Does it matter?

[Spirit of Light]

Does it matter where a person comes from? (Country)

Would it not be more wise to look at how each person behaves? Instead of looking at skin color, race, religion and so on?

Any thoughts?

 

[JustGeorge]

Does it matter where a person comes from? (Country)

Would it not be more wise to look at how each person behaves? Instead of looking at skin color, race, religion and so on?

Any thoughts?

It depends on what you mean by "does it matter?"

Skin color, race and religion are irrelevant, but culture matters some.

Locally, we have a fair amount of Burmese refugees. I remember hearing a story from someone who worked to get the refugees settled. She kept going to their house and ringing the doorbell, but would get no response. For days, she tried, same result. Eventually, she became worried for their safety, and barged in... they were all sitting there in the living room, wondering what in the heck the chiming noise was.

Doorbells aren't a thing in Myanmar. They had no idea anyone wanted their attention and was at their doorstep wanting in.

Little things like that can help a person better communicate with people in cultures different from their own. Sometimes its habits and products, other times its manners. What is offensive in one culture may be normal in another.

 

[Spirit of Light]

It depends on what you mean by "does it matter?"

Skin color, race and religion are irrelevant, but culture matters some.

Locally, we have a fair amount of Burmese refugees. I remember hearing a story from someone who worked to get the refugees settled. She kept going to their house and ringing the doorbell, but would get no response. For days, she tried, same result. Eventually, she became worried for their safety, and barged in... they were all sitting there in the living room, wondering what in the heck the chiming noise was.

Doorbells aren't a thing in Myanmar. They had no idea anyone wanted their attention and was at their doorstep wanting in.

Little things like that can help a person better communicate with people in cultures different from their own. Sometimes its habits and products, other times its manners. What is offensive in one culture may be normal in another.

What you say here is so important.
Yes there are different culture and way of life in this world.
And maybe if we tried to learn about different cultures and understand why people from different areas on this planet does things differently than we do, we would not see them as bad people, and we would not critique someone who move to our area, just because they see life differently to what we ourselves are used to

 

[The Crimson Universe]

Does it matter where a person comes from? (Country)

Would it not be more wise to look at how each person behaves? Instead of looking at skin color, race, religion and so on?

Any thoughts?

It doesn't matter to me.

 

[mangalavara]

Does it matter where a person comes from? (Country)

No, it does not matter where a person comes from. However, if a person comes from Norway, I would not trust that person. I'm kidding about Norway, of course.

Would it not be more wise to look at how each person behaves? Instead of looking at skin color, race, religion and so on?

Yes. Every time we had new neighbors where I had lived almost all of my life, I looked at the behavior of the new neighbors instead of their skin color as the determiner for whether or not they were good or bad. Some of the worst neighbors were white whereas some of the best were Latino. Not saying this correlation is eternal and universal, by the way.

Locally, we have a fair amount of Burmese refugees. I remember hearing a story from someone who worked to get the refugees settled. She kept going to their house and ringing the doorbell, but would get no response. For days, she tried, same result. Eventually, she became worried for their safety, and barged in... they were all sitting there in the living room, wondering what in the heck the chiming noise was.

Doorbells aren't a thing in Myanmar. They had no idea anyone wanted their attention and was at their doorstep wanting in.

Gosh, that is an amazing story! Do you mind if I share it with others when talking about matters of cultural differences?

What is offensive in one culture may be normal in another.

This reminds me that some Western expats here in Korea discovered that holding doors open for strangers is not seen as polite. One expat said that she held a door open for a Korean, and the Korean looked at her like, 'I can open the door myself.' As an American, I can unconsciously hold doors open for strangers. So far, I have done it two or three times here in Korea, and nobody has given me a weird look. On my first day out of quarantine, as I was about to enter a Starbucks, I held the door open for a young man who was walking out. He kindly thanked me in English.

And maybe if we tried to learn about different cultures and understand why people from different areas on this planet does things differently than we do, we would not see them as bad people, and we would not critique someone who move to our area, just because they see life differently to what we ourselves are used to

I get the impression that some Korean women here see me as a bad guy. Sometimes, when I am walking on my way to the store, they will quickly go to the other side of the street after they see me. One young woman who was walking the same direction as me kept looking over her shoulder at me as she walked a fast pace. If only these women knew that I don't even 'check them out,' and that I'm not one to hurt a fly. On the other hand, I'm sure some people here appreciate that I am adapting to some extent. I'm probably very interesting to some of them. One Korean woman here who speaks English was utterly surprised to hear that I am a Hindu. A co-worker who is an Irishman was also surprised. Lol.

 

[ChristineM]

New Does it matter where a person comes from? (Country)

No

Would it not be more wise to look at how each person behaves? Instead of looking at skin color, race, religion and so on?

Yes

 

[Altfish]

Does it matter where a person comes from? (Country)

Would it not be more wise to look at how each person behaves? Instead of looking at skin color, race, religion and so on?

Any thoughts?

Indeed, of course it is.

 

[Clara Tea]

Does it matter where a person comes from? (Country)

Would it not be more wise to look at how each person behaves? Instead of looking at skin color, race, religion and so on?

Any thoughts?

Martin Luther King Jr. said "I have a dream that my four young children will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

Unfortunately, many judge people by the number of years spent in prison, even once they get out after serving their time. However, many repeat crimes after serving time.

 

[Clara Tea]

No, it does not matter where a person comes from. However, if a person comes from Norway, I would not trust that person. I'm kidding about Norway, of course.



Yes. Every time we had new neighbors where I had lived almost all of my life, I looked at the behavior of the new neighbors instead of their skin color as the determiner for whether or not they were good or bad. Some of the worst neighbors were white whereas some of the best were Latino. Not saying this correlation is eternal and universal, by the way.



Gosh, that is an amazing story! Do you mind if I share it with others when talking about matters of cultural differences?



This reminds me that some Western expats here in Korea discovered that holding doors open for strangers is not seen as polite. One expat said that she held a door open for a Korean, and the Korean looked at her like, 'I can open the door myself.' As an American, I can unconsciously hold doors open for strangers. So far, I have done it two or three times here in Korea, and nobody has given me a weird look. On my first day out of quarantine, as I was about to enter a Starbucks, I held the door open for a young man who was walking out. He kindly thanked me in English.



I get the impression that some Korean women here see me as a bad guy. Sometimes, when I am walking on my way to the store, they will quickly go to the other side of the street after they see me. One young woman who was walking the same direction as me kept looking over her shoulder at me as she walked a fast pace. If only these women knew that I don't even 'check them out,' and that I'm not one to hurt a fly. On the other hand, I'm sure some people here appreciate that I am adapting to some extent. I'm probably very interesting to some of them. One Korean woman here who speaks English was utterly surprised to hear that I am a Hindu. A co-worker who is an Irishman was also surprised. Lol.

Noticing that Whites are bad is bigotry, and I am surprised that people write about such things. Maybe you perceived the situation incorrectly? Perhaps the White people who were stuck in a bad neighborhood were bad, but other Whites who are not stuck in a bad neighborhood might be good?

Korean ladies don't trust you? Is the majority often wrong? Maybe they avoid everyone?

 

[Stevicus]

Does it matter where a person comes from? (Country)

Would it not be more wise to look at how each person behaves? Instead of looking at skin color, race, religion and so on?

Any thoughts?

It doesn't matter that much to me. Sometimes it's interesting to talk to people from different places, to learn about their culture and country.

Not everyone seems to agree with that, and xenophobia has been a thing for quite some time.

 

[Kooky]

Of course it matters.

It allows us to distinguish between friend and foe, between people we must protect vs. people it is alright to brutalize by whatever means we deem expedient, it faciliates imaginary lines on the ground and factual lines in our minds. It lets us get away with murder, serves as justification for whatever is wrong with our world, and allows us to feel good and prideful about ourselves despite having no accomplishments to our names.

Entire systems of law have been erected solely around the fact that people come from different areas of the world, and entire economic systems have been built to exploit it, both at home and abroad. It justifies discrimination, surveillance, police raids, and organized systems of oppression all across the world.

If people didn't care where other people came from, I may not even have a job.

 

[metis]

Does it matter where a person comes from? (Country)

IMO, no.

AS an anthropologist, I've long enjoyed studying different cultures, but underneath we really are all basically the same. As Desmond Morris wrote, we are all the "The Naked Ape".

 

[JustGeorge]

What you say here is so important.
Yes there are different culture and way of life in this world.
And maybe if we tried to learn about different cultures and understand why people from different areas on this planet does things differently than we do, we would not see them as bad people, and we would not critique someone who move to our area, just because they see life differently to what we ourselves are used to

I really enjoy learning about other cultures, but its never as simple as "People from Peru do this, and people from Indonesia do this" because there are various cultures within each country. Sometimes its best just to give the person you're with your full attention and see what is comfortable and uncomfortable for them, and react accordingly.

And then of course, there are individual preferences...

Gosh, that is an amazing story! Do you mind if I share it with others when talking about matters of cultural differences?

Certainly, go ahead.

This reminds me that some Western expats here in Korea discovered that holding doors open for strangers is not seen as polite. One expat said that she held a door open for a Korean, and the Korean looked at her like, 'I can open the door myself.' As an American, I can unconsciously hold doors open for strangers. So far, I have done it two or three times here in Korea, and nobody has given me a weird look. On my first day out of quarantine, as I was about to enter a Starbucks, I held the door open for a young man who was walking out. He kindly thanked me in English.



I get the impression that some Korean women here see me as a bad guy. Sometimes, when I am walking on my way to the store, they will quickly go to the other side of the street after they see me. One young woman who was walking the same direction as me kept looking over her shoulder at me as she walked a fast pace. If only these women knew that I don't even 'check them out,' and that I'm not one to hurt a fly. On the other hand, I'm sure some people here appreciate that I am adapting to some extent. I'm probably very interesting to some of them. One Korean woman here who speaks English was utterly surprised to hear that I am a Hindu. A co-worker who is an Irishman was also surprised. Lol.

Do women do that with other men, too?

Sometimes people here cross the street when they see me coming.

My dad's shock when he learned I was a Hindu: "But you can't be a Hindu... when I think of a Hindu, I think of a vegetarian." and me "Dad, I've been a vegetarian since I was 12 years old." (And then I had to explain that not all Hindus are vegetarians!)

 

[ADigitalArtist]

I think understanding where someone comes from and what they've experienced (as much as a third party can) means that things like race, culture, sex, sexuality, gender et all matters. While those things might not impact how you treat someone, doesn't mean those things haven't impacted how they were treated by others. So race, culture, sex, sexuality, gender et all factors into their lived experience.

 

[mangalavara]

Noticing that Whites are bad is bigotry, and I am surprised that people write about such things. Maybe you perceived the situation incorrectly? Perhaps the White people who were stuck in a bad neighborhood were bad, but other Whites who are not stuck in a bad neighborhood might be good?

No, I did not say all white people are bad. What I said was some of the worst neighbors I had were white. I'm white, by the way.

Korean ladies don't trust you? Is the majority often wrong? Maybe they avoid everyone?

I don't know.

 

[mangalavara]

Do women do that with other men, too?

I haven't noticed yet.

Sometimes people here cross the street when they see me coming.

It's not you, it's the tall, silent creature walking behind you.

My dad's shock when he learned I was a Hindu: "But you can't be a Hindu... when I think of a Hindu, I think of a vegetarian." and me "Dad, I've been a vegetarian since I was 12 years old." (And then I had to explain that not all Hindus are vegetarians!)

When I think of a Hindu, I think of a fakir. For that reason alone, I sleep on a bed of nails!

 

[JustGeorge]

It's not you, it's the tall, silent creature walking behind you.

My son?

He is starting to look a bit like Dave Mustaine(in his younger years, of course).