Ethnocentrism and its prevalence in U.S culture Ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the values and standards of one’s own culture. Individuals who are ethnocentric judge other groups in relation to their own ethnic group or culture. I think The United States likes to refer to themselves as the “big mixing pot” of cultures. I would agree, we do have a wide range of different cultures, but that does not mean that we do not “evaluate and judge other cultures based on how they compare to our own cultural norms.” I think us as Americans feel this way, because we are too scared to change what we have learned and known since birth. Most people in our society think of anything different than them, as weird or unusual. They do not want to even learn about the other cultures out there, because of the fact that they are different. In fact, I think most Americans are just ignorant and uneducated. Although, most of us view the Hispanic culture as “dirty” or “no good,” they jump at the first chance they get to eat their food. The legalization of all drugs would be a good example of why The United States is an ethnocentric country. We as a society look at drugs and anyone who is addicted as terrible, and that they are the main cause as to why we are a dying generation. We look at the countries that have legalized drugs as “stupid,” or “foolish.” There are several countries that have legalized all drugs, and in return it has benefited them by dropping their crime
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Show MoreAll cultures are equal. Some people would believe that their culture is superior to other cultures and this not an uncommon thing to do. It is human nature to have some sort of bias towards what they do and what they are accustomed to. It is a challenge to open up their minds to realize that their culture is not superior over another. Each culture is unique is their own way.
The phrase “melting pot” was originally used in the 18th century to describe how people from varies of region gave up their original cultures, backgrounds or races and combined them into a common identity. Although this term was created to emphasize the future unification of immigrants in America, this process of “melting into one” could also seem as forcing others forget their own culture and fit them within the new American culture. In the reading “Trans-National America,” the Randolph used the events during the WWI to explain the idea of “melting pot” was still hard to reach. In his second paragraph, he described how people still had their nationalistic feelings within them and would keep them even it was during the war period by stating
Indeed, you mentioned an important aspect of disparities and it is one related to the disparities affecting racial groups. The United States is a multicultural country so for a healthcare professional to treat a disease or to approach a group is necessary to consider their cultural background, traditions, and beliefs. Despite all the United States effort to eradicate the racial differences in the Country, race continues as one of the most significant factors to take into consideration when we are evaluating health care services or high quality of care. Health disparities among Hispanics most the time is caused by the type of food they consume, and the lack of access to healthcare services. In addition, some Hispanic are not the United States
If there was an open market for drugs and Americans’ were educated on the effects drugs can have on their bodies, the monopoly for drugs would rapidly decrease. Drugs are outlawed in America yet prohibition has never been successful in America. Anytime the government has tried to stop the distribution of a substance people have always jumped at the chance to make
Because of the stereotypes, Hispanics and even those who look Hispanic can face prejudice through names and actions. Latinos of another country can be stereotyped as being Mexican in Southern California because of the large population. Even though Latino cultures share some of the same customs, they are all very different (Chapa 6). Latino countries all celebrate a girl 's quinceanera but not all of them celebrate the Day of the Dead. There are different customs, traditions, and artifacts in each country and should not all be classified as one culture.
Most Americans view any culture that is less privileged as inferior. United States citizens are very ignorant to other ways of life. Instead of taking time to understand them, they form inaccurate
American History Education Reforms The definition as well as the specific parts of accurate American history is a highly debated topic- especially in regards to educating children on American history. In “Let’s tell the Story of All America’s Cultures” by Yuh Ji-Yeon gives her point of view on the controversial topic of the success of American history education. As the author is a Korean immigrant she has a special connection to this topic, and is writing this article to giver her opinion in the debate of reforming education in America. Ji-Yeon successfully persuades the audience that American history education in the United States is discriminatory by using her personal experiences and emotions as she informs the audience of a possible solution
1) From personal knowledge, I am aware that throughout history culture has changed overtime and is still developing as we speak. Much like the fifth definition in the book, I believe that culture can be described as the tensions or adjustments between shared and unshared groups of people throughout time ( Martin,P. 89). For example, American culture has altered so much over the years, we went from a country that had laws that deliberately caused injustice and discrimination towards a selective groups of people ( slavery , Jim Crow laws, Women’s suffrage, and same- sex marriage) to a more progressive nation that is implementing acceptance that will impact the world for the better in the future to
Culture is easily influenced and is constantly shifting as it passes through various racial and ethnic interactions and exchanges. “With your liberal minds, you patronize our culture, scanning the surface like vultures, with your tourist mentality, we’re still the natives. You’re multicultural, but we’re anti-racist. We ain’t ethnic, exotic or eclectic” (Prashad, 56). This refers to when cultures are commodified and picked apart without taking both the negatives with the perceived positives.
But, also the idea that Americans can be oblivious to the seriousness of the hypocrisy of certain situations. There is no culture, like that of the American
The first instance I can think of when the subject of ethnocentrism is brought up about the US is how Americans generally belive that this is the greatest country in the world. We(Americans) tend to think that we are the best in everything just because we are American and if we lack in a certain area, we say that it was due to us not "caring." Another example of ethocentrism that is seen in the US is men not wanting women in certain areas of the work place, particularly where it is expected for men to work exclusively. Some American men, look at women more as subordinates instead of equals. My last example of ethnocentism is seen when in the low ranks of students in school.
Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's world view is superior to another's, usually from another part of the world, who have a different culture, races, and ethics. This disposition has been a problem among people who believe themselves to be more 'civilized' for many, many years. In the years of imperialism, Britain, France, other European nations, and even America began expanding their territory to other countries in the 19th century on the belief that it was their duty to better inferior people with 1st world culture and societal ways. Even after imperialism, ethnocentricity has unfortunately persisted to the modern day. Even though people in America strive to not be ethnocentric, remnants of it can still be seen in the media, including
In today’s society drugs are seen is bad and un-ethical. However, it is just the perspective on how everyone views society. If we are told something is wrong, and see someone doing it, you are more likely to be the one to “point the finger.” Yes, drug legalization sounds horrible and of course it would be considered un-ethical but this is what we need to change.
Ethnocentrism is a situation whereby a group has a belief that their culture is more superior as well as desirable in comparison to other cultures. In Avatar, the humans have an assumption that they have dominance and are superior to the Na’vi tribe. The humans express their dominance by an attack and destruction of the Na’vi tribe’s home tree. The humans are of the opinion that they should educate the Na’vi tribe in the human ways since they consider their ways to be better.
We are ethnocentric when we use our cultural norms to make generalizations about other people’s cultures and customs. Such generalizations ─ often made without a conscious awareness that we've used in our culture as a universal yardstick ─ can be very inaccurate and cause us to misjudge other peoples. For example: When foreign visitors from areas where coffee is served very black and strong taste American coffee, they do not say that it is different; they say that American coffee is bad. Likewise, when Americans go abroad to countries where coffee is black and strong, they taste the coffee and do not say that it is different; they, too, say that it is bad.