RE: [atlarge-discuss] "Ugly American"

[<bruce@barelyadequate.info>]

Judyth Mermelstein wrote:

|  Unfortunately, I must beg to differ here. The "Ugly American"
|  doesn't necessarily "disregard" other cultures in the sense
|  of automatically disrepecting them (though many Americans
|  do that, too) but appears ignorant and provincial to others
|  because he/she is almost invariably unilingual, casual
|  in dress and manner even in circumstances where other nationals
|  would be dressed up and on their best behaviour (e.g., wearing
|  a polo shirt rather than jacket and tie to dinner with new
|  acquaintances, calling people by their first names after
|  5 minutes without noticing they address one another formally
|  after long acquaintance), and usually much less educated
|  about the history and culture of the place visited than the
|  people living there are about the U.S.

As for the dress and manner, etc., this is exactly what I was talking about:
coming from an environment where most variations in dress and public
behavior are acceptable, the American assumes that that same standard
applies elsewhere.  As for the lack of education, this is more the fault of
our media here than anything else: Big Media in the US generally ignotes all
but the most catastrophic news from outside our borders.  And our primary
and secondary education systems pay other countries short shrift as well.

I've had several advantages over most of my countrypersons: first my mother
was Canadian, and I spent a significant amount of time being exposed to her
culture, which is far more cosmopolitian.  Secondly, I took four years of a
foreign language in High School (German, but don't ask me to read it very
well!  that was over 30 years ago!), and as part of learning the language we
were encouraged to learn about the history, customs and traditions of the
German people, in their own language -- the teacher subscribed to a range of
German periodicals, and had a lending library of several hundred books!
Lastly, I also spent a significant percentage of my time in uniform
stationed overseas, and was intimately exposed to several Asian cultures,
particularly Japanese and Thai, the latter being my Wife's so it continues
to today.  As a result I rarely go into a conversation with a person from
another country with very many assumptions, unlike many of my
countrypersons!

|  Without wanting to be indvidious about this, I think it's
|  largely a 20th-century phenomenon which should (I hope)
|  vanish over the next century.

I agree.  One of the "up sides" of globalization is that everyone needs to
learn to work together and respect each other's right to be different.  Nike
is a perfect example.  They have employees from thousands of locations
around the world working at their World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.
Computer support analysts who are intolerant of others' cultural differences
often don't last through their first day (assuming they even get through the
interview)!  :)

|  No doubt that is why Americans are so welcoming and tolerant
|  towards those from Latin American or African cultures and
|  why even white immigrant children get beaten up for being
|  different. :-\

In-group out-group discrimination is hard-wired into our human psyche.  It
was a survival trait many thousands of years ago when we were in primative
tribal groups competing for resources.  We don't have a lock on that
behavior in the US.  We just air our dirty laundry more often and openly
than elsewhere.  In England, for instance, Africans, Indians and Asians are
often discriminated against.  And in Germany, right-wing groups are
targeting anyone who is obviously not Teutonic in appearance!  Point is,
there are narrow-minded, bigoted people everywhere.

|  No doubt it is also why Americans of this type have spent so
|  much money and effort ensuring that everyone in every nation
|  gets the message that Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Disney, and
|  U.S. laws and policies are infinitely superior to anything
|  they developed for themselves.

Nah!  You ascribe more to it than needs be.  It's just good old-fashioned
marketing!  And it appears other countries have gotten the message, since
we're seeing far more foreign goods advertised in *our* market here than
ever before!  Bring 'em on, I say!

As for us thinking we're superior, doesn't everyone?  And, by the rules of
their culture they are usually right!  The fact is, you can only effectively
judge a culture from within.  Viewing it from without and making value
judgements based on comparisons to another culture is not valid.  All
cultures developed over time to meet the survival needs of their citizens,
within the context of the geophysical and historical influences they
experienced.  As a result, right and wrong are only absolutes within the
culture where they were developed!  "Right" was anything that furthered
survival, and "wrong" anything that threatened it.  Many years or centuries
later, these survival-based rights and wrongs live on as "traditional
values," even after the survival needs that mandated such behavior no longer
exist.

|  The United States may expressly protect
|  freedom of religion, freedom of association and the rest
|  -- more than most other nations, at that -- but it also
|  expects people to adopt American consumer culture and
|  follow U.S. social practices as quickly as possible. The
|  pressure to conform is extremely strong and new immigrants
|  know the American ideal is the "melting pot" in which
|  cultural diversity is intended to disappear except for some
|  ethnic restaurants and maybe an annual parade.

Not entirely true.  And far less so now than in the past.  Anyone who spends
any time in Portland, Oregon will likely hear people speaking  Spanish,
Russian Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Laotion, and numerous other
African, Asian and European languages.  Many of them still wear their
traditional dress, and their adherance to their original culture has
resulted in a healthy market here for businesses selling imported
foodstuffs, clothing, etc.  Not to mention lots of fine ethnic cuisine!

Rather, what happens is that the succeeding generations all become
bi-cultural: their parent's culture, which they subscribe to to various
degrees, and the regional cultures and subcultures where they are born and
raised.  Note that the latter often also includes cultural influences from
other large ethnic groups in the neighborhood!

|  I was actually born there myself and have
|  been back quite often to visit family members. I rarely
|  escape the experience of having some boorish character
|  treat me to a lecture about why Canada should just discard
|  its own multicultural and political diversity and yield to
|  the inevitable, letting the U.S. take it over completely
|  and run it "right".

No doubt.  And I've had Canadians criticise various facis of my country from
time to time.  The fact is their are idiots and bigots everywhere.  I tend
to give them the attention they deserve (i.e. as little as possible!


Bruce Young
Portland, Oregon USA
bruce@barelyadequate.info
http://www.barelyadequate.info
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