A Story of One Mother’s Response

When I was 12 years old, dressed in the new outfit I had gotten for Easter and feeling very pretty, I took the streetcar by myself to the theater downtown. Just before it was time for the theater to open, an usher came and asked us to form a line. People just merged together. Suddenly, I heard a group of women behind me talking. “That little darkie wasn’t in front of us. She doesn’t belong here.” With that, I was told to move out of the line. I started to cry. I had never been called a darkie before and I couldn’t recall ever being treated so meanly.

By the time I got home I was feeling pretty miserable. I couldn’t understand why I was being called that name. My mother had me sit very close to her and she put her hand on my shoulder. She said, “Sometimes people who don’t know other people who look different from them just decide to dislike them. This is called prejudice. It is wrong to form an opinion of someone based solely on what you see. You must try to get to know the person before you say whether you like him or her. Certainly the color of one’s skin has nothing to do with what’s in one’s heart. I know you feel hurt, but you must not hate. Hate is not good for anyone. Remember to take a journey. Try to see as far as you can into a person’s heart to see all of the good that you can.”

Task 8.7 Ethnocentrism. This is a survey to measure how you feel about your culture when you compare it with other cultures. Read the statements and circle the number of the response that best describes your opinion.

5 = Strongly Agree / 4 = Agree / 3 = ? / 2 = Disagree / 1 = Strongly Disagree

Statement	Your Response
1. Most other cultures in the world are backward compared to our culture.	5	4	3	2	1
2. Our culture should be a role model for other cultures.	5	4	3	2	1
3. Ways of life in many other cultures are as good as our way of life.	5	4	3	2	1
4. People from other cultures should try to be more like us.	5	4	3	2	1
5. We can learn a lot from people of other cultures.	5	4	3	2	1
6. Many people in other cultures don’t really know what’s best for them.	5	4	3	2	1
7. I do not have great respect for the customs and values of many other cultures.	5	4	3	2	1
8. Most people would be happier if they lived as we do.	5	4	3	2	1
9. Ways of life in many other cultures are not as good as our way of life.	5	4	3	2	1
10. We have just about the best ideas about how to live.	5	4	3	2	1
11. I respect the values and customs of most other cultures.	5	4	3	2	1
12. People from other cultures should learn our language so that they can communicate with us.	5	4	3	2	1
13. We cannot trust people from many other cultures.	5	4	3	2	1
14. I prefer not to interact with people from many other cultures.	5	4	3	2	1
15. People from many other cultures look up to our culture.	5	4	3	2	1

Figure 9.

SCORING:

Add the numbers to find your score: ______. In small groups, share your answers and scores

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Is Russia a country with a high, medium, or low degree of ethnocentrism? In what ways do Russians believe that Russian people, Russian culture, or the Russian Federation are the best?

2. Can you think of examples of ethnocentrism in other countries, from your own experience, from watching news, or from reading?

3. Does it make sense (or how much sense does it make) to take personal pride in the achievements of our ancestors or fellow countrymen? If we take pride in their achievements, must we also take the blame for their mistakes?

4. Can we take pride in the achievements of all human cultures and in our common human heritage?

Task 8.8 Translate from Russian into English.

Совершенно очевидно, что в правовой сфере выбор неточного или неверного соответствия при переводе может привести к неприятным последствиям. Анжела Маккэффри приводит несколько таких примеров.

Молодому человеку из Мексики было выдвинуто обвинение в убийстве в штате Орегон, США. Для него и еще нескольких свидетелей по делу были приглашены переводчики с испанского, не учитывая тот факт, что родным языком для обвиняемого был миштекский (Mixtec). Совершенно необоснованно было решено, что если обвиняемый из Мексики, он должен прекрасно говорить по-испански. Переводчица с испанского предупредила судью, что не понимает миштекские слова и выражения. Тем не менее, судья не стал приглашать переводчика с миштекского. Человек провел четыре года в тюрьме, пока вердикт не был отменен.

В другом случае женщина обратилась к юристу за помощью в получении визы для сына. Юрист попросил ее указать дату рождения сына, что она и сделала. В результате в посольстве США молодому человеку было отказано в получении визы на том основании, что он на собеседовании назвал дату рождения, отличную от той, что его мать указала ранее в документах, поданных ею в Службу иммиграции и натурализации США. Дело в том, что из-за военных действий у него не было свидетельства о рождении. Кроме того, позже выяснилось, что отношение к датам рождения в США и его родной стране было совершенно разным: там не отмечались дни рождения, и использовалась система календарного времени, несколько отличная от США. Молодому человеку пришлось представить письменные объяснения по поводу расхождений в указанных датах рождения, они были рассмотрены посольством, и семья смогла воссоединиться

Task 8.9 Do you know that…

Respecting a person’s need for space is an important aspect of interacting with others.

People of the United States like to stand at least a couple of feet away from a person when conversing. Canadians, too, prefer to interact from a distance of about two feet. Touching, except between good friends, is uncommon during conversations.

People of Iraq stand close together during conversations and will engage in physical contact. In Saudi Arabia, people also stand close together and touch each other while conversing.

In Asian countries, people dislike being touched by strangers and prefer to keep a respectful distance when interacting with people in important positions. In India, it is important to respect the other person’s personal space; an arm’s length away is recommended.

During an intercultural training session at a Japanese plant located in the United States, Mr. Suzuki asked the instructor what it means when someone pats you on the back. The instructor explained that means you have done a good job. All the men started to laugh. In Japan it means you have not done a good job, that you are in trouble with the boss. At the end of the meeting, everyone went out of the room patting each other on the back.