Recently, I am glued to watching various documentaries in the RT Documentary channel (they have YouTube equivalent as well if you’re interested). I googled this channel and found out that it is a Russian station and they showcase global topics – social, environmental, cultural, historical, sports and more. This is meant to provide a Russian viewpoint on these issues or topics. I have watched series of shows under “Rituals” that showed extreme rituals across the globe – China, India, Africa, and others. I say extreme as I have seen some shocking ceremonies like the celebration of death anniversaries where they take out the mummified deceased – dress him/her up and pretend they’re alive for that day. Another is the entry to the monastery where the woman featured had to leave all family, material possessions behind. As a demonstration to this commitment, each strand of her long hair will be plucked out one by one before she becomes a nun. In that religious sect, they believe that through this lifelong sacrifice their souls will be released and no longer be re-incarnated in some form in future lifetimes. Finally, I saw the episode on “You’re my Type: The Donor Lottery”. It featured about Russians suffering blood diseases like leukemia and certain types of anemia. This can only be treated through bone marrow or stem cell transplants. Not all relatives can be a match and so these patients rely on the kindness of strangers. It featured personal stories of compassion and the community effort to help those in need. I always thought of Russians as being cold and indifferent (like those gangster movies) but this documentary showed me otherwise. I got to think then of the stereotypes of various cultures. At times, because of what we have heard or read, we generalize people or form judgment right away that prevents us from getting to know them. We forget that people are individuals and each one is driven with similar motivations as ours. We can be different culturally, but we value the same things such as life, survival, family, freedom, health, and relationships.
I further researched on stereotypes by nationality and because there are too many to mention, I’ll just pick a few- Americans – loud; Canadians – polite; Chinese – excels in math; Italians – passionate; Indians – good in IT; Japanese – hardworking; Filipinos – land of nurses/caretakers; French – snob; Germans – loves rules; Russians – scary. For more detailed reading, check out these sources that affirms or debunks these typecasts:
While reading about the above sources and recalling my travels and meeting locals, I am struck how our Creator has designed each of us to be unique. Not just on a macro level but individual differences. I recently attended a company training and took the DISC personality assessment. I have taken this in 2007, 2017 and the results are the same for me. It is possible that it can change for some people through the years by various life experiences. “D” stands for Dominance. They are direct, results-oriented, firm, strong-willed and forceful. “I” represents Influence – outgoing, enthusiastic, optimistic, high-spirited and lively. “C” stands for Conscientiousness – analytical, reserved, precise, private and systematic. Finally, “S” is for Steadiness – even-tempered, accommodating, patient, humble and tactful. Being aware of who you are, and others can lead to great synergies that result to better teamwork and collaboration. The awareness of personality differences has helped me in managing my team at work and even personally in planning group travels.
We are barely scratching the surface to uncover further variances individually. Not everyone thinks and appreciates the same things as we do. Most of the time, we set aside people who behave differently than us. I am guilty of this. May we learn to respect other people just as how we want to be respected. This is in fact high in God’s list as demonstrated in Matthew 22:37-39. Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Let us not discriminate in showing kindness, mercy, and generosity. May labels do not hinder us from loving and accepting someone. Remember, the Almighty Father loved us in spite of all our flaws, ugliness and imperfections brought by sin. Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross not just for certain groups of people but for all – for undeserving individuals like you and me.
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