A Plea Against Misconception
For as long as I can recall, I was told not to judge a book by its cover. In the third grade the rule was emblazoned above the classroom door in gold letters. In the fifth grade we had to write an essay on when we judged something incorrectly or were judged incorrectly. We were schooled in the methods of judgment and were told to pass them on to the younger students, campers, or whoever was below us on the educational hierarchy. It is this lesson that I wish to impart onto those who do not belong to the Russian-American communities. Through interviews and nostalgic reminiscence I can proudly claim that Russians are not all as media, your friends, or the bad few make us out to seem. Not every Russian is a gay bashing, muscle or fat bound, chain smoking, vodka drinking, chaos causing maniac. All of these qualities, and plenty more, exist in the Russian community to a certain extent. However, what I was able to conclude is that the Russian community is a perfect example of misjudgment.