Culture or Not Culture (Subculture)

Culture is a mixture of tangible and intangible values, mores and taboos to name a few.

The Encarta dictionary states for Culture:

• 2. Knowledge and sophistication: enlightenment and sophistication acquired through education and exposure to the arts
• 3. Shared beliefs and values of group: the beliefs, customs, practices, and social behavior of a particular nation or people
• 4. People with shared beliefs and practices: a group of people whose shared beliefs and practices identify the particular place, class, or time to which they belong
• 5. Shared attitudes: a particular set of attitudes that characterizes a group of people

For Subculture:

• 1. Separate social group: an identifiably separate social group within larger culture, especially one regarded as existing outside mainstreamed society

Cultures, known by anthropology practioners, are fluid, changeable and reflects a group's practice in society.

I recently read this article from USA-L News (www.deaftimes.com) written by John Zimmerman "Gallaudet and the perils of culture". Mr. Zimmerman presents relevant points regarding culture, as it was created by anthropologists to catergorize the differences between minorities. However, culture does exist (Z says it doesn't) because each of us have different set of mores, values and taboos, including traditions and the like.

Human culture is the main culture for all of us. As humans, we have the ability to converse in languages, practice similar traditions, religions, read and write, think and dream. It is the little differences that tout us different from others. Those are called subcultures.

Under no circumstances are we individual species, as one would consider us classified with apes, monkeys, and chimpanzees. We are biologically a different species from our distant (apes, monkeys) and closest (chimpanzees) relatives; however, we as humans are not distinctly separated from each other biologically, therefore the concept of race, gender and disability is just culture.

Z mentions that white men are bigoted and the "majority". I as a white person and fortunately a woman, would agree with the commentary. I don't know why white people would say civilization and any "superior" culture is any better than the others. Making others who are different to become like the "white men", is a disaster in the making. There are biological and environmental reasons why things are the way they are. Native Indians worshiped the land because it gave them life and took care of them, Africans have dark skin because where they live, the sun reaches the most and Deaf people cherish hands and sign language because it is one of the communicative languages that they use daily.

If we talk about subcultures - it's time to put the white people in their own subculture - they are the minority of the human culture, just like anyone else. Hearing people are a minority in their human culture because one hundred percent of the human culture is not hearing as human culture is not composed one hundred percent of white people.

What we learn to do in our subcultures - i.e. "Crab Theory", inner-suppression, discrimination of other subcultures and the like, we learned from the "white superiority". We reap what we sow. It is terrible; however, we have an opportunity - change must happen with us, within us and taught to the future generations.

There will always be changes in culture, whether technology or communicative. Deaf people take a stand now because it is in our prerogative that we equalize our subculture and language to anyone else's, thus transcending other subcultures' perspective to become truly human.
Forcing subcultures to the submission of other subcultures becomes riddled with conflicts, refusal to understand potential solutions, suppression of true subcultural contributions, prevents exchange of information and traditions and above all else, refuses us allow to be humans as we were designed to be.

The definitions say it all. Culture exists for reasons that we create, it exists because of how different we all are and it exists because Earth is bigger than we are. Take the time to look at your fellow friends, co workers, family members, and well...basically everyone. Look in their eyes, follow the rush of the blood that ties us all and transcend our subcultures to be human.

What we do now, reflects upon our children. "It takes a village to raise a child." -African proverb