Sep 13 2012: Well by definition, ethnocentric is 1. Belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group.
2. Overriding concern with race. I think both of these things are not good for human beings. You can have an overriding concern with race I suppose without arrogance, but not with the belief that your group is superior. I just wish we could finally overlook the color of skin and the cultures we come from; we'd see that people are pretty much the same.
Sep 13 2012: Yes and no. I believe if one is truly centered and in touch with the truth then they will naturally live by different principles, not being xenocentric or ethnocentric. People are ethnocentric for many reasons, ignorance, fear, gain etc. Although ethnocentrism is not inevitable, it has proven nearly impossible to avoid within the human species. Perhaps it’s just the animal in us.
People grow up absorbing the behaviors and values of whatever culture they are in and consider anything outside to be "different", while at the same time feeling different and apart themselves... which I think is part of the beginning of ethnocentrism. (Please note that even within cultures social stratification occurs often which seems, to say this behavior begins within us early and exists even in our own families) Until humans can see themselves as being one with all things and each other, we will continue to have this problem.
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A comment on Conversation: Is it possible for an individual to be without ethnocentrism?
2. Overriding concern with race. I think both of these things are not good for human beings. You can have an overriding concern with race I suppose without arrogance, but not with the belief that your group is superior. I just wish we could finally overlook the color of skin and the cultures we come from; we'd see that people are pretty much the same.
A comment on Conversation: Is it possible for an individual to be without ethnocentrism?
People grow up absorbing the behaviors and values of whatever culture they are in and consider anything outside to be "different", while at the same time feeling different and apart themselves... which I think is part of the beginning of ethnocentrism. (Please note that even within cultures social stratification occurs often which seems, to say this behavior begins within us early and exists even in our own families) Until humans can see themselves as being one with all things and each other, we will continue to have this problem.