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September 28, 2009 03:41 PM
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Wow, I never thought I would be agreeing with Glen Beck, but refusing to define "white culture" was the right thing to do. As was said above, culture is not about race. While racial identity does play a part, your culture is made up of norms, values, traditions, and practices that pertain to many, many aspects of your environment.
That having been said, in today's society, race is often a "role" that people feel compelled to play. We all have many roles (mother/father, daughter/son, employee, friend, spouse, etc) and we act differently in each of those roles. In a sense, we are many different people crammed into one body, and our behavior is usually dictated by which role is called for in the given situation. In a situation where you feel highly defined by your race (perhaps you are the only person of your race or ethnicity in the room, or the conversation has become racially charged) you could find yourself feeling that your predominant role is "white." In that case, a subconscious part of your brain might be frantically pulling together what "white" is going to mean in that situation. In that context, a lot of stereotypes, or archetypes, suddenly come into play. Your archetypes will still be affected by the culture you grew up in, but you may grab some media images, mainstream jokes or whathaveyou, and smash together an image of "white" that could feel very similar across different "white" cultures, just because we have so much shared media nowadays.
Just my opinion. Only traces of actual psychological theories in there.
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However, I was a member of a team conducting diversity training several years ago at which a participant said, "I have no culture. I'm just plain old white bread and twinkies, middle-class, suburban, American." In telling us that she was a member of no culture, she successfully painted a picture of the culture in which was a member!
http://www.ebertfest.com/photos/WoodstockCrowd1.jpg
Source(s):
Communication Studies degree, Intercultural emphasis
Cultural Diversity Trainer for 10+ years
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How will you define white culture? Glenn Beck refused to define white culture in an interview with Katie Couric
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| September 29, 2009 12:18 AM |
That having been said, in today's society, race is often a "role" that people feel compelled to play. We all have many roles (mother/father, daughter/son, employee, friend, spouse, etc) and we act differently in each of those roles. In a sense, we are many different people crammed into one body, and our behavior is usually dictated by which role is called for in the given situation. In a situation where you feel highly defined by your race (perhaps you are the only person of your race or ethnicity in the room, or the conversation has become racially charged) you could find yourself feeling that your predominant role is "white." In that case, a subconscious part of your brain might be frantically pulling together what "white" is going to mean in that situation. In that context, a lot of stereotypes, or archetypes, suddenly come into play. Your archetypes will still be affected by the culture you grew up in, but you may grab some media images, mainstream jokes or whathaveyou, and smash together an image of "white" that could feel very similar across different "white" cultures, just because we have so much shared media nowadays.
Just my opinion. Only traces of actual psychological theories in there.
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Other Answers (1)
September 28, 2009 05:58 PM
There is no culture associated specifically with a color. Culture is informed by a wide variety of influences, including race, geography, education, gender, wealth, etc. It would be difficult to answer the question for any "color" without narrowing the answer down a bit. For instance, "black culture" would vary a great deal from a person born and raised in Mexico and one from Swaziland. However, I was a member of a team conducting diversity training several years ago at which a participant said, "I have no culture. I'm just plain old white bread and twinkies, middle-class, suburban, American." In telling us that she was a member of no culture, she successfully painted a picture of the culture in which was a member!
http://www.ebertfest.com/photos/WoodstockCrowd1.jpg
Source(s):
Communication Studies degree, Intercultural emphasis
Cultural Diversity Trainer for 10+ years
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