Race/Ethnicity Questions 221-230

THE QUESTION:
R230: When Chaldeans fight, why do they fight in groups with their “cousins” instead of on their own?
POSTED MAY 2, 1998
P.H.
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THE QUESTION:
R229: Why do Asians who know English insist on speaking their native tongue when talking to one another?
POSTED MAY 2, 1998
Kevin, Dearborn, MI

ANSWER 1:
I’ve read two other similar questions about this (R176 and R169), but I hope it’s OK to add some more explanation. First, and most of all, I have to emphasize that speaking in one’s native tongue/language is much easier, more convenient and practical. Most of us learn English (and other foreign languages) to be able to communicate with people from other countries, but we certainly have no intention to use it as our daily language. No matter how well you master a foreign language, you’ll always find it easier (and more comfortable) to communicate and exchange ideas using your native language. So if I’m speaking to someone with the same native language, why should we speak in English ? We’ll have to do a “double-thinking” (translate my ideas into English, then translate what my partner said in English), and in the process, it’s very possible one of us will misunderstand what the other said. Not to mention that each language has words and terms that don’t have the exact translation in English, making it even more difficult and impractical for me to make myself understandable to my partner. As for manners, I think it should be enough if we have excused ourselves. By the way, I know many people from English-speaking countries (United States, Australia, etc.), who work as ex-pats here. These people can speak my language very well (some are even married to natives who often don’t speak English), yet when dealing with me, they insist on speaking English once they find out I speak English. Why ? Because it’s easier for them.
POSTED MAY 4, 1998
Chi Yu, 26, female, Indonesia

FURTHER NOTICE:
If you’re referring to Asians who are newcomers to the United States, my experience is that it’s a matter of comfort zones. They communicate with each other better in their own language and cannot talk about more complex issues in English. If you’re talking about Asian-Americans, however (those Asians born or raised mostly in the United States), the reasons can vary from 1) wanting to become fluent in a language that they lost, 2) a feeling of solidarity or 3) just plain wanting to keep their original heritage alive. I’ll put it this way: Haven’t you ever gone to an Irish festival, or Oktoberfest? Some otherwise American whites may want to speak in German or practice some ancient Gaelic, simply for celebration’s sake. Many whites I know take French, German and Italian in high school and love to speak it among themselves. No complaints there.
POSTED MAY 4, 1998
David L., 25, Asian-American, Chicago, IL

FURTHER NOTICE 2:
I have several Asian friends (Chinese, Indian, Thai and Indonesian) and learned a little of their language. Not only is it easier to speak in your native tongue than in a foreign language, there are also profound differences in grammar between Western and Asian languages. Sentences that sound utterly stupid and/or hard to comprehend grammarwise in English are perfectly normal in an Asian language, such as referring to yourself in the first person. Speaking your own language is then much easier and avoids misunderstandings. As an added bonus, you can also say lots of funny things about others without them understanding!
POSTED MAY 14, 1998
Mario, The Netherlands <mariotam@wxs.nl>

FURTHER NOTICE 3:
When I lived in Japan I spoke English with other Americans, in spite of being fluent in Japanese. If you were in such a position, wouldn’t you do the same?
POSTED JUNE 5, 1998
thsmith, 28, white, Los Angeles, CA

FURTHER NOTICE 4:
Not only Asians do this. Here in Southern California, I see this a lot. In fact, a Hispanic friend’s parents, who speak better English than I do, speak only their native language when in public. My mother is German, and German was the primary language used when she was growing up. As adults, she and her siblings and parents would often lapse into German when speaking to each other. My brothers and I used to accuse her of speaking German so they could talk about us! Unfortunately, we were reared monolingually.
POSTED JULY 16, 1998
Heidi J., 31, white <heidij@ix.netcom.com>, Simi Valley, CA
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THE QUESTION:
R228: As a lifelong Southerner, I have always had a strong attachment to Confederate symbols such as the Confederate battle flag, and I have always revered them. However, after watching the news the other day, I saw a bunch of racists using those same symbols to provoke black folks. My question is: Do black folks feel agitation by these symbols? If so, how much? I have always seen them as part of my region’s unique culture and history. I am no racist, nor do I associate with those who are. I understand some fools use them, like they use the cross and the U.S. flag, as racist symbols, but that isn’t what it is about to me or anyone I know. I would appreciate any comments and would like to hear from Northern black folks and Southern black folks to see if there is a difference between the two.
POSTED MAY 2, 1998
Wallace, white male <tdbuk@juno.com>, Suwanee, GA

ANSWER 1:
I have no problem with private people and organizations using the Confederate battle flag or any other symbols of the Confederate States of America. But I do have a problem when those symbols are used in whole or in part by governmental entities. From my reading of history, the Confederate States of America was founded for the express purpose of protecting the institution of slavery. Therefore, I believe it inappropriate for a nation whose government is supposed to be “of the people” to allow any governmental entities to display these symbols. Referring to the idea that “all men are created equal,” Alexander Stevens, Vice President of the Confederate States of America, stated, “Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests upon, the great truth that the Negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery – subordination to the superior race – is his natural and normal condition.”
POSTED MAY 7, 1998
Jay B., black male, first-generation Yankee <jayboyd@ameritech.net>, Detroit, MI

FURTHER NOTICE:
As a white male and Southerner, I for many years saw the Confederate battle flag as part of our heritage. But the more I have studied relationships between people of different colors and cultures, the less I want to do with a heritage built on hate or racial superiority. Americans have to foster dialogues that promote healing. Flying a flag with this history will not get people talking. We may all come in different colors, genders, sizes and shapes, but the things we share, our hopes, dreams, desires and families, make us all human. Don’t promote hate. Live understanding.
POSTED MAY 9, 1998
Mel M., equal opportunity advisor and counselor, <dadymel@aol.com>, Jacksonville, FL

FURTHER NOTICE 2:
I see the Confederate flag as symbolism. Some are offended. Some view the flag as an historical reference, and some utilize this symbol to represent their racist views. Either way, it appears to be another example of the populace gravitating to “political correctness.” This country was founded by individuals who were not concerned with being politically correct. We spend too much time fretting over this type of issue. Racism will not be lessened except by continual education and self-examination.
POSTED MAY 12, 1998
Carl W., 39, white male <altusss@aol.com>, Hickory, N.C.

FURTHER NOTICE 3:
To Jay B.: The Confederate states did not form for the express purpose of defending slavery. They were formed in defense of states’ rights. Basically, Southerners did not want to be told what to do by the Federal Government. Clearly, the most important of the states’ rights to the South was the right to own slaves and extend slavery into the new Western territories. I am from Georgia, a state whose flag incorporates the Confederate symbol. It was actually incorporated as a response to desegregation orders. I find the image offensive because, though it may represent many aspects of Southern heritage, it is most closely associated with the negative aspects of Southern history. The reasons for keeping the flag do not compare with the reasons for changing it, but it won’t change for the same reasons the South formed the Confederacy: It isn’t about Southern heritage; Southerners just don’t want to be told what to do.
POSTED MAY 14, 1998
J.C., white male <dolemite_jr@hotmail.com>, Atlanta, GA

FURTHER NOTICE 4:
To Jay B: I believe the cause of the Civil War is one of the most misunderstood historical facts in America. After spending many weeks in a great college history class studying the causes leading up to secession from the Union by the Southern states, I was amazed at how little slavery played in the South’s decision to leave.

Many people who took up arms in the North were fighting against slavery, but the vast majority of Southerners did not own slaves. Looking at what went on in Congress for decades before the Civil War – all of the legislation, compromises, demarcation lines, etc. – it’s obvious why the South seceded: The North exported goods it manufactured and kept imposing high tariffs on European goods coming into the United States. The Europeans retaliated with higher tariffs on U.S. exports. The South relied on imported, manufactured goods from Europe, and exported cotton, tobacco and other agricultural goods. The Northern tariffs were killing the South – after many legislative maneuvers (I think it was Clay or Calhoun who earned the title “The Great Compromiser”) the South finally left the Union. Have you ever wondered why Lincoln waited so long for the Emancipation Proclamation (more than a year and a half into the war)? It’s because he told the South they could come back into the Union – with slavery – because that was not why they were fighting. Lincoln “freed” the slaves because the British were about to come into the war on the side of the Confederacy (they wanted cotton) and break the Union blockade. Once Lincoln declared slaves free, the British people would not allow their government to support the Confederacy.
POSTED MAY 14, 1998
Steve, Kansas

FURTHER NOTICE 5:
To J.C.: I agree that the defense of states’ rights was very much on the minds of the founders of the Confederacy. The question is, a state’s right to do what? You acknowledge that the main issue was the right to keep slaves and the ability to expand the institution into the Western territories, so aren’t we talking semantics?

To Steve: Thanks for the information. I’ve taken more than a few courses about the Civil War and the “antebellum era” myself. While it is true that the issue of protectionist tariffs was a bone of contention between the interests of “Northeastern” manufacturers and Southern planters, there is hardly enough evidence to lead one to believe it was more responsible for secession than was slavery. If it was, why didn’t any of the non-slave-holding agricultural states – Ohio, Mich., Wis., Ill. , etc. – choose to secede over the tariff issue?

The vice president of the Confederacy was hardly the lone Confederate to believe African slavery was the cornerstone of the CSA. Atlanta Confederacy, 1860: “We regard every man in our midst an enemy to the institutions of the South, who does not boldly declare that he believes African slavery to be a social, moral and political blessing.”

And while most Southerners weren’t slave holders, that hardly means slavery had little to do with secession. That’s like arguing oil had nothing to do with U.S. participation in the Gulf War because most Americans do not own stocks in oil companies. Just because a Southerner didn’t own slaves doesn’t mean he or she didn’t believe the maintenance of that “peculiar institution” wasn’t important. Secessionists Southerners believed Lincoln and “Black Republicanism” would eventually lead to the end of slavery within the slave states as well as the territories, a notion that was abhorrent to them and of which they wanted no part. Alfred P. Aldrich, South Carolina legislator from Barnwell: “If the Republican Party with its platform of principles, the main feature of which is the abolition of slavery and, therefore, the destruction of the South, carries the country at the next Presidential election, shall we remain in the Union, or form a separate Confederacy? This is the great, grave issue. It is not who shall be President, it is not which party shall rule – it is a question of political and social existence.”

Even after the tide of the war had turned, and a Confederate hero, Patrick Cleburne, suggested slaves be offered freedom in return for military service, many Confederates took the notion as a slap in the face. Howell Cobb, former general in Lee’s army, and prominent prewar Georgia politician: “If slaves will make good soldiers, then our whole theory of slavery is wrong.” The North Carolina Standard, Jan. 17, 1865: “It is abolition doctrine … the very doctrine which the war was commenced to put down.” Robert M.T. Hunter, Senator from Virginia: “What did we go to war for, if not to protect our property?”
POSTED MAY 14, 1998
Jay B., black male <jayboyd@ameritech.net>, Detroit, MI
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THE QUESTION:
R227: I’ve noticed many black smokers open their cigarette packs by tearing a hole in the bottom of the pack. Why is this? Also, they seem very reluctant to allow others to light a cigarette from their own. Why?
POSTED MAY 2, 1998
Glenn, 38, white, Harper Woods, MI
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THE QUESTION:
R226: I am a Chinese-American man. I notice that when Asian men talk to white women, the woman almost always has defensive body language and clams up when talking. Why is that? Is it racial?
POSTED APRIL 30, 1998
David L., 25, Chinese-American, Chicago, IL

ANSWER 1:
I work with a number of Asian men from China and South Korea. All of them are immigrants, and at first I had trouble with their accents. I had to concentrate very hard to understand what they were saying, and sometimes it would elude me completely. Occasionally I would just nod in reply after I got tired of saying, “I’m sorry? Could you repeat that?” It was months before I could relax in a conversation with them. If this isn’t an issue, perhaps you are dealing with prejudice. My grandmother was terrified of Asian men for no reason I could ever discover, and she held that attitude her entire life.
POSTED MAY 3, 1998
A. Morgan, 33, white, Houston, TX

FURTHER NOTICE:
Personal space varies from country to country. People from Asian countries tend to stand closer to other people in conversation than Westerners do. It could be that you are standing closer to these women than they feel comfortable with, and they feel threatened by it.
POSTED MAY 4, 1998
Colette white <inkwolf@earthlink.net>, Seymour, WI
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THE QUESTION:
R225: Why is it that a majority of white people feel that all blacks are ignorant and inferior to them?
Rabiah, 18, black <littlemama1220@hotmail.com>
Atlanta, GA

ANSWER 1:
I don’t consider myself superior to anybody on any racial grounds. You have good and evil people and they come in all colors. If I am better than anybody, it has to do with superior character, not superior racial chemistry. I think you will find that “most white people” would probably feel the same way.
POSTED MAY 3, 1998
Wallace, 23, Confederate American <tdbuk@juno.com>, Suwanee, GA
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THE QUESTION:
R224: Why does it seem that whites try to overlook the atrocities of slavery, how they and this country have benefited from it and how it has affected African-Americans? Do they really, sincerely understand it? Are they afraid of seeing the truth within their own race/heritage?
POSTED APRIL 30, 1998
T. Spencer, 26, African-American <auset2be@aol.com>, Largo, MD

ANSWER 1:
I think many whites have a hard time with the idea they have benefited from slavery. My father would have argued the point with you. He came from a poor immigrant family. His father was an invalid after being gassed in the trenches in France; his mother supported the family by working as a housemaid until she died. He never received any higher education and he worked hard his entire life. He would have probably conceded that being white had some advantages – not being hassled by the police, not being the first to lose his job in a layoff – but he honestly felt he had never personally oppressed anyone, that he had it pretty hard himself and that he wasn’t responsible if anyone else had it worse.
POSTED MAY 3, 1998
A. Morgan, Houston, TX

FURTHER NOTICE:
The majority of white people in this country arrived after the Civil War. Therefore, the majority of the white population is guiltless. My ancestors arrived during the second great wave (1880-1910) from then Germany (now Austria). I have no guilt nor responsibility for slavery. Nor do most of my countrymen. Some blacks owned slaves; are blacks guilty for slavery then?
POSTED MAY 3, 1998
M.D., Detroit, MI

FURTHER NOTICE 2:
White people do not overlook the fact there was slavery in this country at one time. We aren’t proud of the fact that our ancestors had slaves. But it is part of our country’s history, good or bad. While most white people would like to move ahead and get on with bettering race relations, there are people out there, black and white, who would rather keep throwing slavery back up in our faces. White people do not “owe” anything to black people. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the phrase “Your people kept my people as slaves.” This may be true, but why should that affect our relationship?
POSTED MAY 3, 1998
Andrew V. 32, San Diego, CA

FURTHER NOTICE 3:
I personally don’t like to think about it. It was wrong. It was horrible. It shouldn’t have happened. But it was so long ago. Charles Manson committed horrible crimes. But I don’t think much about it. It’s way in the past. I have a lot of African American friends. My wife is Middle-Eastern. I’m no racist. We shouldn’t focus on the past. We should look into the future. Whites kept slaves. It was an atrocity. But I didn’t keep any.
POSTED MAY 4, 1998
Jim G., Southfield, MI

FURTHER NOTICE 4:
Whites tend to think of their lives as “normal.” It doesn’t occur to them that they receive hundreds of privileges – some small, some huge – every day, just for being white. They fail to see any connection between those privileges and slavery. Some of that obliviousness comes from the empire mentality: “This wealth I live in is just natural; if you’re not as rich as I, then maybe it’s just your own fault – who knows? Quit annoying me and let me go back to my dinner.”

I think more of the blindness results from motivated denial: It’s horribly painful to truly know that your comfort is dependent on the brutalization of millions of other people, starting several hundred years ago and continuing to this instant. Whites don’t want to know that they are actively participating in racism by accepting their privileges. Thus we can have white Americans, even on this forum, saying they aren’t really involved.
POSTED MAY 11, 1998
Will H., Euro-American, 48, gay, Dallas, TX

FURTHER NOTICE 5:
Another reason to deny responsibility is the fear I think a lot of people have that if our society is capable of something like owning slaves, then we have to confront the fact that we as individuals could do the same thing if the circumstances made it possible. We all want to see ourselves as morally decent, and to think that our ancestors owned slaves or killed millions of Jews is a reminder that many ordinary people are capable of participating in atrocities. I think most people don’t want to think about that – to ask themselves, “Under those circumstances, do I know I would be any different?”
POSTED MAY 14, 1998
Sarah, white Jewish female, Seattle, WA

FURTHER NOTICE 6:
I think it is not so much that whites overlook slavery but that blacks are unable to get over it. Read Shelby Steele’sThe Content of Our Character. Blacks use slavery to gain victim status, which infers innocence and, therefore, power. If one side is innocent, the other is guilty, and therefore “owes” the innocent party. Without victim status, blacks lose the power that innocence infers. But victim status forms its own mass-psychological shackles: For an individual to break free and be successful means he is no longer a victim, and that means a lower victim status for the group. So the group ostracizes those who become successful by calling them “house n****r” or “Oreo,” etc., thereby discouraging their own to be successful outside of anything but sports or entertainment. The problem is not that whites don’t think about slavery enough. Rather, it is that blacks think about it too much. I don’t suggest that anyone forget about slavery, but how many generations need to pass before you can get on with it? If blacks would stop holding onto slavery, slavery would stop holding onto them.
POSTED JUNE 5, 1998
thsmith, 28, white, Los Angeles, CA

FURTHER NOTICE 7:
Every civilization known to man has had some form of slavery. The Irish were enslaved by the English, as were the Scots. The serfs in Russia were slaves long before Communism came around. My ancestors were somebody’s slave and somebody’s slaveowner. It’s part of history. We can’t dwell on it. Besides, if America had not had slavery, there would be about 90 percent fewer blacks in here today. The only reason African Americans are here and not in Rwanda or Ethiopia is because their ancestors were slaves. Would the average African American prefer a life in Third World poverty, where police brutality makes the L.A.P.D. look like kindergarten?
POSTED SEPT. 23, 1998
B., 22, straight white male, Kokomo, IN

FURTHER NOTICE 8:
Many white folks counter this question with responses like, “I never owned any slaves, so I’m not guilty.” Guilt is not a part of it. White people (20th Century immigrants included) benefited and continue to do so today because of the aftereffects of slavery. What aftereffects? Sharecropping and the exclusion of blacks from American social, political, economic life. My mother is white and of Portuguese descent, and my father is black, so I can speak to both sides of this issue. This country was built on free labor – the industrial revolution could not have occurred without a cheap raw material to be processed. Why was cotton cheap? The cotton gin and slave labor. Who built the plantations? After the Civil War, skilled blacks couldn’t find work because they were denied union membership. This stuff ended in the ’60s. Consequently, skills were lost. People do what they must to survive, even if it means minimum wage. Whites benefited by the mere color of their skin, and although recent immigrants are stigmatized, after a generation or two, they are just ordinary white folks. Blacks are always black. I don’t want to make anyone feel guilty, I just wish people would acknowledge history.
POSTED SEPT. 23, 1998
Greg, 20, black/white male, Olney, MD
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THE QUESTION:
R223: Is it true that there are more white people on welfare than black people?
POSTED APRIL 30, 1998
A Girl, 18, Atlanta, GA

ANSWER 1:
AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children, now defunct under the welfare reform act) supported more whites than blacks. But the percentage of blacks on AFDC was higher in relation to the general black population than the percentage of whites on AFDC in relation to the white population. For example, if there were 10 million whites and five millions blacks on AFDC, but there are 50 million whites in the country and only 10 million blacks, then there are more whites than blacks on AFDC, but the percentage of blacks on AFDC is 50 percent and the percentage of whites 20 percent. These are note real numbers, but just an example.
POSTED MAY 3, 1998
Alex, 39, white <aleavens@mindspring.com>, Lawrenceville, GA

FURTHER NOTICE:
The statistics say it’s pretty evenly matched. Thirty-nine percent of those on welfare are white, as opposed to 38 percent black. White people make up 67 percent of the U.S. population, whereas black people are 13 percent. When you compare the percentages of the total population to those on welfare, you would conclude that a higher percentage of the total black population is on welfare. Unfortunately, the media have taken this to the extreme and put an exclusively black face on welfare. There was a study done recently about the media’s portrayals of poor people. The study found that when stories about the poor are done, black people are used 60 percent of the time. This was alarming to the researchers because, according to them, only 27 percent of the nation’s poor are African American.
POSTED MAY 3, 1998
Denise, 26, black, Bronx, NY

FURTHER NOTICE 2:
I’m a professional social worker. On the whole, statistics show there are more whites on some type of assistance than blacks. However, there are also more whites in the population, so the number should reflect percentage as opposed to base. In the case of percentage, this number becomes more equal; however, whites do still hold a higher number. The issue becomes more compounded when you look at the circumstances and conditions of why persons are on assistance. Keep in mind, of course, that a great percentage of our elderly and disabled are receiving assistance, particularly in the areas of medical benefit(s). The truth is there is no relevance to these numbers, they prove nothing, nor do they have any significant factor in determining how the system should be improved, increased or reduced.
POSTED MAY 4, 1998
K. Taylor <kdm05@bellsouth.net>, Jacksonville, FL
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THE QUESTION:
R222: Is it possible for whites or other non-blacks to receive a scholarship from the United Negro College Fund? If denied because of the color of my skin, would that count as racism? Are there any “white” scholarships? I’m not looking to get a scholarship, I’ve just been wondering about this for years from seeing the TV ad “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”
POSTED APRIL 30, 1998
Stu, 26, white <hawkstu@juno.com>
Commerce, MI

ANSWER 1:
The UNCF consists of 39 black colleges and universities. The funds raised are used to help fund the member schools and to provide financial aid to the students of those schools. In order for a white student to qualify, he/she has to enroll at a UNCF member institution.
POSTED MAY 3, 1998
Jay B. <jayboyd@ameritech.net>, Detroit, MI
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THE QUESTION:
R221: Why is the average American so ignorant about the Third World (Africa, to be exact)? The average African is very knowledgeable about the outside world and has a zeal to improve himself or herself. Why is the average American not like that?
POSTED APRIL 30, 1998
Ify <ifebigh77@hotmail.com>, Miami, FL

ANSWER 1:
Some Americans think the whole world is like it is here in the States. We live here, and if we don’t take the time to learn about other places, we won’t know about them. Also, some of the media paints a slanted picture of Africa, so that the things we know about it are half true and not truly representative of Africa. Once, some students asked me if they had buildings like ours in Africa. They really asked me about lots of things. I had to show them pictures to make them believe Africa has lots of the things we have in America, but it is still different. It is not like they think it is going to be. (I have visited Senegal and am going to South Africa this summer.) The places I’ve visited so far were wonderful places that surpassed all my expectations of West Africa. Sadly, many of the people I have talked to still think of Africa in the Tarzan way. They think Africans are swinging from trees and eating grass. I think it is sad that we don’t take the time to learn about other countries, Third World or otherwise.
POSTED MAY 7, 1998
Carmela, 29, black <pecola@hotmail.com>, Atlanta, Ga

FURTHER NOTICE:
To Ify: You are correct. It comes down to the lack of Americans’ direct contact with other cultures. Also, that contact would have to be more than being a tourist on a quick sightseeing tour. The United States is just about the only country, or at least developed country, that speaks only one language. I am a typical white male American with a college degree living in Taiwan with my Chinese wife. My wife speaks five languages, and the school system requires all students take English from seventh grade through graduating high school. Most people here speak at least two languages, and many three. There are many American news and other programs on television, along with programs from the Mainland , Japan, Singapore, etc.. There are subtitles on the movies that come from many different countries as well. The people here have a large exposure to other cultures. When I go back to the States to visit, I am surprised at the lack of perception most Americans have about the rest of the world, even though they tend to project outwardly that they know a lot. This is why Americans look niave and arrogant to many other cultures.
POSTED AUG. 14, 1998
Dave <GILSTRAP@MS13.HINET.NET>, Taipei , Taiwan

FURTHER NOTICE 2:
Americans are very ethnocentric because on the whole, we have everything we need. There is very little about a Third World country that I would like to bring into my neighborhood. Consequently, the only thing I want to learn about them is how to avoid their problems. Other countries want to learn about America because they want our money. Let’s be honest: Does anyone really like our music that much? As a matter of curiosity, I have read and studied some of the political history of Africa, but there really isn’t much there that interests me of late. Tribal rivalries and black-on-black violence is all it is. I guess I’m just a stuck-up American, but I really do think even the worst-off U.S. citizen has it better than the richest citizen in most Third World countries.
POSTED SEPT. 23, 1998
B., 22, straight white male, Indianapolis, IN

FURTHER NOTICE 3:
It may also have to do with the fact that America is a very large country. Unlike the citizens of most countries, an American can travel for thousands of miles and still be surrounded by people who speak the same language and are subject to the same laws. This can lead to a perception that things are pretty much the same, i.e. American, everywhere. When I was in my early 20s I spent 2 1/2 years in Africa in the Peace Corps, and was delighted by how different the customs and language and food were, but how much the people really were like the folks back home.
POSTED SEPT. 25, 1998
Steve H., 49, white American, Redondo Beach, CA

FURTHER NOTICE 4:
I am a college freshman, and thoughout high school traveled to six different Third World countries. Not just on quick sightseeing tours, but on extended stays, helping the country by building a church, etc. I was with a group of all high school students, and all of us had a heart for Third World countries. It was plain to see the needs, and how easy it would be to help. There are those young Americans who do see the need, and are trying to do something about it. We may not seem like many, but few with a good heart can do more than many doing “their share.” And if you want many, then go to a public high school, share your stories and compel them to go and see for themselves. It does work; just tell them colleges like to see it on applications.
POSTED SEPT. 25, 1998
Summer, 18, white <summerconklin@hotmail.com>, Grantham, PA

FURTHER NOTICE 5:
I agree with Carmela. I was a citizen of country X before, and am now a citizen of country Y. Both X and Y are not the United States. I was asked, by some Americans, whether there was TV, whether we lived on trees and whether there were hospitals and cars in these countries. This gave me the understanding that some Americans are extremely ignorant about other countries. Just look at how many “world champions” there are in the United States, although those are really “U.S. champions.” It’s like other countries just don’t exist. To B. of Indiana: Believe me, there are average people in many Third World countries who are better off than the better-off people in the United States.
POSTED SEPT. 25, 1998
P.H., St. Paul, MN

FURTHER NOTICE 6:
To B. of Indiana: Your answer has compelled me to respond to one of these issues for the first time. With all due respect, I believe your reply exudes the attitude that Ify is asking about. In my opinion, the American culture is so rich and may offer us “everything we need” thanks to the contributions of people from the world’s diverse cultures, from developing nations and otherwise. Although I have never visited Africa, I have some knowledge of a few of its many cultures. I am not aware that Africa or other developing nations have more rivalries or violence than any post-Industrial nations. In fact, they very well may have less. Your point about the value of learning how to avoid problems by studying how other countries have handled them is very valid. However, I would not be surprised if many nations study the United States so that they can avoid some of our numerous problems! Lastly, I find that sometimes the more I learn about a topic, the more I realize I don’t know. You may change your mind about the validity and richness of other cultures by learning more about them. As they say, variety is the spice of life.
POSTED SEPT. 25, 1998
Dana, 29, American <dkup@usa.net>, NY, NY

FURTHER NOTICE 7:
I have also noticed a lack of education among Americans regarding countries other than their own. I am Canadian and have been asked by Americans if I lived in an igloo and went to school by dogsled. I have been asked if I skied and build snowmen in July. Canada is not that far from the United States. It’s not halfway around the world; we share a common border. Parts of Canada are further south than parts of the United States. Climate doesn’t change just by crossing an invisible line. Living in Canada means I have the option of watching both U.S. and Canadian TV. I watch both American and Canadian news broadcasts, the American for American news, the Canadian for Canadian, American and international news. I think the problem stems from the education system, the media and the belief that America is the best country on earth (most people believe their country is) and a lack in interest in other countries.
POSTED SEPT. 28, 1998
D.L., North Bay, Ontario, Canada

FURTHER NOTICE 8:
Countries and areas of the world, like people, benefit from the celebrity of the unusual or newsworthy. This comes from newsworthy events, interesting history and dramatic natural wonders, geography or any other of a number of items that are unusual and interest an average Joe. As for history, most of Africa suffers from the fact that few of the civilizations that arose there left much of a record except for the dramatic notable exceptions in North Africa. Current events highlight only the newsworthy troubles of the poorest countries such as Ethiopia, Chad and Rwanda, the problems of Muslim fundamentalism in North Africa, or South Africa’s racial problems. There are the geographical and natural wonders of the Rift Valley, the Sahara, Skeleton Coast, etc. that many people in the United States are familiar with. However, beyond this, there seems to be little else that would hold the attention of even a well-meaning average American.
POSTED DEC. 1, 1998
Frank, male, Gilbert, AZ
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