Do you have any idea how hard it is to try and get one of those? Really, I mean it; consider the notion logically here. Typically we associate opens minds with people who either have it or don’t. It seems to be apart of the more basic nature of people rather than any learned skill. Failing that, it’s at least a sentiment that’s so solidly built into people over the course of their lives that it’s not liable to change in any great hurry. So what do you do when you realize you have something of a closed mind and want to change it?
Well, swear a bunch, because if my experience is anything to go by it’ll take a damn long time.
(Story time!)
Once upon a time there was a young Andrew, this young man didn’t understand much about the world and seemed to care even less. Other cultures seemed at best bizarre and left him wondering why anyone would like them, let alone want to learn more. The food was even worse; if it wasn’t dead cow between two buns it wasn’t worth eating. He saw shows, movies and games and dismissed then on the basis for being too weird and different. In short, Andrew was a bit of an ignorant little shit in his younger years.
My sole defense usually comes with the phrase “weren’t we all?” and a brief hopeful chuckle that some one, any one will empathize and laugh as well. Luckily most kids are horrible creatures and few of us are too proud to admit we had failings, so I’m not entirely alone in the world. However, this does mean there needed to be a change, and so one began. I’m not entirely certain when it started to be honest, but my closest guess is sometime three or four years back.
It started with food; foreign and otherwise. One of the first things I remember is looking at some curry and wondering well, what’s the worst that can happen? It’s moved through to movies and games since, and they’ve showed me ideas and designs I don’t think I would have ever come across with my previous rather exclusive tastes. It’s something I even now try and work on; if I can ever find the chance to try something new or check out something bizarre I’ll go for it. But I always have to keep pressing myself if I consider not; just to make sure it’s not being dismissed without any real reason.
However, every time I go through the process though I’m left a bit more mystified by it. Why do I need to sit back and consciously think that this new food could be good - I have no bearing to assuming otherwise. This movie might actually be great – it’s certainly highly recommended, even if it not seen many like it before. This game style could have merit - it’s insanely popular and sells millions; surely they’re doing something right. It makes me angry to think back on the number of things I might have seen or done had I not assumed it was all crap. Usually on the basis that I’ve seen or heard about something that sounds similar and I didn’t think would be ‘my sort of thing’. It’s perplexing to think I could even take that sentiment seriously when I’ve not seen the product; how could I possibly know it’s not my sort of thing? I have no direct experience in the matter! First impressions are handed out before the item in question even gets a glance.
What I think distresses me the most isn’t that I used to ignore so much, but that the rational is oddly common. Watching people dismiss things without really giving them a chance isn’t something many are going to be unfamiliar with, even if they never remember doing it themselves. I’ve even seen this type of thinking compound in odd ways with pride. I’m not talking about people boastfully telling everyone how much foreign crap they hate, but rather the people who think of themselves as just very patriotic about their tastes. It’s a more subtle way of sneaking the feeling in and accepting it. You just like local stuff so much that everything else doesn’t compare. I get the odd suspicion every time I hear that explanation that they’ve not really ever seen anything but the local stuff. Furthermore even if they do I get the feeling that they wouldn’t want to admit something else might be good, maybe feeling some sort of betrayal of their own culture should they do so.
Of course I don’t have anything like concrete evidence that such a thing is happening, they’re just minor observations and conclusions drawn on my own. I wouldn’t know how you could even begin testing this on a larger scale. Most importantly is I don’t think it’d change anything regardless; it’s a way we function and telling people they’re fundamentally broken rarely gets a positive response. It could be a source behind why things like racism and cultural hatreds take so long to go away – or even get worse with time.
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