<p>I wouldn’t be “creeped out”, but I would probably feel a bit alienated—at least until I got to know the neighbors, and felt like an accepted part of the community. I would want to feel that my unique family (at least unique for an all white area) would be unlikely to encounter discrimination. My DH is white, I’m black, and our children are obviously bi-racial. Where we live now is very racially pluralistic. There are so many different races and religions in the Hampton Roads region (as well as every sort of combination of mixed marriage household) that people barely blink when we go out. I think that’s why my children are so comfortable in their own skins.</p>
<p>At school, my kids have sometimes been asked, “what ARE you?”, and even though they are often annoyed by this question, they also acknowledge that the question is usually not asked in an antagonistic way. I think the question is probably motivated by curiosity, and a desire to find a category into which to place my kids. I believe it’s human nature to attempt to make sense of the world by placing everything into logical categories. As long as people don’t make negative value judgments based on my family’s racial makeup, it’s fine.</p>
<p>I went to college in the late 70’s in a little village (pop. 2000) that was overwhelmingly white and protestant. At that time, there was only one black family among this “towny” population, and they were rumored to be experiencing considerable problems. Their teen aged son and daughter were literally the only two black kids in their high school, and When it came to dating, they were pretty much out of luck. Whenever I shopped in the little shops in the village, the shop owners often looked at me as if I was some new species of human. I always tried to strike up friendly conversation, to let them see that I was really not that different from their other customers—certainly no different than the other college students who entered their shop. I became friends with some of them after a while. But others never stopped silently shadowing me, as if they were afraid I would steal them blind. It was very discouraging. There were times when I came very close to wheeling around and declaring, “Don’t worry, I DON’T steal!” :rolleyes:</p>