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In other news, i love having days off. We wandered around the mall today, looking at expensive frivolities that we can't afford... like "clothes"... and people. We talked about how you can tell a whole lot about a person by their walk. There are girls who walk like they know they're hot, dudes who have the so-cool swagger, young girls with a shy, mousy "whoops, i hit puberty" walk. African American guys sometimes put on a slow, bristling urban stalk, girls in business outfits stride purposefully, trying to look busy. And there's a nerd walk with a few varietys. The intelligent student walk: hunched shoulders, long strides, looking anywhere but where they're going. The geek-chic walk: flapping, shuffling feet, neck extended. There are others, but those are two that i saw today.
How a person walks is part of their overall aura of first-impression. So are clothes and shoes. People can change how they walk and dress, so those social cues are totally important ways to communicate to the world what you think of yourself. Karen said the old proverb "don't judge a book by its cover" isn't as true as it might be when you're talking about people watching at the mall, and i think that's true. With care and sensetivity, you can know a great deal about others, at least what they want you to know about them. So. If someone is dressed in the hip-hop uniform, with the jersey, sagging jeans, Air Force Ones and a do rag, is it okay to follow them around in your conveniece store? How about if they're mainstram besides their darker skin?
I've said this often: culture is an artifact. It is something made by people, and as such, has various strengths and weaknesses which can be measured against any number of criteria and judged to be inferior or superior. I will never recommend that anyone abandon their culture, but there are aspects of all cultures which need improvement, and it is every individual's responsibility to improve their culture from within.
I choose to measure my behavior and the influence i'm having on my culture by how i understand GOD wanting me to live. By loving HIM and others. Cultures (and individual behaviors) which glorify things (money, sex, lakeside cottages or 24 inch rims) over GOD and other people are inferior.