This post from Maryk is in reply to the following thoughts posted as a reply to
the root article about "East and West Culture Differences." Here is what was said:
"Your article remind me to think more. Yeah, there do exist some differences
between west and east. Western country may be more aggressive and rational,
while eastern country may be a little conservative and sensible. Maybe
this leads to the great distance between east and west.
"Western people in our eyes are more cold and unkind, but their country
do manage better than ours. In western country, they embrace such a
truth, that is strong people exist while week people die out. Everyone
knows dinosaur. Dinosaur is such a large animal but it is died out
because it could not adapt the circumstance.
"We do not complain about their coldness. We should put it as a
stimulator to inspire us to exceed others as soon as possible. Maybe
this is what we can do when we realize the great difference between
east and west."
*********
I'm a very cold person, as you have each discovered. That is because I'm a Westerner, living in Canada. David (Canuck) is also very cold because he's a Canadian living in China, but he's still a Westerner, and my sibling. Tim
is very, very cold as he lives in the US, and when it comes to Neil, if he has Canadian citizenship and lives in Canada, then he's a Westerner, too, and so he's
very cold. In fact, we're all very cold, we Westerners.
Since Mexico is part of North America and very many Mexicans live in the United
States now, it is well known that Mexicans are very cold, and the ones in theUS have become even colder. I think we can leave South America out of this because they must be Southerners.
Now, it is well-known that the Brits are Westerners, so of course, they are verycold. So are the French, and yet I don't know what the Ukrainians are, but as
they are part of the European Union, each of them must also have recently become
very cold, regardless of whatever they were before. The same goes for Spain.
We all know that there are many other countries with interest in joining the European Union. I hope their peoples are each taking lessons in frigidity so that
they will be suitable for membership.
Now, as is well known in the West, all Easterners are inscrutable. It is
true of all Chinese that they are the most inscrutatable of all. They must be warm, as they are from the East, but they are completely inscrutable. We know well that all Chinese and related peoples keep totally blank faces when talking with you. They never reveal their thoughts. No one can ever tell what they may really be thinking. They must give each child special lessons in inscrutability while still very young as the inscrutablity of each is consistently perfect.
No Westerner will ever be able to understand an Easterner because of that inscrutability. Who knows what scary thoughts may lie behind those inscrutable faces?
"East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet...."
That's the truth so long as we make blanket statements about each other and holdprejudiced beliefs such as that all Westerners are cold, and all Easterners, especially all "Orientals" of course, are inscrutable.
We understand now through DNA and RNA studies that we are one human family of man on this little planet. Will you help the cause of understanding and cooperation between East and West? Or will you believe and act on prejudice? Will you be part of what leads to wars and separation? Or will you be part of growing harmony and unity?
The choice is yours. I made mine long ago.
Sincerely, Mary