CULTURE-SHOCKED!!

So today I am going to be talking about culture ...well mostly about those of us out there that have none.  I have noticed lately that our society as a whole is lacking culture severely. Yes i know that we do have extensive programs that deal with art, music, food etc., but apparently not everyone has gotten their invite to the party.  What i mean is that there is a very big group of people that either can’t or won’t  venture out of there and try new things and it shows. I’m not talking about people who live in third world countries, they make up the “can’t” because of their lack of means.  Which is why i applaud the people who take the time to go overseas and help build the schools and feed not only the stomachs, but the minds and souls of these unfortunate individuals. By the way I am in no way saying that third world countries are culture less, I’m  just saying that they might not have a way to experience other cultures.

                No, the type of people I’m talking about, the “won’ts” as it were,  are the close minded people that see everything that doesn’t interest/apply to them as completely wrong and or “gay” (which is a word that needs to stop being used in a negative way, but that's another blog), and no I’m not necessarily talking about the “redneck” set...although....yeah i get  were you’re going with this. No unfortunately every ethnicity has these people. These are the type of people that see someone trying to better themselves and scoff at them for doing so.  They are the type that will try to make fun of someone for caring about foreign affairs so much that they donate to good causes, and someone who cares about dance so much that a well choreographed one (So You Think You Can Dance’s Gravity by Sara Bareilles ...shut up...I’m sensitive) can bring a man to tears. They are the type of people that will go to a 5 star restaurant wearing shorts, flip-flops, and a tank, and top then have the nerve to get pissed when they get turned away at the door.

They don’t understand that culture is more than what popular T.V. tells them it is. It’s so much more than whats in your little circle of friends. It’s the experience of other things such as different ways of life, cuisines (that's right people McDonald’s is not culture its just fat),  Ours is not the only way of life out there. If people would just try new things they really might enjoy them. When i was younger i never thought i would like half of the things I LOVE now. I never thought I would like jazz, country, rock, hip-hop and classical. Nor did i ever imagine dance and theatre would play such a big part of my life (my wife and i go to as many live performances as we can afford, and  we love it). The world has so much to offer, so take a step outside your box and and explore everything around you. Try new foods, listen to new music and meet new people.  You’re bound to like something!

Being “culture shocked” doesn’t just deal with things like the arts or food, it also has to deal with people in general. Different races and religions play a big part in everyday culture. I was watching an episode of “What Would You Do?” on ABC the other day when they had a segment on racism. If any of you have watched this show you pretty much know the formula....they show you some of the worst case scenarios and allow passer bys to make a decision whether or not they will intervene, and you watch the people’s true colors show.  The story was based around a Muslim woman in Texas and how a store owner was dealing with her. Well needless to say it didn't go so well. Half of the people agreed with the clerk calling the woman names (the types of which i refuse to use/type because that's not me), and refusing to serve her, telling her that she wasn’t “dressed like an american”.

WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? “Not dressed like an American?”....this is the type of crap that goes on all the time. If someone looks different or the news gives a one sided story about things that are happening overseas, we get that stigma. We ALL have had at least one thought like this, right or wrong....most times wrong. Stereotypes, unfortunately happen to be a big part of our “culture”. It goes all the way back to the Europeans and the Native Americans (not Indians because they are from India). The Europeans came to this land, and pretty much demolished whole groups of indigenous people because they did not understand their way of life, their language and their culture. They (Europeans) tried to enforce their culture, and religion over that of the Natives because they thought what they believed in was wrong. This is also the same type of thing that happened and still happens with Whites and Blacks, Mexicans, Blacks and Whites, and most recently “Americans”  and anyone that happens to resemble Middle Eastern cultures (because we are too dumb to try and actually separate them by where they are from). If I forgot any you, I apologize for not adding you to the racial pot.

Now for every person that thought the clerk was in the right (and unfortunately everyone is entitled to their opinions) there was at least 2 or 3 that disagreed with him and stuck up for the woman that was being discriminated against. So much so that complete strangers were ready to stop coming to this store that they have been going to for years just to show how much they disagreed with the blatant lack of respect for another person’s culture....hell the blatant lack of respect for another PERSON. This moved me, so deeply in fact that it caused me to write this blog. I love it when people stand up for others. It kinda renews my faith in reality (corny i know but its true). There was a man on the show who’s son had just come home from our “war on terror” (or as i call it “The Oil Wars”), who stood up for this woman with all he had. It pretty much broke him down to tears.  When the show was all said and done they showed the Vet’s father hugging the Muslim woman (an actress) and apologizing for all the unwarranted comments that the clerk and any others might have said to her.

By this point i was all but in tears myself. If someone who’s life was so engulfed in this current situation ( via his child) can respect and almost seem to genuinely feel for not only a stranger but someone who's people we are told we are at war with, why can’t we? Those of us that have no personal ties to this war and still treat people from that culture with malice and hatred don’t have a pot to piss in. Like i said everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but if you have no reason other than what the “news” tells you or because its the flavor of the month, then you should probably just keep your thoughts to yourself. Myself, being a Navy brat as it were(both my mother and father with about 20 plus years a piece) think about it like this....YOU CAN’T GO AROUND JUDGING CULTURES YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT!!!!  JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT DOES NOT MAKE IT WRONG OR EVIL!!!!! Last but not least...... STOP LISTENING TO THE NEWS AND DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH!!!!!! The news now a days only gives you one side of every story. It usually pumps up “our” side and forgets to tell you that not everyone is as bad as the one’s committing the acts of hate that have put us in the state that we are in today. This is why I tend to take everyone on an individual basis, and I let them decide who they are going to be by how they act, and what they say.

This is also what I mean when i say do your own research. Take some time to learn about another culture before you start to bash a whole group of people based on a few “bad apples” so to speak. You’ll probably learn that every culture/religion/people have their fanatics, loony tunes, zealots, and “martyrs”.  With that being said you also have your hard workers, good mothers that work day and night, fathers that give everything for their families, and people that do a lot of very charitable and great things for other people.  So take everything into consideration and make an informed decision...let me rephrase that...make YOUR OWN decision about people/religions/ cultures and don’t let big brother (news, friends, media in general) do it for you!

Well I think that pretty much wraps this edition of The Penguin Gazette. I hope that i gave you some things to think about. I hope that I may have been able to open up your eyes (however slightly) to a different view of the world we are in today. Tune in next time same Penguin time, same Penguin channel! As always if you like it subscribe via email and tell some friends!

 -Editor & Chief of The Penguin Gazette,

Rudy

P.S. I'd love to hear what you think about this topic. Comment below.