I Don't Get Down with The Honky Tonk

Being in San Jose gives us a great opportunity to be exposed to a wide variety of cultures. I know at San Jose State our ethical majority is not Caucasian, which assures me that every interaction I have with others will be new and exciting. However, our nightlife seems to follow a distinct pattern. There is certain music that is played and one can guess on the people to go to the hotspots in downtown San Jose.

I play an interesting role in my group of friends. I love hanging out and going to these different places in downtown, but I hate the culture. I can’t stand the music or some of the people that I meet down there. So, change is definitely accepted by me. Last week, we all decided to go out to the Saddle Rack in Fremont. It was explained to me as a huge country bar, which did not excite me too much since I dislike country music with a passion.

We got there early and from the moment I stepped into the bar I felt out of place. The Saddle Rack is about two-thirds the size of a Safeway. I enjoyed the fact that we wouldn’t be all cramped into small places like we usually are in downtown San Jose. On the other hand, that did mean that it would fill up with a ton of people making it more hectic to navigate through the place.

One can expect that since the Saddle Rack played mainly country music that the general population would be Caucasian. That was no surprise for me, but it did make me feel even more of an outcast. I didn’t seem to be able to relate to anyone other than my friends that I came with. Everyone cheered every time a song started to play and I thought to myself, “I have no clue who this is or what song this is.” Not knowing names like Taylor Swift gave that clear line of separation between me and the rest of the people in the bar.

At one point in the night, girls crawled on the stage and started dancing in a cage to the left of the stage. Then some of the guys in the crowded pulled up chairs and just watched them for about 30 to 45 minutes. I definitely had to hold back my disgust. Although there are many differences between the two cultures in downtown San Jose and Fremont, some of those aspects still stay.

Looking back on the experience, I definitely see the cultural divide between the two areas. The Saddle Rack did do one good thing for me. It gave me a new experience and taught me a little bit about myself. I’m starting to think that I need to be a little bit more open to other cultures and forms of art, including country music.