Your Culture

[KoolHndLuke]

 I often think it's a splendid coincidence that people from around the world congregate here to share common interests, bringing with them the quirks and different viewpoints, customs, ideas of so many rich, diverse cultures. Culture is such a strange concept to wrap ones head around, though, because it's hard to define. What is culture? What are it's boundaries?

 

Culture (n) is defined as the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. Also as the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.

 

I shouldn't need to remind everyone to be respectful and courteous. The point of this is to celebrate/discuss cultural identity/diversity without judgement. And please refrain from statements such as "We are the best" and stuff since it is offensive to others.

 

How do you identify? How do you think your great grandchildren will identify? Does your culture inspire you? Pertinent discussions welcome.

[rieka]

I identify as Polish. I was born in rural Poland, lived for ten years under communism, then through the "capitalist transformation", then I moved to one of the bigger Polish cities with decidedly German influences. Poland was stripped of its country between Germans, Austrians and Russians, and parts of Poland still retain remnants of their cultural heritage which mingled and influenced us through the years. This is what I identify with, I've been to UK, US, Italy, and those Western countries are simply different (Italy being its own case since it's also Southern Mediterranean).

 

I am also a member of internet culture, so I was raised on Star Trek, Transformers, Mortal Kombat, American action movies and SF books too. Also, since around 1995, Anime. Funny thing is, I mostly read/watch things in English, not Polish.

 

So my culture is modern weeb/gamer with strong roots in Polish tradition, which I tend to appreciate more day by day. Hobbies are ok, but in difficult times it is those roots - family, tradition, common heritage - which prove to be most durable.

[Asura Scorpion]

I identify as a link in a chain of civilizational continuity, my roots, a mixture resulting from a variety of diverse central and eastern European ethnicities, one day I will have children that will continue to resemble the same people that I resemble. My roots are perhaps not the most homogenous, but rather a result of well proportionate balance among a variety of ethnically diverse white Europeans.

My destiny therefore is to keep making waves in this fabric of civilization, let this frail chain of continuity that nevertheless resisted for thousands of years carry on living and nourishing itself from the soil, planting seeds for trees under which shade no one in our life time will sit. Only such beauty and commitments can restore our lost intergenerational contract.

I can advise everyone to take interest in your heritage, and to take care of the soil you inherit, it will become the inheritance of your children. but above all, care and nourish your body, don't poison your blood with drugs, alcohol or pesticides, don't let yourselves down, don't upset your conscience.

I follow certain guidelines toward living an honorable life, I am proud and happy to be priviledged with these circumstances that permit me to have access to teachings like Marcus Aurelius, I can only give thanks to the greatest people on the planet that lived before us, they paved the way to make our contries and cultures the most advanced, richest in knowledge and arts, possibly the most romantic and creative people on Earth,, and certainly the most admired and envied people on the planet...

Thanks to history for validating my identity, I no longer worry about anything, I carry the blood of the greatest people on Earth, and every night when I go to bed I remember that.

[KoolHndLuke]

25 minutes ago, AKM said:

Even 150 years later, you'll know full when when you cross into the old South

We like to welcome ya'll damn Yankees to the south, that's all friend. 

 

But yeah, southern pride is still alive and well- which, like you say, is hard to believe after all this time. I think it all goes back to the days of large plantations, slaves working the fields, chivalry and southern hospitality and all that- in short- a different style of life. I've been in the south most of my life and it's become home despite some of the culture, not because of it. Too many stories of the "good ole days" and stuff that make it sound real grand. Propaganda- most of it.

 

I, with my northern accent, have had one hell of a time trying to fit in down here. I can use my southern "twang" if I want to, but, I don't. They either accept me or fuck off. Most of them fuck off.

 

But, let's not forget that there's a thing between the east and west coast as well.

[GimmeBACON]

Ya know it wasn't until my ex-gf did an ancestry test on me that I found out my ancestors were slaves on one side and victims of WWII on the other... but because it doesn't fit a certain narrative, it's largely ignored and I'm just part of white colonialism.

 

Truth is, poor white people are largely treated the same as minorities in this country; it's the rich elites that play us against each other by using our immutable characteristics to divide us, the only color they care about is green.

 

https://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/the-forgotten-white-slaves-part-ii-nehesy/

[KoolHndLuke]

 

[s.kirmish]

I am German and have always been very confused about what my culture actually is. People tend to attribute some cliche festivals to Germany like the Cologne carnival or Oktoberfest, but these are local to certain parts and don't affect most of us here at all. I had many international friends during university, and often heard compliments like "Germans take punctuality very serious", even though our trains and other public transportation are famous amongst us for always being late.(..and me being really lacking in this at the time too ?)

There is the castles and palaces alright. Nice to look at, but also history, and little lived.

German foods? I don't really know anything so famous that it is solely attributed to us. Eisbein is just a hunk of meat, and most Germans don't even eat this for example.

German music? The past is nice, so there is some legacy. Only a receding small percentage is still interested in keeping this alive though, which means it is less representative and more history by now.

Architecture? Same as above.

German engineering? Something so technical is hardly really culture since it only lives in a fraction of the population. Perhaps though the engineering is so good, because we have a culture that favors its generation. So this might be hint.

 

Instead of binding it to physical things, I would try to see our culture more as the kind of behavioral mindset that permeates most of our society.

In comparison to others, Germans are not hotblooded at all for example. There is not so much bickering, loud arguments are really rare to hear of (I myself never had to have one - not in lack of conflict, mind you), and generally disputes seem to be resolved in a civil manner. If you don't like someone, which inevitably has to happen in your life, you avoid or cope rather than slander or plot. While this might be seen as a lack of passion sometimes, I think there is just some culture(?) of collectively promoting the separation of emotion and logis. If you act on your stomach and impulses, people will look at you funny. Some might try to calm you, others let you feel the judgement. You'd eventually don't want do that anymore. (of course you can conjure up x number of counter examples for Germans too, but I just find it true as a tendency compared to others)

This might also be part of a greater trait that promotes simply "having your feet on the ground" realism. Germans are often lauded for their working morale, even though we have amongst the most holidays and vacation days in the EU, and definitely our share of notoriously lazy, inefficient bureaucracy. Despite that however, there seems to be some sense of dutiful behavior when it comes to work, and also appreciation for the quality of it. I can't surmise where this might come from without writing too much, but I am reminded of another thing a friend of mine said that I remember, which was:

"Germans will treat you rudely, but when you are rude yourself, they will suddenly be all nice." Hehe, she is an American girl, and as such had the tendency to sport this kind of overdone fake politeness with strangers, which we Germans indeed often react irritated about. Why? Not because of fighting or hierarchy like she initially seemed to think, but more because of a combination of the above: We don't appreciate bullshit. The same feet-on-the-ground attitude lets us smell fake mask behavior like this, and makes us inherently distrustful of such a person's motives I think. Once you drop the act, and behave like a human, we get comfortable too.(doesn't have to be rude I am sure, but emotional or mean would still better than a controlled manipulator visage I guess)

 

This behavioral theme has some definite societal consequences, like as said probably the greater inclination towards technology, adherence to rules, or general civility with less crimes and more helpful social adhesion.(I am not sure to which degree all this couldn't be explained by simple wealth however, but it seems that this was a Germanic stereotype even in grimmer medieval ages, so it at least can't be all wealth alone.)

One of the more curious implications is that of course also the woman here follow these tendencies, and hence the archetype of the troublesome demanding wife, or the super shallow make-up-clown Stacy and such... simply don't exist. We legitimately don't have those here. At least not in numbers that would warrant a stereotype be created.

In countries with little education or civility, woman are often materialistic, gossipy or manipulative vipers, while man become machos who whistle after these woman, and engage in primitive hierarchy and combative rivalry disputes with each other, etc. . The more civility and higher (free/non-indoctrinating) education standard a country has, the more it seems these differences appear to disappear. Woman and man here share a very large behavioral overlap, most notably in conscientiousness I think. It's nice.

 

Of course this is all generalization, but I find it to be more or less statistically true over the population.

 

 

It is difficult to really accept these things as a definition of our culture though, because as far as it concerns me, all this is just how adults are supposed to act everywhere, not really a quirky thing that we do here. When I see other countries that en masse don't behave cooled like this, like the US bully culture next to the fake politeness extreme, or crazy mob black friday murder sales, I just think "wrong" not "different".

...But if that isn't German culture, then what is left? Even if there isn't anything that isn't either historic or simply indistinctive overarching "western" culture, I don't really mourn if there weren't any. There is enough defined culture in the world everywhere for me to stay satiated on the matter.

 

[Reginald_001]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_the_Netherlands

[gregathit]

Thread has been cleaned of off topic posts.  Off topic posts will be removed.

 

The topic of the thread (taken from the OP):  How do you identify? How do you think your great grandchildren will identify? Does your culture inspire you? Pertinent discussions welcome.

 

This means you talk about YOUR culture.  Not bag on that of others.

[Guest]

On 4/30/2020 at 2:07 AM, KoolHndLuke said:

How do you identify?

Sea Person

 

 

Quote

Does your culture inspire you?

 

Yes.  Climate, geography, and religion greatly influence art, lifestyle, and mindset.  

 

 

 

[KoolHndLuke]

I had this naive idea that people from around the world have become more knowledgeable, more comfortable with each other since we all share a seemingly shrinking world. I see now that I was wrong.....and that old grievances will persist to the very last. I celebrate and respect the achievements, the resilience in the face of adversity, the individualism of all people everywhere. I guess I had hoped that through your stories of homeland and culture, I could come to better understand my own and continue to fight my own demons of hate and prejudice. My lack of faith in humanity is once again reaffirmed.