Dear pipsqueaks,
I'll confess this post may sound more like a complaint, but it's a social phenomenon that still baffles me...now, to be fair, I hvnt travelled to every corner of the world (which I don't believe is humanly possible given that we just don't have enough lifetime to do it), but I've seen enough to do a fair comparison. Back to topic, what exactly is culture? If u've ever taken anything related to sociology, u'd know that the definition isn't as simple as we know it. But for this case, we won't go into a thesis discussion on its meaning.
So, simply put, culture is the habit or norm of a group of people. It's what makes a group unique from another. It's history, practice, n conformity all together in one pot. To be considered a part of something (which happens to be a totally natural human craving- after all, we're social animals), is what we all strive for, even tho most people will argue against that cos they wanna be special, unique n different. But the sad truth is- n don't be surprised- its normal to wanna be "involved" in this world somehow.
Now, what's that got to do with anything? Well, sometimes, the behaviours of
certain groups of people should not be considered "acceptable" or
"correct" (morally, socially, human-rightfully, or universally), yet,
they simply point fingers n say that's just their culture. To make my point a
little less ambiguous, how many times had u tried getting out of an elevator to
find urself being ambushed by oncoming human traffic? How many times had ur
personal space been invaded in public? Or something more obvious- how many
times do u find urself being told "sorry, that's just how they do it
here". Well, excuse me for trying to be the "social police", but
honestly, I don't understand why "bad" behaviours are still
"supported"- so to speak. (In a sense, by not trying to change it n
just going with the flow is technically a position considered in support). Why
do something that u know is "wrong"?
Personal experience: if u've ever been in shanghai, u'd know that the term
"personal space" does not compute. In an open space lining up for customer
service, my girlfriend n I were trying to get some change for the ticketing
machine for mrt. Just so happened, a man got behind us in the lineup so I
politely stepped out to give more space (cos I felt he was standing too close
to me n we didn't need two people in line). U would NOT believe what happened
next. He took a HUGE step forward n was right up against my girlfriend's back.
I'm just standing there thinking to myself, "what does he think he's
doing?!" So I gave my girlfriend a look n told the man in chinese,
"can u take a step back cos ur too close to her."- in my very polite
tone with a death glare. Of course, he did as told. But I mean, DO YOU REALLY
NEED TO BE TOLD THAT?! Isn't that common sense to give people their personal
space?! Now, ur gonna tell me that I'm in shanghai n this's how they do it here.
*sigh* I'm sorry but I can't agree. It's WRONG. Why do people still do it?
Maybe he was in a rush or whatever, but invading my girlfriend's personal space
wasn't gonna speed up customer service! For all they care, they're not the ones
in a rush.
Yes, it may be culture, but I'd like to believe that the things we keep alive
with us are important n worthy. We're not some newborn human race; we've been
around for quite some time to learn n know all these amazing things that we
should be able to figure out what's "good". Think about it this way:
the culture in some rural areas in china breed girls for food. They literally
treat them like pigs n chicken, grown in a cage. If u go to their morning
markets, they sell girls' arms n legs. Now, since ur a visitor of their
culture, u mustn't be rude n judge! U must accept the culture for what it is. U
have to try their "hand stew". Like u'd go thru with that. A 3-yr old
can tell something's wrong with that behaviour. Of course, that's an extreme
case where it's actually culturally acceptable, but only cos they don't know
any better.
Culture or not, in a more advanced society (in comparison to the girl-eating
humans in china), we have the privilege to make choices. In a “global village”,
if u can't follow with what's universally acceptable, then maybe u need to go
back to ur cave, study some social behaviors/manners 101 n don't come out till
u can behave like the rest of us civilized people.
If u find that ur never the one to blame, then the answer is clear: ur in denial.