Porthole

Echo chambers

One of the limitations of WDC is that it can become cliquish and one of the dangers of cliques is becoming an echo chamber.

This is one reason why I'm hesitant to belong to groups. I don't feel safe in restricted groups.

WDC is very English language bound as many are mono-linguals. WDC is culturally very British Colonial. It is very Christian and very White. And few seem to have significant interactions outside of those echo-chambers.

I told Stik that in my opinion, much of what is written in English seems to come from British and British colonial points-of-view (or written by those who went to colonial institutions like Harvard/Yale, Oxford/Cambridge and have learned how to speak in filtered colonial language). In the U.S. that is also greatly informed by Western Christianity. I doubt that South-East Asians, Far-East Asians, South Asians, pre- or non- Christian Americans or Africans would agree on 'masculinity' and many other issues as defined by British Christian Colonial norms.

We are all culture-bound but those bindings are tighter among mono-cultural individuals. I doubt that much of what anyone here suggests will be helpful when I visit multi-cultural but Buddhist-informed Thailand. Few have been there other than as tourists. Even vlogs are suspect as the bling-bling $$ commercial aspect seems to have become dominate.

I'm better off watching Thai TV series that are helping me understand a culture I know little about. The series "55:15 Never Too Late" is specifically exploring generational issues that cover language usage, sex, relationships and attitudes.

Much can be learned by exploring outside mono-lingual mono-cultural echo-chambers (which is what I get here at WDC}. I'd suggest travel and a multi-month stay in multi-cultural crossroads such as Dakar, Dubai, Houston, Istanbul, or Marseille among many others, learning from common people and not just the elite. That's what I did when I spent a year abroad in Costa Rica.

I wish a similar eye-opener experience for everyone.

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