4 ms·

That is actually a great idea. The best way to build a bridge between peoples is through culture, and food is an important part of culture. The next step in b

That is actually a great idea. The best way to build a bridge between peoples is through culture, and food is an important part of culture. The next step in bridge building is sharing meals with people of other cultures. Starting or strengthening friendships around food is a great way to lessen the power of prejudices, and put aside our national identities for the benefit of sharing a common bond as humans through our cultural identities. Edit: even though the stated reason in the article has a political motive, I still think it helps at a human level.

mistermann 8y ago
> Starting or strengthening friendships around food is a great way to lessen the power of prejudices, and put aside our national identities for the benefit of sharing a common bond as humans through our cultural identities. I agree, and I have a theory/dream that this same principle can be extended and to all identities, including gender, sexual, and political (which are all subset of culture, of course). The value of having these discussions over a meal may be in part that there are certain expectations of social behavior in play, so people tend to be on better than normal behavior, and everyone knows they're going to be there for a while anyways so might as well make the best of it. As a result, it facilitates an environment where people actually listen to what other people are actually saying, rather than relying almost entirely on subconscious, preconceived notions, as is what routinely happens on internet forums. This extra time and dialogue helps bring people's perceptions of reality, in this case their understanding of the beliefs/culture of others, more closely inline with reality itself. In a sense, discussions over a meal forces good behavior on people, and the result of that is that people realize their preconceptions were off the mark. Absent a meal and the social structure and expectations/rules that come with it, and particularly in the case of internet discussions where there is no physical presence and often no strongly enforced behavioral expectations at all, we're left to rely on rationality, conscious awareness and personal discipline, things that aren't really taught or practiced in certain cultures. I'm a big believer that this is one of the key enablers of the increasing polarization we are witnessing in our societies, Western societies in particular.
mattnewton 8y ago
I love the Thai food in the US, so much that it has made me consider visiting Thailand. I wonder if it actually nets tourism dollars? I guess it doesn’t need to because Thai restaurants could also be a relatively safe investment if more people love them as much as I do.
- loco5niner 8y ago
  I actually chose Thailand for my vacation because I wanted to get authentic Thai food. Worked on me!
  - anonu 8y ago
    I've been to Thailand twice and I find the Thai food in the USA to be much better. When I asked my Thai friends about this they said it could be that the ingredients are of higher quality in the US...
    - loco5niner 8y ago
      That wasn't my experience as a whole. Certainly, I experienced both bad and good. But the good Thai I had in Thailand was far superior to the good Thai I can find locally in the US. I'll keep looking :-)
onomonomono 8y ago
I have to assume when you say national identity it means the same thing to you as racial identity because our national identity is mutable and transcends race. I can't move to Thailand and become Thai. I can't move to China and become Chinese. But they can move here and become American. They can move here and live the American Dream.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- HeadsUpHigh 8y ago
  Isn't that what's so amazing about the USA? That it is open to "anyone"( well you get what I mean)? People come from different nations, a country that allows different nations to exist in the same physical space is a great way to bridge that gap and food seems like a good starting point. Anyone can probably gain some appreciation for some culture if the food is good( like, this culture actually has something worthwhile to show). I think it works in a subconscious level. Also given the lack of worldwide history education it's also an interesting way to get people in a first contact with a different culture.

mistermann 8y ago

> Starting or strengthening friendships around food is a great way to lessen the power of prejudices, and put aside our national identities for the benefit of sharing a common bond as humans through our cultural identities. I agree, and I have a theory/dream that this same principle can be extended and to all identities, including gender, sexual, and political (which are all subset of culture, of course). The value of having these discussions over a meal may be in part that there are certain expectations of social behavior in play, so people tend to be on better than normal behavior, and everyone knows they're going to be there for a while anyways so might as well make the best of it. As a result, it facilitates an environment where people actually listen to what other people are actually saying, rather than relying almost entirely on subconscious, preconceived notions, as is what routinely happens on internet forums. This extra time and dialogue helps bring people's perceptions of reality, in this case their understanding of the beliefs/culture of others, more closely inline with reality itself. In a sense, discussions over a meal forces good behavior on people, and the result of that is that people realize their preconceptions were off the mark. Absent a meal and the social structure and expectations/rules that come with it, and particularly in the case of internet discussions where there is no physical presence and often no strongly enforced behavioral expectations at all, we're left to rely on rationality, conscious awareness and personal discipline, things that aren't really taught or practiced in certain cultures. I'm a big believer that this is one of the key enablers of the increasing polarization we are witnessing in our societies, Western societies in particular.

mattnewton 8y ago

I love the Thai food in the US, so much that it has made me consider visiting Thailand. I wonder if it actually nets tourism dollars? I guess it doesn’t need to because Thai restaurants could also be a relatively safe investment if more people love them as much as I do.

loco5niner 8y ago
I actually chose Thailand for my vacation because I wanted to get authentic Thai food. Worked on me!
- anonu 8y ago
  I've been to Thailand twice and I find the Thai food in the USA to be much better. When I asked my Thai friends about this they said it could be that the ingredients are of higher quality in the US...
  - loco5niner 8y ago
    That wasn't my experience as a whole. Certainly, I experienced both bad and good. But the good Thai I had in Thailand was far superior to the good Thai I can find locally in the US. I'll keep looking :-)

onomonomono 8y ago

I have to assume when you say national identity it means the same thing to you as racial identity because our national identity is mutable and transcends race. I can't move to Thailand and become Thai. I can't move to China and become Chinese. But they can move here and become American. They can move here and live the American Dream.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
HeadsUpHigh 8y ago
Isn't that what's so amazing about the USA? That it is open to "anyone"( well you get what I mean)? People come from different nations, a country that allows different nations to exist in the same physical space is a great way to bridge that gap and food seems like a good starting point. Anyone can probably gain some appreciation for some culture if the food is good( like, this culture actually has something worthwhile to show). I think it works in a subconscious level. Also given the lack of worldwide history education it's also an interesting way to get people in a first contact with a different culture.