Culture-Clashes and Melting Pots.... (generations, fence, crime, ideology)
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When a city or state become a "hot spot" for newcomers, it can be a difficult time for the long-time residents of an area.
The newcomers flood in with their own agenda and expectations and want to make a lot of changes!! And naturally, this doesn't always sit well with the "old-timers" who feel happy with the way "things are."
I've been on both "sides" during my life. I've been a newcomer and I've also been a long-time resident in other areas. How about you?
When I move to a new city or state, I try to spend time studying the "existing culture" to see if it "fits me." I'm not coming to "change things." I move to a new area because "I like what I see" and want to be part of the "existing culture."
Of course, I realize that nothing stays the same forever and ever. Changes are bound to happen through the years.
As an "old-timer," I feel resentful when newcomers breeze in and act like my town is a "blank slate"....just waiting for a "makeover!"
Some newcomers view longtime residents of small towns as "heathens," "hicks" and "dumb-nuts." They come from larger cities and don't really understand the values and virtues of "small town life."
It reminds me of the "white settlers" who stold land from Native Americans way back when....The "white folks" definitely looked down their noses at the Indians and regarded them as "animal-like" and "sub-human." (Compared to "who they were" and their supposedly superior "white race" and culture.)
I grew up in cities in Southern CA and I chose to leave. (In order to live a more peaceful, rural type of lifestyle...away from the crowds, traffic, stress and "rat race.")
I'm not exactly a quote "country bumpkin." I've been "around the block" a few times during my life. And, I've lived in small, medium and very large cities.
I don't understand why "city folks" decide to move to small towns with the intention of pushing for "rapid development" in their new area. Why don't they just "stay put" in their former towns if they love "big city" life so much? Why do they have to turn each and every small town into a "carbon copy" of what they left behind???
None of this makes any sense to me. How about you?
I guess newcomers just want to feel "at home" wherever they live and they feel entitled to all of the "modern conveniences."
These days, too many cities in the USA look nearly identical to each other. It's the "same" everywhere....shopping centers and chain stores on every corner...and clusters of "look-alike" tract homes in every nook and cranny! (YUK!!)
I prefer to live in a town with a distinct and unique personality. "Same old, same old everywhere" really turns me off! How about you?
When newcomers take over my town, I know that it's time to move away. (Whether I feel like it or not.) I could stay and complain and "feel sorry" for myself. But, I know that I have to "face reality" when I am "outnumbered" and when the culture seems to change overnight.
I want to live in an area where I feel happy...with my "own kind." (Nature lovers, people who value open space...Families that don't want to live "packed together" like sardines, etc.)
So, I just "move-on" when I see the "writing on the wall" and hunt for a new "home." And the truth is, there really is "writing on the wall" when a city starts to grow too fast...as in graffiti. (Sad!!)
How do you handle culture-clashes and the push to go through the "melting pot," etc.? Please share your views and experiences too. Thanks, CK
I grew up in socal when it wasn't the solid lump of people it is now. The suburb I was raised in until highschool was in mentality far closer to a small town than a part of a larger urban place, and I have come to hate the difference that exists now. I lived my whole life in various parts of socal, last 20 or so years in Riverside. Last year I "moved on" to a small town in Oklahoma and I love it. There is space around me, people don't "rush" everywhere, and I don't want to change it, though it does seem to take forever to get something done that is supposed to be done "tomorrow". (Fence has been sitting unfinished for two months).
If you come to a place expecting to change it you are just bringing with you the problems you left behind. I doubt I'll ever feel like I'm "from" here, but then thats okay. I like it how it is and if I'm not like everyone else there is nothing terrible about that. But I'd be really upset with someone who came here and wanted to make it like a big city.
We may never fit into the place we find but that doesn't mean its the wrong place if we like it the way we find it.
When a city or state become a "hot spot" for newcomers, it can be a difficult time for the long-time residents of an area.
The newcomers flood in with their own agenda and expectations and want to make a lot of changes!! And naturally, this doesn't always sit well with the "old-timers" who feel happy with the way "things are."
I've been on both "sides" during my life. I've been a newcomer and I've also been a long-time resident in other areas. How about you?
When I move to a new city or state, I try to spend time studying the "existing culture" to see if it "fits me." I'm not coming to "change things." I move to a new area because "I like what I see" and want to be part of the "existing culture."
Of course, I realize that nothing stays the same forever and ever. Changes are bound to happen through the years.
As an "old-timer," I feel resentful when newcomers breeze in and act like my town is a "blank slate"....just waiting for a "makeover!"
Some newcomers view longtime residents of small towns as "heathens," "hicks" and "dumb-nuts." They come from larger cities and don't really understand the values and virtues of "small town life."
It reminds me of the "white settlers" who stold land from Native Americans way back when....The "white folks" definitely looked down their noses at the Indians and regarded them as "animal-like" and "sub-human." (Compared to "who they were" and their supposedly superior "white race" and culture.)
I grew up in cities in Southern CA and I chose to leave. (In order to live a more peaceful, rural type of lifestyle...away from the crowds, traffic, stress and "rat race.")
I'm not exactly a quote "country bumpkin." I've been "around the block" a few times during my life. And, I've lived in small, medium and very large cities.
I don't understand why "city folks" decide to move to small towns with the intention of pushing for "rapid development" in their new area. Why don't they just "stay put" in their former towns if they love "big city" life so much? Why do they have to turn each and every small town into a "carbon copy" of what they left behind???
None of this makes any sense to me. How about you?
I guess newcomers just want to feel "at home" wherever they live and they feel entitled to all of the "modern conveniences."
These days, too many cities in the USA look nearly identical to each other. It's the "same" everywhere....shopping centers and chain stores on every corner...and clusters of "look-alike" tract homes in every nook and cranny! (YUK!!)
I prefer to live in a town with a distinct and unique personality. "Same old, same old everywhere" really turns me off! How about you?
When newcomers take over my town, I know that it's time to move away. (Whether I feel like it or not.) I could stay and complain and "feel sorry" for myself. But, I know that I have to "face reality" when I am "outnumbered" and when the culture seems to change overnight.
I want to live in an area where I feel happy...with my "own kind." (Nature lovers, people who value open space...Families that don't want to live "packed together" like sardines, etc.)
So, I just "move-on" when I see the "writing on the wall" and hunt for a new "home." And the truth is, there really is "writing on the wall" when a city starts to grow too fast...as in graffiti. (Sad!!)
How do you handle culture-clashes and the push to go through the "melting pot," etc.? Please share your views and experiences too. Thanks, CK
this is a pretty good bittersweet analogy of life itself. contrary to some westerner's beliefs, there are unheard and unknown people who have felt this way also. i sadly felt i was torn from my culture and home for a very long time by circumstances etc and valued it even though outsiders wouldn't understand, especially when i was a child and had fond personal memories. i had an idyllic idea of what i wanted my world to be, my native country that i left, the influences i thought good and those that i didn't want etc. the same when i came here, i had an idealistic idea of how i wanted things to be, people would be nice and fair and life would be beautiful and everyone would get along. life isn't like our ideals most of the time. everything in life doesn't last like first loves, relationships, jobs, political climate, age, etc. that's one thing you learn about life is everything is for a time and things change around you to your delight or not or a mixed bag.
a lot of these forces will continue until it can't any longer and people will feel or actually be displaced. war is a major factor of this one. i think when the world becomes more industrialized or at least third world countries attain at least the important things like education and medicine, less religious intolerance and hatred, it will get better and people won't feel a need to go to other places as much and the world will be on a better and even keel. i've said before that i think most of the fighting and killing in countries today, religious and ideological wars, crime etc in poor countries has more to do with their poverty etc. when life is miserable and they have nothing positive going for themselves, they end up like suicide bombers and fighting over unpractical ideology and dying for them because that's the only semblance of meaning they have in their lives.
a lot of these forces will continue until it can't any longer and people will feel or actually be displaced. war is a major factor of this one. i think when the world becomes more industrialized or at least third world countries attain at least the important things like education and medicine, less religious intolerance and hatred, it will get better and people won't feel a need to go to other places as much and the world will be on a better and even keel. i've said before that i think most of the fighting and killing in countries today, religious and ideological wars, crime etc in poor countries has more to do with their poverty etc. when life is miserable and they have nothing positive going for themselves, they end up like suicide bombers and fighting over unpractical ideology and dying for them because that's the only semblance of meaning they have in their lives.
Maybe. But things like the holocaust, Japanese internment camps, and the rape of Nanjing and human biological experiments by the Japanese were performed by industrialized nations. This is not to say that industrialization, and most notably mass media, result in the exposure of atrocities. However, it is not inevitable. It is also worth noting that many of the terrorist leaders and planners, for example that Bin Laden guy, were not in want of material resources.
Thanks for writing! I'm glad you're happy in OK today!! I plan to move to a small town in Kansas near my relatives before long.
Have the people in your new area been friendly to you? Did you feel accepted right away? Have you made many new friends since you've moved there?
I agree with all you wrote. I've always questioned my motives for moving to a new place....It is easy to bring all of our "old stuff" with us if we're not careful. (And I'm not just talking about physical "stuff!") Thanks again for writing. CK
I've always had a tendency to be an idealist myself. And the truth is, I never want to let go of my idealism even though I always have to brace myself for disappointment...And I have to be prepared to "go with the flow" and "accept what is" when need be.
What is your native country? How long have you been in the USA?
I agree with what you wrote about poverty and what it can "lead to." We have a lot of poverty right here in the USA and it sure saddens me. Sometimes, I feel like renting a bus and taking kids who are growing up in a ghetto, or kids who are growing up in projects "out into the world a little more"...beyond their present circumstances. It sure makes me sad to think about kids who are growing up in war-torn countries right now with very little to eat or "hope for."
You're right, when things are "good at home" people are less inclined to leave. This is a good point. Thanks for sharing. CK
Thanks for writing. I am not one to put all "industrialized nations" up on a pedestal myself. When everyone moves into cities and away from the land and agriculture...the population can really suffer in the long run. How do you feel about it? Thanks, CK
Maybe. But things like the holocaust, Japanese internment camps, and the rape of Nanjing and human biological experiments by the Japanese were performed by industrialized nations. This is not to say that industrialization, and most notably mass media, result in the exposure of atrocities. However, it is not inevitable. It is also worth noting that many of the terrorist leaders and planners, for example that Bin Laden guy, were not in want of material resources.
i guess what i was trying to say is that even though there will be people bent on power trips and unscupulousness, when a 'MAJORITY' population is able to better thier lot in life, then they tend to have a better voice and also they care more in general about 'normal' activities like taking care of themselves, family, community etc and look to more positive activities and have hope. and when they get stronger and better, they have more to lose and defend as well.
Thanks for writing. I am not one to put all "industrialized nations" up on a pedestal myself. When everyone moves into cities and away from the land and agriculture...the population can really suffer in the long run. How do you feel about it? Thanks, CK
I think we are suffering in our separation from the land when we have mega-cities such as NYC, but that's kind of another topic (I also think there is an effort to correct this, even within cities).
Back to your original point, I am kind of on both sides of the fence. I grew up in Cali as it was quickly changing, so I thrive in that atmosphere. However, my father is not of my type. He is not close-minded when it comes to cultural matters as a rule, but we all become less malleable as we age, and its hard when the area has changed so much. Even I remember sitting in apricot trees munching on fresh fruit, in what is now a sea of suburbia. I appreciate diversity as a value, but I don't know that there's anything inherently great and neccesary about it. I see it as a strength that the US can absorb all these different cultures and thrive. However, as gentrification occurs (does it have to be a "minority" community that is gentrified? or a white population to do the gentrifying? I say this definition is out of date), there are always those that lose. Those that are priced out. Those that see what they love about a place dissipate.
This may seem irrelevant, but it happens all over the world. As 3rd world countries industrialize at a pace unimaginable to even coastal California, each 5 years produces culture shifts that represent whole generations for us. Those born 5 or 10 years apart hardly know how each other think. And in places such as China, where the old state-owned system is being dismantled, life is difficult for those (especially the middle-aged and elderly) who are don't know how to economically or socially fit in this new world.
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