When I was reading the section about culture and perception it reminded me of when I lived in San Diego. I had just moved down and was living with three other girls who I had only just met. Two of he girls grew up with different cultural backgrounds than me. I had to keep an open mind to some of the things the girls would do. One girl in particular would always yell at her parents when speaking to them on the phone. This was extremely odd to me and the other girls especially because we would have gotten in big trouble if we spoke to our parents the way she was . It wasn't until I had gone up to her house to visit that I realized this was how her family was. She grew up with different norms than I did and the way she spoke with her parents was completely acceptable.
Another thing that this chapter seemed to repeat a few times was the "us" and "them." I feel like this is a problem I see all over. It is sad but true. People feel as though they are of higher value than other people from different cultures. My very own cousin falls victim to this way of thinking and as much as I try to educate her and open her mind she is very stuborn. It is something we need to start teaching our children from a young age so that they don't become the people seperating themselves into the "us" and "them."
I've been in a few situations where I've seen children yell at their parents and it's appalling because I grew up in an environment where that was definitely not okay. Also, when I go visit the families of friends, I most always think, "Ahh, now it makes so much sense why they do this/act this way." However, just because it's acceptable in their family doesn't mean it's okay for society though, but people will still react the way they were raised to, like the way you and I did. Sometimes though, it’s hard to differentiate between a societal norm and a family norm.
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