American Politeness

Before I delve into the subject of this post, I need to mention my issues with this particular format of blogging. I don’t keep a diary or a journal, all my reflective processes generally involve another person to speak to or my phone’s voice recorder. After doing the Myers-Brigg Type Indicator as part of SAWIP before we left for DC, I found that, that behaviour is consistent with my “type”. I’ve always known that about me, like I mention in one of my previous posts, different individuals function in different ways and systems are being adapted to be all inclusive. In my own education programmes, I encourage a vocal reflection as an alternative to the hand-written expression as I know not all learners identify with that. None the less I have no choice but to subscribe to the system until such time that start uploading vlogs through youtube.

Alright, now that the rant is over: American Politeness – which in itself is also a rant, so I feel as though Im being consistent. From the moment we got here, I’ve been having difficulty holding my tongue. In South Africa we speak about everything, publically, privately, with friends or strangers. This is not the case in the US of A. The land of Freedom of Speech is very particular about how free you are to say exactly what you mean. Perhaps it’s because our society has always spoken about these issues because they’re so ingrained in the social landscape of our country. Coming from such a melting pot of cultures we’ve gotten to a point where we embrace stereotypes, use them in humour and laugh together. I am sure there are arguments for how this makes us a society in denial or something but to be honest, it works for us. The thing is, we have gotten really good at discerning when someone is being malicious by making a cultural, religious, racial or gender based comment in a conversation. If that happens, we are VERY quick to hold people accountable but for the most part we talk about things honestly and freely.

In our first official session on this side of the Atlantic, we were informed about the necessity for Political correctness and cultural sensitivity. It was funny for me to hear about how some of the team had already received death stares from strangers on the metro system for talking to eachother in loud audible voices about the first impressions on the differences in perceptions about race here compared to home. I also keep grabbing my mouth the moment I say something, forgetting I’m not at home, quickly turn to whoever’s with me and ask if what I said is “PC” while casting my eye across the room to see if I’ve offended any unsuspecting eavesdropper.

It’s a very strange thing within a country that also implements Affirmative Action. The Supreme Court just sat with a case that dealt with these laws and didn’t make a definitive decision. In my mind, the interpretation of laws adapt to the will and opinion of the populous. When everyone refuses to talk about things that influence these laws, how can decisions be informed?