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What Is A Cultural Difference In Terminology, Approach, Or Communication You Struggle To Understand?
I frequently feel wrong-footed, bemused and, occasionally, outraged by cultural assumptions. Where and when I grew up, no-one thought twice about calling someone “love”, “honey”, “sweetheart” (and duck)… in casual conversation, regardless of their personal relationship or lack thereof. Nor did anyone get obviously offended, because it was normal. Where I am now, at best it’s considered patronizing, at worst, sexual harassment. At one point, ret@rded was the official terminology. I’m not sorry to see it changed but could do without the preaching of those who “know better”. Most of you wouldn’t have known better had you been born when I was. The thing that really boils my veins though is the perception that All Whites are either consciously or subconsciously racist. I don’t deny that micro-aggressions exist, but when you set yourselves up to assume that you know what someone else was thinking when they said something, you have adopted the role of thought-police. And point in fact, when you blame all of everyone for the colour of their skin, that is pure racism.
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To be fair most women of your time probably did not like to be belittled and talked about as if they were children. But they lived in a society where they were seen as children and could not complain.
But yes, we all need to learn so being angry about what people did in their past is unfair. As soon as they learned the lesson and now they dont do it I dont see any reason to berate them for it.
And yes, I agree with you. Prejudices and hate work both ways. Generalising people of any sex, nationality, sexual orientation etc is bad and harms society. No matter if you are mediterranean and bisexual or if you are scandinavian and straight. Prejudices are never good. Sadly part of the left is using the same hateful techniques as they were used on others before. You cannot fight hate with hate. I suffered a lot of xenophobia in my years as a migrant. And yes it was easy to assume that all natives were xenophobic. But that would harm me and them both. Its tempting but not the good choice.
Not me, but something Americans struggle to understand; wiping with toilet paper doesn't mean it's clean. Most of the world uses built in bidets for a reason....
