a little bit of division

[Michael30000]

Hello everyone,

From the book Thank You for Being Late by Thomas Friedman.

A Somali girl answers Mr. Friedman's question about discriminaion (if she and hersister faced much discrimination).

There was a little bit of division between the general colored people and then the white people and the Jewish people and the Somali people. We were African only and not African American . . . It was complicated and there are those people you get along with. But obviously in English or history classes topics come up that you have to discuss, and they can get uncomfortable and sometimes people have their opinions.

Does "division" here imply separation (Jewish people communicate only or usually with Jewish people, Somali people communicate only with Somali people etc)?
Or does it imply difference in opinion?

Thank you.

 

[Uncle Jack]

Is it the girl saying "There was a little bit of division..."? If so, then what is she talking about. If it was not the girl who said this, then what else came before this paragraph, as it appears to refer to more people than just one Somali girl.

 

[Michael30000]

Is it the girl saying "There was a little bit of division..."? If so, then what is she talking about. If it was not the girl who said this, then what else came before this paragraph, as it appears to refer to more people than just one Somali girl.

Yes, it is the girl saying that. She is talking about St. Louis Park schools which she and her sister attended and graduated. Mr. Friedman asked her if she and her sister had faced much discrimination. She said that maybe a little bit when they were younger. She began by saying that back then there had been not so many Somali people and for the most part it had been welcoming. But people had been people as she said. After that she continued with what I quoted.

 

[Uncle Jack]

It sounds then as if she is referring to separation. Each of the groups tended to mix with their own kind. Not exclusively so; it was, after all, only "a little bit" of division. But they didn't all mix together as if they were all one group.

 

[Michael30000]

Thank you, Uncle Jack.