Quote:
Originally Posted by OccultHawk
Yeah, if you take it to the extreme to justify warfare it's very problematic. But if you say I live in Culture A so it's more important to me than Culture B but I recognize their right to peacefully exist and if we interact it has to be mutually respectful and beneficial, like trade should be, isn't that enough? If one culture chooses to integrate that's fine but it shouldn't be forced on another culture. No one should be expected to sacrifice their own identity at expense of another's. To some people that might sound fine but then when I extend it and say I can understand why some French people feel culturally threatened I meet resistance. I also don't want to live near any sizable Muslim minority. I like smoking weed, women in bikinis, porn, open gay love, all kinds of music and I do not believe my values and how I want to live are compatible with Islam. That's how I feel. I don't care if that makes me a bigot or whatever.
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I can sympathize with this, but I don't think cultures can remain separate and respect one another. They just become "the other" and are viewed as inferior and a potential threat that is stereotyped due to a lack of understanding and familiarity. The preservation of culture is great in theory, but in practice breeds bigotry. I'd rather culture become diluted and people grow closer.
Your example of Japan is prime. Japan has a very interesting and valuable culture, but their isolation has also bred well-documented xenophobia. Obviously all Japanese aren't bigots, but there's definitely a dickish aspect to Japanese culture concerning other cultures.