When you belong to a particular culture there tends to be certain attributes that you value and want to preserve. These usually include language, ways-of-knowing, particular ways of communicating and common values. You are usually more at ease with people who are within your culture and with whom you share these common values.
I want to tell you what it is like to belong to a culture that appears to be foreign to many. My language is carelessly mispronounced; meanings are distorted sometimes to the point of complete inaccuracy or misrepresentation. Often, you find these inaccuracies perpetuated in textbooks, or worse, taught in schools. There are a lot of preconceptions of what people like me are supposed to value, of what I can do, or how I think, of my capabilities …. of my culture. People sometimes blame the ailments of society on people like me, and those within my culture. I often see stereotypical representations of my community in the movies, and in stories. We are often placed as either the aggressors, with mad, psychopathic tendencies, or weak and ineffectual. (more…)
bellstreetfiles