Minority Experience Reaction Paper

I had a true grasp of the thoughts and sentiments of the minority in the population on Friday, the tenth day of February 2017. Minority groups frequently feel excluded on several levels. However, without a sociological experiment in which a person is a minority, it is impossible to comprehend their genuine feelings. I made the decision to go to the Hill Crest gay bar Flicks Gay Bar on this material day. I had conflicting expectations as I entered the bar because it would be my first experience there. However, I gathered my courage and arrived at the bar just after 8 o'clock. The eatery has a typical club vibe. Disco lights flashed all over the room making the bar dimly lit. Most of the people sat in groups of more than three people, and my mind assumed that the people were couples.

The male waiters noticed I was looking for a place to sit and led me to a table with four people. I was the fifth one. One outstanding feature that stood out was the mode of dressing. The waiters had tight trousers and did not wear anything on the upper part of the body. The bar had dancers on the podium who wore underpants alone. The male dancers were dancing while removing their garments while the audience jubilated and threw money at them. The members of the bar would walk up to the podium and touch the dancers before putting money on their clothes. The gay bar seemed an interesting place for the regular members. The audience in the bar wore similar clothes with the majority being in underwear alone. If felt uncomfortable watching a man touching another one in ways that I considered inappropriate.

As the music grew louder, the audience no longer watched the dancers but also stood up and enjoyed the music. Most of the people in the bar sat in pairs. It was a common observation watching the men talking while holding hands. At first, I felt out of place. It felt weird to see shirtless men dancing while holding each other tightly. Being the first time in the bar, I rebuked them silently in my mind. The bars that I attended frequently had a higher number of men as compared to that of women. The people at my table were not left behind. They enjoyed the music and danced their hearts out. People started looking at me in a weird manner. Nobody was involving me in their conversations or even asking me to a dance. I assumed that the disgusting expression of the events in the bar repelled the member.

At the slightest opportunity, they moved to other tables. However, other people kept streaming in, and in a matter of minutes, I had new replacements. My mode of dressing was very different from them. Similarly, my inactivity showed that I felt out of place. Being a minority in such a situation is an oppressing feeling. No one understands the challenges you are going through in trying to fit into the crowd. As much as I tried, I still felt like an outsider. The first person to converse with me joined our table at around 10:30 pm. He was not gay either. He told me that he enjoyed visiting the bar because he had gay friends and who frequented the club. The new friend by the name Jack explained to me that the secret to fitting in was appreciating the other people and avoiding being judgmental.

However, his frequent visits to the bar had taught him how to fit into the crowd concerning dressing. As for me, I could not come to terms with the events of the night. Being the minority locked me in an environment that I could not enjoy. The bar was full of energy. There were so many activities going on in the bar making the place entertaining. People were dancing, drinking and chatting. However, being the minority confined me to my seat ensuring that I could not move about or enjoy the music as other people did. Being the minority is sorrowful. No matter how much effort you invest in fitting in, it just becomes impossible to feel like part of the group. At no time did I stand up from my sit apart from the number of times I visited the washrooms.

I was clear that minority groups experience challenges in leading their daily lives. The gay bar was full of diversity. The racial backgrounds of the people in the bar were diverse. Therefore, it is impossible to confine the sexual orientation to a particular ethnic group. However, I learned many points on surviving as a minority. Firstly, it is important to fit into the group through the mode of dressing which was the first distinguishing characteristic. The second part was getting involved in the activities in the bar. Sitting down when other people were dancing communicated that I was not part of the group making me a minority. My unusual appearance in the form of dress code denied me the power of having the fun enjoyed by the rest of the team. By the time I was leaving the bar, it was evident that overcoming the challenges of minority groups was not an easy task.

As time went by, the group grew friendly. I fit into the group, and we enjoyed drinks together. I realized that gay members of the group were close to customers outside their sexual inclination. The bar entertains a diversity of people without discrimination. Despite the bar being meant for the gay members, the occupants are friendly to people. At the end of my night, I had interacted with many people including the ones that had vacated the table. However, I experienced challenges experienced by a majority of the minority groups. For example, the music played was not according to my preference. However, I could not make requests for changes because the majority of the people were okay with the music. Diversity in organizations is very resourceful. People from different backgrounds get a chance to converse and exchange ideas.

When people originate from the same cultural and racial background, most of their ideas tend to be similar because of similar backgrounds. However, the experiences of individuals from different backgrounds and beliefs tend to differ. An interaction leads to an exchange of ideas which is very healthy for cultural and growth of ideas. Diversity assists in cultural appreciation of other groups. The experience exposed me to the challenges faced by minority groups giving me the opportunity to appreciate the clusters in the society that form part of the minority groups. Diversity in an organization makes the individuals adapt quickly. People learn how to work with people from other social backgrounds without any conflicts. With diversity, adjusting to people from other cultures becomes easier.

Such adaptations make it easier to increase productivity in the organization and enhance cooperation in all levels of performance. The problem of working in a team without diversity is that people fail to appreciate the cultural diversity of other people as well as the appreciation of their background. In my visit to the bar, I realized that interacting with gay people does not mean that the sexual inclination must be the same. Gays are people like us and part of humanity. Therefore, they are also good people who choose to live their lives according to their preference which is a right in the constitution. In the past, my first impression on people from the minority groups was not noble. I used to take part in discriminating them which stigmatized them. However, I failed to realize the effect I caused in their lives.

However, the experience at the gay club showed me the effect of marginalizing the minority groups. It is happy to offer them a chance to interact with us and share their cultural values and experiences with us. Giving the minority groups an opportunity is better that shutting them off from our lives and leaving them lonely. Looking back at my knowledge, I wish I was interactive with the members of the bar from the first instance I got into the bar. I would have enjoyed the experience more than having to sit down and feel like a minority. Our different inclinations should be an opportunity to interact and understand each other. Being in the minority group is challenging, but it was an excellent lesson. People from the groups should learn to interact with other groups which will lessen the loneliness associated with being in the minority groups.