Culture and Stereotypes

Americans in general have a tendency to be a little bit ignorant when it comes to other cultures. While it is true that nobody is going to sit there and say that the standard of living in Mexico/Colombia/Venezuela would resemble the standard of living in the United States, it’s also true that living in these countries isn’t like living in a grass hut in the middle of Africa either. I’m aware of this fact but some Americans are not, as evidenced by this story that my friend ‘Colombian Claudia’ told me:

“Yeah I was hanging out with this American guy and he really irritated me. I told him that I was from Colombia and he was like ‘Oh, you’re from Colombia? I know there’s a lot of drugs down there but do you guys have like … roads… and running water… and electricity …. and houses??”

I don’t think that my subsequent hysterical laughter made her feel any better…


Typical Middle-Class Home in Bogota, Colombia



Even though I’m culturally aware, I still like to make jokes because, come on, stereotypes are funny:

JR: “Yeah, She comes from an upper class family in Colombia.”

Jesse: “Upper –class in Colombia? So probably about the same quality of life as Eminem and his mom in 8 mile?”


Unfortunately, the Colombian middle-class have to walk their brown-asses back across 8 mile



This conversation is a good portrayal of American Ignorance as well….

Sarah: “Hi, I’m Sarah.”

Darling: “Hi I’m Darling, nice to meet you.”

Sarah: “Where are you from?”

Darling: “Nicaragua.”

Sarah: “Oh wow. You came here all the way from Africa?”

GEOGRAPHY FAIL



Here’s an example of how kids are not very politically correct. This is a conversation that took place between my Ecuadorian friend Belén and the young american boy that she was taking care of as an Au-Pair.

Kid (intensely studying Belén): “You know something? You’re not white like me.”

Belén: “Yes, I know.”

Kid: “But you’re not black either.”

Kid: “You’re…… brown.”

You can’t blame the kid, I’m from the same town and didn’t meet a non-white person until I was like 13…



Of course, the opposite situation also happens from time to time, as evidenced by this Mexican girl who stopped me on the street and asked me to take a picture with her. I’m pretty sure that I was the first white guy she had ever seen…


Apparently, a blonde dude walking down the boardwalk in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico is not an everyday occurence.



Speaking of stereotypes, as Americans, we generally don’t spend a lot of time studying other cultures. What we know about other countries is (usually) an unfair stereotype. For example, you can summarize what we know about other countries with a short phrase or sometimes, even a single word…

Mexico: People that eat tacos for every meal and sneak into the United States as illegal immigrants.

Colombia: Drugs.

Brazil: Violent country with hot girls and fun-loving people that are obsessed with soccer.

England: Friendly people with bad teeth who talk funny.

France: Nice Country, but the people are a bunch of rude asshole pricks.

And from what I’ve gathered from foreigners during my travels, this is what they think of us…

United States: People who think that the American way is the only way and that everything American is the best.

Hmmm… Actually I do think that. Maybe these stereotypes aren’t so far off.



Have you ever noticed that some words are inherently non-offensive but due to the connection that this word makes in your mind, it becomes offensive? One good example of this is the word ‘Jew’. Jew is a word that describes a member of the Jewish faith, but if you say “Look at that Jew over there!” it doesn’t sound quite right….

I realized that the word “Mexican” has gained the same sort of notoriety over the years after this situation at work:
I was leading a training course at my company one day and there were about 15 people in the class, comprised of guys from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. I was getting ready to start the course for the day and noticed that the 3 guys from Mexico had not yet arrived, so I said:

Jesse: “Well I guess we should wait for the Mexicans.”

At this point, everyone in the room started laughing…

Guy from illinois: “Dude, you can’t say that?”

Jesse: “Why not?”

Guy from Illinois: “It just sounds…. BAD.”

It’s not like I said lazy Mexicans…



Another word that is still in limbo is ‘black.’ Is it okay to say ‘that black guy’ or ‘that black girl’??
This ambiguity led to the following situation:

I was in an office building searching for a guy named Steve Johnson whom I had never met. As it turns out, he was the only black guy who worked in this particular office:

Jesse: “Hi, could you tell me how to find Steve Johnson?”

Receptionist: “Yes. His office is on the 2nd floor. He’s about your height, medium build, dark hair.”

Jesse: “Okay Thanks.”

After about 20 minutes of searching I eventually found him, but come on, a much more efficient conversation would have been:

Jesse: “Hi, could you tell me how to find Steve Johnson?”

Receptionist: “Yes. He’s the black guy.”

Jesse: “Got it. Thanks.”


Steve Johnson and the rest of the bad-asses of Fenwick and Smith Insurance and Notary Services.



Thoughts on Culture and Language with Troy Barker and Jesse Wells:

While discussing our upcoming trip to Europe with stops in Prague, Munich and London…

Troy: “Are we gonna make any effort whatsoever to learn some words in the native language or are we just gonna perpetuate American ignorance?”



After we both found out that former Pittsburgh Penguins great Jaromir Jagr has a bar in Prague:

Jesse: Dude, I’m pumped to go to Jagr’s bar.

Troy: I hope Prague has Jagr everything; Jagr Supermarket, Jagr Laundromat, Jagr Water Treatment Facility.



Troy: “On a funny note, my friend said that in Europe we need to watch out for ‘lady boys’. Lol”

Jesse: “Oh god. What is that?”

Troy: “You’ll see what appears to be a hot girl… but really it’s like a 14 year old boy. My buddys friend hooked up with one of them. Lol”

Jesse: “Haha, We’ll be on the lookout for lady boys then.”

Troy: “Yeah I’m gonna need to see ids and birth certificates… and a quick genitalia check.”



Troy: “What’s the best way to get around these cities? Probably the metro right?”

Jesse: “Yeah definitely. Metro system is fast and reliable in Europe.”

Troy: “Yeah if we can figure it out.”

Jesse: “Haha it’s like ‘Whoa man, we’re on the train to ‘Dusseldorfinhovensittarg’ I think we should be going to ‘Sarrbruckenheimensaucerzilk’”.

Jesse: “German words are unnecessarily long is what I was going for there…. lol”

- Originally written January 2011