with someone who does not believe in God. I do not personally prescribe to a particular religion, nor do I have a firmly established belief in a God. I told him this. He then asked me how I could not believe in God and continued questioning me on my belief system, demanding hard proof of topics like evolution and the big bang. No one should ask for an in depth and scientifically accurate description of these processes from me as my knowledge comes from what I can remember from high school science classes. I told him this. He was not satisfied. Determined to show him that belief systems are not something to be questioned by others, I told him if he demands hard evidence of my beliefs I will demand hard evidence of his. I wanted his hard evidence of the existence of God, that we are non-evolved products of God and that God created all things. The response I got was that “God created all things.” When I said stating his belief was not proof he replied “God created all beings” or “God created the mountains and the oceans.” Now my description may make my coworker seem unintelligent but that is not at all the case. Having only been working with him for a few days now I know him to be incredibly smart and insightful. When I think about this discussion we had it really just illustrates to me the immense impact our society, our culture, and our communities have on our development and our belief systems. He could not comprehend someone not believing in God and I have never once in my life really questioned evolution or the big bang.

My second conversation revolved around “Reverse Racism” in South Africa. The barber who was cutting my hair was a young white man in his early thirties. I started asking him questions about his views on South African politics and one of the first points he brought up was how he was convinced that racism in South Africa was now directed at whites, not blacks. According to him a white kid graduating from UCT these days can’t find a job because companies will only hire black kids. He had several other examples along these lines. This conversation was a bit of a funny coincidence as I had just read an article (Why There's No Such Thing as Reverse Racism) for class the night before about why reverse racism is not a real occurrence as it would require the complete shift in socio-economic power structures (which clearly hasn’t happened in South Africa as the majority of rich are still white and the poor are still black). I was not out to educate though and just kept asking questions about his beliefs. He was for equality, just as long as that equality enabled the continuation of the status quo. He glorified Mandela and said he would happily vote for a party headed by a black man, just not the ruling party, the ANC. He was convinced that he was for equal opportunity for all regardless of racial or ethnic group but was against most means to provide that equal opportunity. He is a clear product of his society. I don’t believe he was ill-intended, just content with the status-quo and seemingly subconsciously under the belief that his privileges as a white man in South Africa were his rights.

Overall it was an eye-opening day. None of my opinions on the topics discussed were altered but my respect for the power of social context, community, and culture in shaping our beliefs and our minds grew tremendously. It makes me question what things I think or believe purely because of the contexts in which I have lived and what I would think if those contexts had been different.