So we were asked this week to discuss any past dealings with someone from another culture, and I related an experience that I'd had with a store owner of Indian descent, and how it was less than pleasant. To make a long story short, he basically racially profiled me from the moment I walked into the store and insinuated that I was trying to steal and that he'd asked me before to "leave my bags at the counter". When I told him that I wasn't the culprit, he insisted that it was me, an argument ensued, and I angrily flashed my money at him and stormed out, declaring that he would never see another penny.
So we were asked if we could handle it differently, how we would have handled it instead. The outcome for me would've been the same, but knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have raised my voice and stormed out angrily; I would have said to the store owner that I was sorry he wouldn't believe that I was innocent of what he accused me of, but that I would spare him any further concern by not returning. I felt that he was acting on an old stereotype that all African Americans looked alike and acted alike, and my screaming and storming out probably did nothing to help my case.
Part of bridging the communication gap between cultures is coming to an understanding of why people in certain cultures behave the way they do and hold the beliefs that they do, as well. Then and only then can we start to connect based on our similarities.
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