This is the FCB Podcast Network.

Just listen to yourself presents.

I'm just saying with Cura Davis.

I just watched a social media video of a young white man meeting the people of a remote

African village.

In the video, you can see children reaching out to the man to touch his skin, often with a bit of fear.

It is clearly their first time seeing a white person and the reactions are a delightful mix of joy,

apprehension, and curiosity.

No one seems offended. Everyone is laughing. There is a palpable

sense of wonder in the interactions, including from the white man himself. It must be very interesting

to come from a culture where you have never experienced being an anomaly and suddenly be thrust into

an environment where no one has ever seen anyone like you.

Everyone was learning something.

The video was short and sweet, but it made me think about the mosaic of the human experience.

And how much pleasure we in the modern West deny ourselves by our constant insistence

that we are not allowed to observe or appreciate the differences in

culture, race, and ethnicity. We have tons of conversations about microaggressions and cultural

appropriation, but we do not make space for the excitement of discovery. In fact, we shame people

for falling in love with other cultures and adopting some of their

traditions as an expression of that love.

We embarrass people for being curious about the differences of others.

In the process, we miss out on moments like the one in this video.

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