Does Culture Excuse Inhumanity?

What constitutes as culture? Is it just the material objects from different countries that identify its unique identity in this world? Is it the language that has developed and influenced their citizens' communication between each other? What about the mannerisms and behavior a being shows and conducts themselves as a fellow citizen of that country. In truth, it is a combination of all those mentioned and much more.

The discussion of culture can be a touchy subject in the eyes of many; however, in order to grow as a society, we must learn to objectively look at the flaws within our own society and initiate new ideals that would sufficiently progress human civilization. After all, how can we call ourselves civil if we do not implement new ideologies and technologies that serve to advance human societies. Rather, if we choose to maintain the status quo and keep to an outdated belief system in our modern settings, we are by definition not a civilization, but something else altogether.

Unfortunately, this topic did not spring up from out of nowhere, and is a topic that I have become very close to in the past few weeks. Although, it’s an issue that sprung up in an Eastern country, the similarities of negative feedback from the masses has made me aware of an ongoing cultural issue that needs to be addressed.

I don’t say this lightly. I am only countering those who separate ourselves from all the other living creatures on this Earth, declaring humans as advanced species. But if we are advanced, as so many like to believe, that means that we continually evolve, learning from our mistakes and growing from them to create a better society. That doesn’t only mean technologically, but as a human, our humanity towards each other must be advanced too. Unfortunately, in our modern society, I do not see any evolution in the way we communicate and hold each other accountable when it comes to our faulty beliefs that we hold tightly to our chest. Instead, we use those faulty beliefs as excuses to perpetuate the inhumane behavior onto others, demeaning them and ignoring the entirety of the others well-being.

To clarify what I am referring to, a little over two weeks ago, a Korean group that I have followed for several years had an online concert. This specific group in the last month experienced a loss of a member due to private matters that have not been proven through legal means. During the concert, two of the members made hand gestures that appeared to highlight their love and support for that member. This became an issue in South Korea, as the citizens saw these gestures as the group “supporting a criminal,” resulting in online harassment and calls for these members to leave the group too. (Before you read further, they refer to him as a criminal for the possibility that he may have smoked a plant.) I do not in any way condone any illegal behavior if it is found to be true, but to disregard the feelings of those close to that member, because they’ve already made their judgement and declared them guilty, does not seem fair in the least to the remaining members.

What these citizens failed to do as fellow humans is place themselves in another's shoes, and look at it through these members' perspectives. This group has been together for roughly close to 10 years, if not more. They are a family… brothers in their own eyes. Would they be able to abandon someone they have loved for half their life? If so, then I question their humanity even more so. The excuses utilized by these individuals stated that it was a part of their culture, and that as outsiders we have no right to question it. They insinuate that the group should ignore the existence of that member while out in public, and that by not doing so, it is unprofessional. I disagree. When a human being is violated physically, emotionally, and/or mentally, I do not believe that culture should be a legitimate excuse for such vile behavior.

In fact, I question any culture that legitimizes obscene behavior towards one another, and I would call the actions of the members as an illustration of humanity towards their brother. I understand the bounds of culture and what it means within their own country, but when does it stop being culture and crosses the line of being inhumane. We are all humans that experience emotions, regardless of the situation we are being placed in. The expectations that we as a society place on others to repress our emotions in the name of professionalism disregards our being and is likely to result in mental instability.

We as a people have allowed a culture of professionalism to detach ourselves from our own emotions, separating emotional responses from our bodily reactions and behaving in a robotic manner when faced with situations that would otherwise call for such a response of emotion. This is not just an East vs West culture difference, as certain degrees of this specific culture can be found in each country.

An example of such an occurrence in my own country (pretty sure this is shared in many) is the expectation of retail workers to smile in the face of customers who degrade them, spewing derogatory remarks as they feel entitled to because “the customer is always right.” By doing this, we have allowed individuals to feel entitlement and superiority over others. I have no doubt that if such a sentiment of “the customer is always right” mentality was not instilled into our culture, that these same individuals would behave in a more polite manner that would be beneficial to their own service. Instead, we have individuals who feel they are always right, therefore, they are given the reins to belittle those they believe are there to service them.

The utilization of culture to justify toxic actions of verbal harassment only further separates us as a species, causing division among our kind. When it comes to altercations or situations that call into question our own beliefs, I always refer to the quote “Treat others the way you want to be treated” to help guide me in how I should respond. It comes quite easy when one looks at their opponent as an extension of themselves, and responds accordingly. After all, every human being has made mistakes and is not perfect. Rather than focus on our differences, we should focus our attention on our similarities in what we tend to most want. Love and understanding, forgiveness when making mistakes and a chance to be a better person.

Consequently, there is no justification in demeaning another individual for exhibiting emotional responses to a situation that is close to their heart or affects their private life. Anyone that uses culture to justify their actions needs to self reflect and question if their actions are an extension of societal pressure or their own humanity. If it is the latter, and they still act indecently towards another being, then they need to question if that is how they themselves wish to be treated by others. If it is the former, then they need to ask themselves why they would let societal pressure dictate their humanity towards another if they feel that those actions in itself are wrong.

In hindsight, traditional beliefs such as professionalism, is another way of being held back from the dead, stopping the progress of human society from bettering themselves, and emphasizing that humans are uncomfortable with changes because they are unable to dictate the flow of direction the changes will influence in the near future. This in turn results in resistance to change even though it may help our society in positive ways, and those who seek to implement these positive changes to become ostracized by their own people, creating fear to stand out from others in setting an example for others to follow. I’m confident that there are many more examples of long held beliefs that hinder human evolution in our humanity towards each other, however, my focus was on the topic of professionalism as it correlated to what I had recently observed.

It is my hope that in the near future that an awareness will become more prevalent amongst the collective civilizations around our planet that the repression of our emotional responses does not help in the growth of civility between humanity. That we can and will learn to adapt to a higher understanding that expressing our emotions as they occur has a positive effect on our overall health and helps communicate on an emotional level to others around them. After all, emotions are our expression of humanity, and the repression and detachment of it would be detrimental to our future as a whole. Otherwise, I fear the future of humans will be void of emotions, the one thing that makes us human, and littered with people who are much more robot than human.