 DIVERSITY
What is diversity ?
Diversity
by Gene Griessman
I believe that diversity is a part of the natural order of things - as natural as the trillion shapes and shades of the flowers of spring or the leaves of autumn.
I believe that diversity brings new solutions to an ever-changing environment, and that sameness is not only uninteresting but limiting.
To deny diversity is to deny life - with its richness and manifold opportunities. Thus I affirm my citizenship in a world of diversity, and with it the responsibility to…
Be tolerant. Live and let live. Understand that those who cause no harm should not be feared, ridiculed, or harmed - even if they are different.
Look for the best in others.
Be just in my dealings with poor and rich, weak and strong, and whenever possible to defend the young, the old, the frail, the defenseless.
Be kind, remembering how fragile the human spirit is.
Life the examined life, subjecting my motives and actions to the scrutiny of mind and heart so to rise above prejudice and hatred. Care.
Multicultural Manners
Meeting and interacting with people from other cultures is an exciting experience. The differences between cultures can be fascinating and can sometimes cause problems because of the particular cultural meaning of words, gestures, or actions. The following information is a quick read on some cultural differences. It is meant to encourage the reader to think about some of the everyday things we often do or say that can have tremendous cultural impact!
Think about it…
COLORS
In China, white, red, or black gifts are associated with funerals. Don't use red ink as a message written in red implies the severing of a relationship. The colors red, pink, and yellow are joyful colors.*
In Japan, the color white is associated with death.*
In the Indian sectors of Malaysia colors to avoid are white and black when giving gifts. Red, yellow, green, and all bright colors signify happiness.*
In Italy, red roses suggest romance and secrecy while yellow roses signify jealousy.*
In Armenia, giving yellow flowers to someone means that you hate them as the yellow flowers represent the enemy.**
Yellow has negative connotations for many people including Iranians, Peruvians, and Mexicans.**
Wearing white to an Indian wedding could bring bad luck, even death, to the wedding couple.**
In China, green hats are often associated with infidelity.**
BODY LANGUAGE
Many Asian people believe the head houses the soul and when another person touches their head, it places them in jeopardy.**
Gestures do not have universal meaning. In many parts of the world, thumbs-up is obscene.**
Pointing with the index finger is considered rude to many people outside the United States, particularly from Asian countries.**
People from many Asian, Latin American, and Caribbean cultures avoid eye contact as a sign of respect.**
When greeting, most people from France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and other Mediterranean countries expect to be kissed on both cheeks.**
FOOD
In Java, food must be offered three times before guests can accept it.**
Hindu's don't eat beef.**
Navajos don't eat fish.**
Muslims and Jews don't eat pork.**
People from Arabic countries, parts of Africa, Sri Lanka, and certain parts of the Philippines often eat with their fingers from a common platter. **
People from Asian countries rarely set knives on the table. This goes back to a time when knives were primarily considered weapons.**
Many Asians and Saudi Arabians make eating noises to show their appreciation of the food. This is a compliment, not bad manners.**
LUCK AND SUPERNATURAL FORCES
Give an uneven number of flowers to Armenians on happy occasions.**
Red envelopes filled with money express two positive things to the Chinese: The red signifies good luck, and the money signifies prosperity.**
Just as many Americans believe that thirteen is unlucky, the Chinese have strong beliefs about the good and bad luck associated with particular numbers. Four is the most negative number, since its sound is the same as the word for death.**
Many cultures associate bad luck and death with specific numbers or number sequences.**
*Do's and Taboo's Around the World edited by Roger E. Axtell
**Multicultural Manners by Norrine Dresser
DEFINITIONS
Diversity: At its most basic level, diversity is simply all the ways in which people are different. The most powerful differences are age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and physical ability. Other differences that affect how people behave, how they see the world, and the values they live by are educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, parental status, religious beliefs, and work experience.
Culture: Within a group, culture is what everybody knows that everybody else knows. It is the deposit of knowledge that has been passed on from generation to generation and that teaches us what is appropriate regarding all aspects of life. All human beings, all groups, have culture. Culture, to use a computer metaphor, is the software that "programs" people, telling them how to behave and delineating the rules of conduct.
Ethnocentrism: To be "ethnocentric" means one judges the actions/behaviors of others according to the values of one's own group. The ethnocentric person assumes her/his own culture's way of doing things is "right" and all others "wrong". All people are ethnocentric to some degree. However, extreme ethnocentrism can lead to prejudice, discrimination, scapegoating, racism, and genocide.
Stereotyping: A stereotype is a preconceived or oversimplified generalization usually involving negative beliefs about a particular group. Negative stereotypes are frequently at the base of prejudice. The danger of stereotyping is that it no longer considers people as individuals, but rather categorizes them as members of a group who all think and behave in the same way. We may pick up these stereotypes from what we hear other people say, what we read, what we experience, and what people around us believe. Even when a stereotype appears to be positive, the effects are negative because the person is still not considered as an individual.
Prejudice: An attitude, opinion, or feeling formed without adequate prior knowledge, thought, or reason. Prejudice can be prejudgment for or against any person, group, sex, or object. Any group can prejudge or be prejudged toward another group.
Discrimination: An action based on a prejudice. Discrimination often involves keeping people out of activities or places because of the group to which they belong. Any individual or group can discriminate against another.
Scapegoating: Scapegoating refers to the deliberate policy of blaming an individual or group when the fault actually lies elsewhere. It means blaming another group or individual for things they did not really do. Those that we scapegoat become objects of our aggression in work and deed. Prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory acts lead to scapegoating. Members of disliked groups are denied employment, housing, political rights or social privileges. Scapegoating can lead to verbal and physical violence, including death.
Racism: Racism couples the false assumption that race determines psychological and cultural trains with the belief that one race is superior to another. Based on their beliefs in the inferiority of certain groups, racists justify discriminating against, segregating, and/or scapegoating these groups. Racism is both individual and institutional. It is also defined as prejudice plus power.
Sexism: Sex prejudice with institutional power used to the advantage of one sex and the disadvantage of the other. Sexism is any attitude, action, or practice, backed by institutional power, that subordinates people because of their sex.
Disabledism: Any attitude, action or institutional structure which subordinates a person or group because of a physical disability.
Classism: Any attitude, action or institutional practice that subordinates because people of their economic status.
NOTE: It is important to note that each stage of prejudiced behavior feeds the next. Extreme forms develop only when the more subtle forms are permitted to flourish.
Adapted from: "Recognizing the Power of Diversity", Lee Gardenschwartz, PhD, and Anita Rowe, PhD, Physician Executive, Nov.-Dec. 1993, Vol. 19, Issue 6; Facilitating the Intercultural Communication Workshop, Janet and Milton Bennett; "Some Helpful Terms", A world of Difference Institute of the Anti-Defamation League; and, Conflict Resolution Across Cultures, Michelle LeBaron Duryea and Ken Hawkins.
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