I think people become conditioned to believe certain things about cultures and the people from those cultures by historical evidence and the phenomenon of “group-think”. For example, Native Americans and Irish are known for their inability to control their drinking… they often get dubbed as a “drunk people”. Sure, they have a genetic predisposition to […]
Written on Friday, July 4th, 2008 by sanfordmarks :: 0 comments to this post
I think people become conditioned to believe certain things about cultures and the people from those cultures by historical evidence and the phenomenon of “group-think”. For example, Native Americans and Irish are known for their inability to control their drinking… they often get dubbed as a “drunk people”. Sure, they have a genetic predisposition to sensitivity to alcohol, but let’s be for real here… any Native American or Irishman has a choice whether or not to drink in the first place. It also depends on one’s cultural upbringing that determines their perception of another culture. For example, my Swedish friend and I. I asked her what she thought of the Russians (I was wanting to discuss the cold war and find out her experience of it). I had been raised to believe Russians are a proud people, stubborn, and prone to violence - a very strong culture. My Swedish friend said one word. She said, “Slaves.” She had been raised to believe Russians were weak-minded emotional cripples and easily manipulated.
I don’t believe in cultural stereotypes. I think it’s short-sighted and simple-minded to believe in cultural stereotypes… especially in this day and age when the world is a much smaller place, with fewer barriers between us, and with so many of our cultures “blending” so rapidly. This is the reason why today’s best quality is adaptability. If people stick to stereotypes that they were taught locally (and within the last 50 years), they don’t stand much of a chance moving forward, globally.
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