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> how is the desire to maintain a common identity in your small town racist? On the face of it, no, of course, wanting to maintain a sense of community in your
by mattzito 8y ago
> how is the desire to maintain a common identity in your small town racist?
On the face of it, no, of course, wanting to maintain a sense of community in your town is not inherently racist. But there needs to be a recognition and acceptance of the fact that the identity of a community needs to change and evolve, and people arriving from somewhere else can be part of that.
I would also argue that:
> Many of our country's rural trends are a pushback against multiculturalism, which pushes the idea that there is no right or wrong way to live as long as you don't hurt other people
Is an oversimplification of both rural trends AND multiculturalism. Rural america has historically been deeply shaped by immigration and migration, and rural america was fine with it, as long as economic and social opportunity was growing. When that ceased to be the case, immigration/multiculturalism was one of many factors blamed.
- creaghpatr 8y ago>But there needs to be a recognition and acceptance of the fact that the identity of a community needs to change and evolve... No, there doesn't 'need'
- mattzito 8y agoAre you suggesting that communities can stay frozen in time, unchanging forever? Even the Amish have adopted cell phones and automobiles, and the Satmars in NYC are huge WhatsApp users. Any community that thinks they can remain totally insular is both fooling itself and doomed to failure.
- creaghpatr 8y ago>Are you suggesting that communities can stay frozen in time, unchanging forever? No
- collyw 8y agoMobile phones don't define a culture. Almost every culture on the planet has adopted them now. Attitudes and shared behaviors do.
- mattzito 8y agoWhen your culture is defined around ideas that technology has a negative effect on your attitudes and shared behaviors, things like mobile phones are powerful signifiers. My point is that even highly insular cultures with strict restrictions about modernity and technology recognize that their beliefs and attitudes need to adapt with the times in certain ways.
- okmokmz 8y agoMobile phones themselves do not define a culture, but the Amish beginning to use them seems to be a pretty clear shift in their attitude and behaviors in relation to technology