I didn't watch the Miss America pageant last night - it's not something that I really care that much about, but when I saw on Twitter that this year's Miss America is has an Indian heritage, I thought it was great that the Melting Pot that is America was highlighted!
THEN, I saw some of the comments that were being made and I was totally embarrassed by the fact that people in this country are (a) so completely ignorant, (b) so incredibly mean and (c) so quick to share their stupidity from behind their Twitter handle.
Miss New York - now Miss America, is beautiful - and that's what it is... a beauty pageant.
No, her parents were not born in this country, but she was, or she wouldn't be eligible for the pageant. She grew up here, she went to school here and she has been a citizen of this country from the time she was born. Had her parents emigrated from Italy, would this conversation be happening?... probably not. It is so disappointing and totally embarrassing to know that Americans are still so racist, still so ignorant and so closed minded to understand that the color of her skin, her kids skin, her grandkids skin and so on will likely never be "white". There are a number of Americans with a different color of skin who are generationally more American than I am. My grandfather wasn't born here - he was born in Greece, but he immigrated here, established himself as an American and proudly bought in to what American stood for. There are people in this country whose skin is darker than mine, but whose families have been here longer - does that make me less American than them?
My hope is that the children of those people making negative and racist comments about our new Miss America can rise above the hate that their parents were taught and become better people than their ancestors, which is ultimately what we should all do - work to be the most accepting and united America that there has ever been.
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