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"We could learn a lot from crayons; some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, while others bright, some have weird names, but they have all learned to live together in the same box!"

Saturday 12 November 2011

Loud Americans!

Philippe and I just had a gorgeous dinner. For those of you who know us well, you can guess where! Yes- Doppio Zero. We sat outside. It is a magnificent evening in Joburg, hot and beautiful...
We had a table with 2 young couples and lots of kids on one side and a table of loud Americans on the other side. Both tables made the same amount of noise, the kids probably even more noise, but it was the loud Americans who grated on our nerves.

Why is this?

Is it because of our preconceived ideas that Americans are loud, opinionated and loud? I think it's a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy... We expect loud Americans and when they are it further entrenches our ideas. Never mind the 100's of quiet, shy, softly spoken Americans we've met in our life's!
And how many groups do we do that with? All afrikaners are racist? All English SA are entitled? All Indians drive fast? All coloreds have gold front teeth? All blacks are loud?

Not true is it? And when I say it like that it seems silly! But we do think like that and only remember our interactions that reinforce those preconceived ideas...

An idea I have already expressed but I think is relevant again is... We need to get to know individuals, hear their stories and break down these preconceived ideas we have about groups.

Hears to the Americans!

2 comments:

  1. Should have read "here's to the Americans" but I guess it works :)

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  2. The thing with stereotypes isn't that they're false. They come from somewhere - and that's one reason they can be funny, is because there is some (recognisable) truth in them (I'm a white male, therefore I can't dance!).

    But stereotypes aren't the whole story. I agree with you, Kath, that we need to get beyond them.

    That said, Americans not only (in general) talk louder than most South Africans, but also take up more space. No, I'm not saying they're fatter (obesity rates in SA are fast approaching those in the US), but that there's this sense of psychological "presence" that Americans take up. This is inculcated in them from childhood - to be confident and to assert yourself as an individual - to "own" space. The downside to that is when what is "confident" to them is experienced as "arrogant" by others…and when it happens on a group or national level, there's this colonial attitude where instead of Americans learning from the other, they colonize them (hat tip: George Bush). And unfortunately, Americans attitude to the rest of the world is often mirrored in South Africans attitude to Africa (one good thing to come out of 9/11 is a greater international awareness by Americans; however, many South Africans don't think they live in Africa, and often talk about "visiting Africa". That's just weird.)

    This happens in Christian circles too - Americans can visit other countries on mission trips, knowing they have more of "The Christian Truth" than the locals, rather than listening and learning - and forming long-term relationships. In these cases, I'm entirely unsympathetic to them. Go home Yankee Scum!

    This unfortunate dynamic within Christianity is addressed elegantly and directly by Roberto Guerrero, who I've met on a few Amahoro conferences - he's a good guy: http://vimeo.com/16184683

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