(picture has no relevance, just a place holder)

Stereotyping has largely been construed as bad. But in a huge global realm, it holds some strength as a cultural filter. There’s no way you can analyze situations case by case based on your everyday interactions. It’s been largely considered for some time, but the United States and its aggregated states has earned the title of an ignorant super power. I say aggregated cause the coasts still seem to hold much of the country’s wealth and knowledge while the cultural dexterity in the heartland perhaps isn’t as strong… not exactly a stereotype. As a major super power for many generations, the United States simply hasn’t needed to worry so much about what goes on outside its borders cause it essentially ran it all. That’s all fine and dandy and makes sense in my eyes. When you’re a leader and an innovator, what you say goes.

But as China becomes an increasingly greater member in the world through not only political and business influence but just general interactions, will it soon overtake the US as the new ignorant super power? Anecdotal evidence is mostly for a good and entertaining story but it’s hard to dismiss the similar experiences many people share with Mainland Chinese. While you can’t really fault their behavior on a fundamental level since it is after all how their culture works, interactions with foreign cultures and insensitivity to their cultural norms is a big issue. People in the Western world view defecating in a sink or an openly public space as not appropriate but based on the times I have heard it, it’s rather normal (well relatively normal there are a decent amount of entries on it but Disneyland Hong Kong takes the cake). It would be in itself ignorant to pass judgment on Mainland Chinese but this lack of tact with the global community is not going to fly very well.

My main concern is to not appear as an anti-Mainlander by any means. I understand roughly the way cultures work independently of others… hence why the word culture exists in the first place. But will this ignorance perpetuate itself through a lack of education? General hygiene itself is thrown out the window with the open spitting and what not, but how will their societal behaviors outside of China come into play? When I was in Germany a few months ago, a high-end watch retailer selling your usual suspects like Rolex watches had a foreign language sign posted in their bathroom (in the language of you guessed it… Chinese, not English, not Spanish) to not spit all over the bathroom and to do their business only in the toilet bowl. If somebody is able to travel and afford Rolex watches but behaves like so, where does that leave the population of less affluent and presumably less educated below them.

I am in no position to even speculate how one goes about changing this. Is it caused of a closed loop in which the government agenda isn’t properly socializing its people? Maybe, bringing to speed over one billion people on a decent scholastic and educational level is not easy but China has already made leaps in bounds versus other similar countries like India. I wonder to what degree a relatively censored Internet has to do with it all and if it is preventing Mainlanders from developing a more open mind across the board. Is it an ingrained outlook on how to behave that ensures one follows a pre-determined path, unable to break free from the status quo?

Going beyond this, I guess what spawned this topic was the way Mainland Chinese interact with the rest of the world and how it will all go down. If you’re ignorant to the cultural norms of your foreign partners, this sets yourself up for some awkward and unavoidable clashes. I’ve heard of companies taking on the role of educating corporations on proper Chinese business etiquette, but does the reverse exist not only on a business stand-point but also from a more fundamental interaction perspective?

Chinese holds so many cards in the realm of business and economy. Their impressive economy, stock piles of rare metals, dedication and investment to clean energy, perhaps they have the power to push the agenda. We’ve already seen Western companies tailor the way they do business in the Chinese market to ensure that despite being marginalized, they can keep a foot in the country. I do see potential for this seeping into various parts of global interaction. Maybe in 20 years time, seeing public urination and defecation won’t be all the surprising and I won’t cringe when I see it walking down a popular shopping street.

-Eugene