Cultural Conversations 

I recently spoke with a community member about the community where I work. She relayed a story to me about a young lady that had fallen on hard times and had to move in with her mom. In truth, this person needed help long before she asked for it, and waited until things were too far gone.  We then pondered why she did not ask for help sooner. This is an extremely small, tight-knit, primarily African-American community where many members attend church regularly and everyone knows everyone else. It is the culture of this community to help each other to the best of their ability. The person to whom I was speaking also commented on how she thought the young lady's decision was odd. This is not a wealthy community, and no one would have looked down on her for asking for assistance. This person really emphasized the importance of the community culture of helping each other. For her, culture is defined by how people build each other up, support each other, and help one another in hard times. 

                                                      

Another person I spoke with defines culture as her whole family dynamic, her traditions within the family, her beliefs, values, and her home environment. She narrowed her definition of culture down to the family level. I know this person well, and her family is how she defines herself and her culture. She is part of the dominant culture of middle-class, white, middle-aged American, but she grew up in poverty. Most of her friends grew apart from her, or died of drug and alcohol related deaths. She does not identify with that culture any longer, but because she did not grow up in the dominant culture in which she now live, she feels some cultural discontinuity.  As a result, she has created a tight family culture that is establishing its own traditions, customs, and beliefs. 


Yet another person defined culture in a much broader context. She noted that even though communities are made of different races, religions, and ethnicity there are still commonalities of culture that bind those diverse sectors together. For example, in the area where she works, it is not common to greet each other on the street. People do not make eye contact or speak. They avoid each other altogether because the area is considered dangerous. In the area where I work, people wave, greet, speak, and stop to talk in the middle of the street sometimes to the detriment of traffic. There are very blurred lines between races, ethnicity, and language.  People feel safe with one another and many have lived there for decades. 

Two out of the three people omitted the importance of religion in their own explanations of culture, while the other mentioned the importance of the church in helping with the young lady's financial situation. None of them are religious church goers, but the first person still recognized the importance of the central church (there are only two) to the community. 

I found each of their perspectives to be interesting. One defined community culture, another defined family culture, and another defined culture by the commonalities that bind us together. Each had sound reasoning for their definitions. Because I know each of them well, I can understand where their definitions are coming from. This makes me aware that we are heavily influenced by our family structure, our community structure, and our own observations of both. It would be interesting to have someone observe me for a day and then ask questions about my actions and behaviors to examine why I do things a certain way.