Tolerance

I chose to incorporate these specific images on my site page for the purpose of representing the four areas of Tolerance that I believe New York represents. Those areas are: interfaith, interracial, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual), and ethnicity. I find that New York is not only very tolerant of these aspects but also strives to make them both accepted and celebrated. I will elaborate more on this topic of Tolerance and provide further examples of this that are found both in New York and the films that are centered around New York in the following:

Interfaith (top left) in New York can be found in many places such as in centers, educational programs, hospitals, political events, workshops, weddings, and even ecological associations. For instance, the Interfaith Center of New York seeks to make New York City safe for religious differences by increasing mutual understanding among people of different faiths and by encouraging cooperation among religious communities and civic organizations. This mission is successfully completed when these centers collaborate with educational programs like Interfaith Works of Central New York. Interfaith Works of Central New York offers services that educate and promote tolerance for all of the different faiths, cultures, and ethnicities.

The municipal government also provides examples of supporting interfaith by offering interfaith medical centers, such as the one in Brooklyn, and interfaith breakfasts for various religious leaders (including atheists), which are held annually by Mayor Bloomberg. For interfaith romantic relationships, New York City offers workshops that specialize in interfaith counseling and customized wedding ceremonies. Last but not least, interfaith spreads from human relationships to environmental relationships in cases such as the Interfaith Consortium for Ecological Civilization whose goal is to inspire and guide social transformation and assist in transitioning to an ecological civilization. Interfaith, although it may not be supported on a micro level (within religious groups), is largely supported on a macro level (city-wide).

Interracial (top right) tolerance can easily be seen in the simple fact that interracial marriages have skyrocketed over the last couple of decades. A concept that was once illegal has now become a very usual sighting. However, this couldn’t have been made possible without committees that were dedicated to fighting for interracial rights. The New York Urban League is a prime example of one of those devoted committees. Since 1919, NYUL has been fighting for integration and diversity by doing things such negotiating for Blacks to work in brewing, airline, and baking industries and establishing the annual Historically Black College Fair. Diversity and interracial learning can also be seen in universities such as New York University, which offers a course in which literary texts about black-white couples, interracial families, and biracial identity are studied. These topics lead me to the movie Landlord (1970) from which I chose the picture (top right) of Edgar (Beau Bridges) and Lanie (Marki Bey) to represent interracial relationships and biracial identities.

The Landlord, although it doesn’t have the best ending, does a good job portraying interracial relationships. Edgar is a White male that grew up living a very luxurious and sheltered life with parents that were rather racist despite them having Black servers. But Edgar did not follow in his parents’ footsteps. In fact, he did the opposite by immersing himself into Black culture. In the beginning of the movie, we are shown him flirting with a tenant in his building, a Black woman named Francine (Diana Sands), which later in the movie develops into an affair. A better example of an actual and successful interracial relationship displayed in the movie would be the relationship between Edgar and Lanie. After meeting at the club that Lanie worked in they begin dating and falling for one another. They spend time together and Edgar embraces Blackness. He changes his clothes, his house, and his attitude. He stands up to his parents for Lanie, for the community, and for the entire race. Everything goes well until the affair with Francine backfires when she becomes pregnant. Fortunately, Edgar and Lanie survive the turmoil, decide to raise the biracial child together, and will assist the child in finding its identity, just like Lanie had to.

Struggling with identity is also a key issue in the case of the LGBT community. Luckily, in New York we have people that will fight to the end to support people’s rights to sexual orientation, such as the LGBT parade (from which I included a picture of – bottom left) and the legalization of gay marriage. New York has been making much progress for the gay community recently and will gladly continue to step forward in the future.

Finally we come to ethnic tolerance, which can be found all over New York. Examples of multiculturalism can be found in the different ethnic neighborhoods of the city such as Chinatown (Chinese), Little Italy (Italian), Greenpoint (Polish), and many others. You walk down the street and you see stores that are a mix of ethnicities such as Chinese and Mexican food, or you see parades that celebrate the different cultures, or you ride the subway and see the numerous diverse ethnicities sitting side-by-side engaging in conversation. Everywhere you turn you can see the integration and acceptance that is found in New York. Ethnic tolerance is even promoted on the big screen with television shows such as Sesame Street (bottom right picture).

Sesame Street is a utopia for cultural diversity and tolerance, especially to children. It exposes children to the other languages, cultures, and traditions that exist in the world and educates them on how to accept these differences in their every day lives.  It spreads the message that it is okay to be different because everyone is welcome in the neighborhood. Personally, that is how I see New York, as a “neighborhood” in which everyone is welcome, no matter who or what you are. Tolerance for all!

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