I'm not an American , so I have no idea about East Texas . However, I understand the problems you might be having . Most people are the same , regardless of their origins . We all want our children to do well , our parents to be fit and healthy, and our bank balance to be in the black . Don't worry about being white , just see others as you see your self.
Sorry, stephenf, but this is just wrong. Well, on one level, anyway.
Of course, all people are
basically the same. They all have goals, desires, hopes, fears. But to categorically assume that ALL people are all the same regardless of what color package they are wrapped in is an invalid assumption.
Consider the Native American Nations: They have lived for generations with the history of Euro-Whites who came into their land, ripped them from their homes, shoved them around North America like so many pawns on a chessboard. Then, for good measure, rounded them up and put them in restricted areas, called reservations. These reservations were restricted access and guarded by U.S. military.
This is part of their history. Their grandparents and great-grandparents lived through this nightmare. Their parents grew up with tales of this mistreatment and so did they. It has become a systemic part of their lives.
African-Americans? There may still be people alive today whose grandparents were slaves. They grew up hearing tales of that life. It's odd that, just last night, I found myself wondering at how much of that becomes an integral part of who the next generations become. Certainly, it affects the way people look at 'things' and situations. It colors their outlook on their world.
And Hispanics, too, have an American torture story. And what was that about? Why the American invasion of a foreign country and the taking over of land belonging to that foreign country. (That would be Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Oklahoma, Nevada, California...) And the Mexicans were overpowered by "Texans" from Kentucky, the Carolinas, Massachusetts - almost anywhere but Texas. And yet the United States continues to swear this was a Texas war of independence, struggling to break free from Mexican rule. In exchange for...? American dominance?
But, if you think these historical ethnic experiences don't have at least some effect on subsequent generations, both in how they respond to former dominators as well as how they are treated, then you aren't paying attention. Consider that, how you relate to the world is moulded, in great part, by how you were raised. And how you were raised was largely contingent upon how your parents were raised and they, in turn, grew up with some bias based on how their parents grew up.
So, yes. You don't want to base
your treatment of characters solely on their "wrapper" anymore than you would judge a gift based upon its outside wrapping. You will certainly notice it, but that is not the package. It is merely the outside of it. And neither would you want to treat your characters with any similarly dismissive attitude. You DO want to treat your characters all the same to one extent. You need to consider each one based upon the backstory you have developed for that one character.
Of course, the flip side of that is, EVERYONE has their own baggage, unique to them, which should be considered in drawing and presenting the character. And, regardless of the history of each, they all need to be treated as individuals. So, back to "square one": To arbitrarily see all of your characters as essentially the same is to not see them for themselves but as a masse. Think about the terra cotta soldiers. At first glance, they all appeared the same. But, a closer look revealed that each one was made with a unique, individual appearance.
The Chinese creators of those terra cotta soldiers knew that most people are
not the same, in large part
because of their origins. And we cannot just see others as we see ourselves because we are not all clones. We ARE all different, sometimes in subtle sometimes obvious ways.
Sorry. Didn't mean for this to become a dissertation the condition of man. :/