In My Culture
9th March 2019
Sometimes, in the middle of a conversation—especially if things are heated or tense or confusing—they’ll pause, and they’ll say something like:
“I’m sorry, but—look. In my culture…”
…and then they’ll go on to explain something that one might easily mistake for a rule, or a request, or the enforcement of a social norm, but which is actually (as far as I can tell) just a statement about the version of the world they carry around inside their head.
That’s a great trick. I’m going to have to remember that one.