There was a time when the term ‘culture clash’ meant conflict between an immigrant/minority and the so-called ‘host’/majority culture. Not surprisingly, now we hear of such conflict between different ethnic or religious minority groups.
Here, in Birmingham, England, we have had strife between Asians and African Caribbeans which culminated in riots in the Lozells area. This was started by a rumour through a black radio station that a black girl had been gang-raped by Asians. This was then fuelled by a black newspaper which was later reprimanded by the Press Complaints Commission. We have also had isolated troubles such as the one in Slough London between Sikhs and Muslims which then resulted in the project ‘Aik Saath’.
In this respect, I came across this example of conflict between established ethnic minorities/immigrant groups (esp. Mexican Americans) and a newer group (Somalis) moving into Nebraska. This included, amongst other things, demands for prayer breaks by the newer community which had a negative impact on the working conditions and pay of the existing workforce. One worker is quoted as saying: “There’s a lot of misunderstanding”.
I am glad there are not more situations like this. Perhaps people are learning to share space and resources available.
The above reminded me of the furore surrounding the gesture of ‘recognition’ by the Spanish basketball team which landed them into trouble. At another level, this was also an example of what is meant to be funny, in our diverse society, by one group may be offensive to another.
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Submitted by karamat on Sat, 2008-11-15 16:30.