During a research trip in the south I encountered a culture I had read and heard about, but had never directly experienced. As a result I did experience a degree of culture shock. Throughout the experience I spoke with a few different people about some sensitive issues and had to encounter my own bias regarding many culturally sensitive issues.
Read MoreJoking About Race
Comedians frequently joke about controversial or sensitive issues. However, is joking about race ever acceptable? Do people who frequently make racial jokes on some level actually racist? Does it perpetuate stereotypes and negatively effect social integration in the western world? I recently encountered a situation that made me re-think many of these issues.
Read MoreThe 'Othering' Process
It is a natural tendency for humans to 'other' i.e. to believe that the group (race, religion, ethnicity, culture, gender, country, sexual orientation, species etc.) that they are a part of is inherently the ‘right’ way to be human or to exist. For important evolutionary reasons this tendency is still ubiquitous today. However, it is also the root cause of violence, wars, discrimination and marginalization. Is there someway to stop ourselves from othering either consciously or subconsciously? Or will we have to deal with this part of our psychology forever?
Read MoreA Historically Contingent Discrimination
Over the past few decades western society has made great strides to eradicate discriminatory practices and policies directed towards non-heterosexuals. However, we have to understand why this was even necessary in the first place. Why did people throughout the western world discriminate against non-heterosexuals? Is it inherently human to discriminate against those who are different? Or is this behaviour culturally dependent? Understanding the answers to these questions can better contextualize the currently LGBT rights movement.
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