| Ingo Menger 2007-04-20, 7:03 pm |
| On 19 Apr., 10:42, Markus E Leypold
<development-2006-8ecbb5cc8aREMOVET...@ANDTHATm-e-leypold.de> wrote:
> Ingo Menger <quetzalc...@consultant.com> writes:
> Further cultural stereotypes _are_ culturalism and I think you used a
> stereotype.
You don't argue that behaviour (of humans) is determined mainly
through culture, do you? So, in speculating why someone behaves as he
does, one cannot but think about cultural influences.
In addition, I believe that stereotypes are almost unavoidable, if we
like it or not. There is nothing wrong with it ("Germans drink lots of
beer") as long as one is willing to learn, to adapt his views and
stereotypes to reality ("Czechs actually drink even more beer, while
Germans drink less and less beer and instead more and more mineral
water.")
It is true that some ideologues and demagogues misuse certain negative
cultural prejudices, their goal being to seed hatred and mistrust
among men. But the remedy may not be, IMHO, to pretend that there are
no cultural differences, nor to erect the taboo not to mention them.
I for my part am entirely open for statements like: "You think, that
in culture X, things are so and so, but in reality it is thus and
thus, see <link,book,paper> for reference". Which is the appropriate
way to deal with prejudices one considers to be false ones.
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