(4) Generalizations and Assumed Sameness: Sweet 20

The habit of generalizing or assuming similarities between cultures is something I find myself guilty of as well. As a society, we have a tendency to lump the interests, cultures, and languages of minorities who “look alike” together in a way we don’t for our majority culture. For example, I often wondered why the Black Africans and Black Americans weren’t “friends.” Or, I assumed a person speaking Spanish must be Mexican (though they weren’t), thought all Hispanics speak the same kind of Spanish and have the same traditions. I didn’t even realize I did this until it was pointed out to me. If I can be that unaware despite my own diverse upbringing and appreciation for world cultures, I can imagine others with less similar backgrounds can be too. It is a tendency that can have a minimizing effect on a minority, communicating “you all look and act the same to me” or that someone isn’t interested in getting to know them or their culture as an individual because all they can see is “Asian” when they look at them instead of the specifics that are unique to their heritage (Chinese/Japanese) or the person as an individual (Stanley). 

    This is especially the case when we don’t tend to make these same cultural generalizations for the majority culture or Europeans. I never approached a White person and asked if they spoke French, as I’ve seen many approach those who look Hispanic and ask if they speak Spanish. I never wondered why the European exchange students weren’t “friends” with all the other White people. And we can all tell that someone from Ireland, Great Britain, Australia, and America are speaking very different forms of English as a result of their different cultural influences, despite a shared lineage. Can we not try to do the same for minorities as well? It doesn’t mean that we need to become experts on world cultures but simply be wary of how we group people together. We need to acknowledge that, though people may be of the same race or continent, it doesn’t mean that their languages, dialects, and customs will be exactly the same. This can extend to cultural stereotypes (all Hispanics speak Spanish, all Blacks like Rap music, etc.) as well.