Different Cultures
Whenever I’ve experienced “training” in the past on how to respect differences in culture, it’s always Europe-descended American culture that must make allowances to the other culture. In literature, it’s always the white American who learns to appreciate black/Asian/Indian/whatever culture, and never the other way around.
Shouldn’t the other culture have to make allowances back, if we’re going to truly respect differences in culture? Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about that?
June 6th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
The culture with the most power has always been able to mandate allowances be made for it. For recent history, America has been the superpower of the world. Within America, lighter-skinned people have accumulated money, control of the economy, and control of the government to a disproportionate extent. As a group, these people have their culture respected because they have the power to demand that appreciation.
Other cultures don’t have the ability to demand respect, so they ask for it.
June 13th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Actually, lyrl, I would say Western culture has been overrun by modern commercialism in the same way that foreign cultures have been, pop culture isn’t anything regional, its global. McDonalds has nothing to do with Goethe or Beethoven or Christianity, and not many people really appreciate those things anymore either. And as much as there’s a Britney Spears there’s a Shakira or a Jpop singer.
And for close to a century, any cultural tradition that the West has had before the 20th century has been attacked in academia and in press circles. Even though its not clear that its specifically ‘white people’ who have power anymore; unscrupulous white businessmen own capital, but they make deals with dictators in Africa and cartels like OPEC and in South America. Its also not about cultural relations; even in the West as we’re told to not judge any foreign cultures, since we don’t understand them; but we’re allowed to judge Western culture 100 years ago as racist and bigoted, even though must people don’t understand it.
And that’s understandable, at first. But it’s been 100 years since this started, and some people don’t realize the world has changed. Even though Africa is just as poor, you can’t place more blame on the West than you can on the UN, other international bodies, and ideologies that have nothing to do with Western traditions.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I was thinking more of, say, the European cultural practice of kissing upon being introduced to someone, vs. the American cultural practice of handshaking. Living in Spain for a few months in college, it was quite the experience to have a table full of people line up to kiss me as we were introduced. Someone attempting to do that in American could be charged with sexual harassment. If it was done in an employment setting, they could be fired. If you live and work in America, it is almost an imperative that when you’re introduced to someone, you shake their hand instead of kissing them.
Or something less blatant such as how one cuts meat. In America, the “correct” way is to switch hands to cut so the knife is in your stronger hand. In Europe, the “correct” way is to leave the fork in the dominant hand and avoid the switching back and forth. Eating in the “wrong” way for the culture would be noticed in any formal dining situation.
Commercialism and pop culture is a bit of a deeper subject I don’t think I’m qualified to tackle. But I thought that the type of training referred to by Keith covered more everyday things like greetings, whether or not to make eye contact, if hand-holding is appropriate (remember when the Saudi Arabian King visited and walked around holding President Bush’s hand?), etc.
Not that I think expecting people living in a culture to follow cultural norms such as shaking hands is unreasonable. But it’s good to be aware that such norms are different in other countries, to help avoid potentially damaging misunderstandings. And it can show a lot of caring to attempt to make someone feel more comfortable by allowing some of their cultural practices into a relationship (personal or business)