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Hmm... well, my statement wasn’t mean as a compliment or an attack on Unitedstatian culture, it was merely a statement of fact. That said, I don’t disagree with your statement. It is true that the ‘suppression of difference’ exists in every culture (that I know off at least), so it would be fair to say that in essence it is a ‘human’ trait as supposed to Unitedstatian. Now, I’ll point out that the manifestation of it though is (as far as I know , it could have roots elsewhere I don’t know either way) uniquely Unitedstatian. If we compare the same ‘human’ trait in it’s manifestation in two cultures I’m familiar with; Peruvian & Unitedstatian. In the US it is a matter of suppression of differences at all costs, usually in a social environment although it finds it’s way into the workplace, the many laws designed to prevent that in the US is a clear acknowledgement of this. In Peru on the other hand the same trait manifests itself in the exact opposite manner. For teenagers a ‘role model’ something that in the US is deemed not only good but necessary is often (among some classes) ridiculed and suppressed. Those that imitate others, their behavior, mannerisms etc. get ridiculed and statements to the tune of ‘be your own man’, ‘copion’, ‘igualito a fulano eh?!’ are common, the same trait ‘the suppression of difference’ is manifested in a manner that exalts individualism and suppresses similarities by those that attempt to take on someone else’s ‘personality’, even their political views. Often when children happen to have the same political view that their parents have they better know what they are talking about because they will have to prove they are not simply a ‘remedon’ of Daddy.That doesn't sound positive.
We're talking about human behaviors that appear in every culture. One of these behaviors is suppression of difference (individualism). There's a very strong human force for "togetherness". We really don't like knowing that someone else is different from us. Again, that's found in every culture.
This is very true, specially for somebody like me, who never was like another and never will be. I could fill a book with stories relating to this, however I’ll give you two examples that are probably representative of most. About four years after I arrived in the states I was working for a large retailer that (at the time) had a cookie cutter management team. Back then every time Mark (a coworker) would go by me (at least 7 out of ten times) would sing ‘My Way’, I had an idea of why he did it, but honestly at the time I didn’t fully understand why. Same company a few years later I was now a store manager and Lester the district manager used to complain to Jim (most influential store manager) that I “was his boss”. He would tell Jim that Eli is ‘his boss’ why? I did everything I was ever told, executed every single order ever given to perfection and invariably ahead of schedule, my results as a manager were stellar, so good in fact that my store was mentioned numerous times in company periodicals (it had over 3,500 stores so it was not a matter of lack of choice) the list of good management praises be would too long to list but the district manager could not stomach my attitude. By then I was starting to realize that the issue was not a failure to perform, but that I don’t bend, never have never will. He was used to the fact that everybody that works for him would become subservient to him much in the same way he was/is subservient to those that have a higher position than his. I on the other hand treated him as an equal, that said, when given instructions/orders I would execute them to the best of my abilities. My attitude, posture, general demeanor is not now nor has it ever been that of a subservient man. Often times when I was still an assistant manager people customers/employees would address me as the manager bypassing the manager, not because I would present myself as such, for instance the customer could not have known which position each member of management had, it was simply the way we are the manner is which we portray ourselves.It's likely that someone living in the US but who was from a Latin culture would feel the effects of this "be like us" force more strongly than someone raised here in this culture.
This ‘general attitude’ towards life of mine has seen many attempts at cracking it by Unitedstatians in many environments ‘you must mold’ I’ve heard several well meaning but terribly ill informed people tell me. I could go on but think the point has been made, clearly few are like me in the US. One thing is for sure though, people talk about me years after I’ve left
One last thing on that comment, I don’t think that me being ‘Latin’ had anything to do with it, I am so not typical of what Unitedstatians consider ‘Latin’ that when I tell them I am Hispanic, for the most part they are surprised, since not even my given name is indicative of such heritage (last name on the other hand...).As for what Hofstede said, that too in my opinion is culturally skewed. He is putting potatoes and french fries together, bad idea. I’m not a sociologist but I would dissect it like this;
As I have attempted to explain with my examples individuality is highly suppressed in Unitedstatian culture, however, as a society individual rights are (from my point of view) in fact paramount within this society. That said, the importance people today place on those rights is diminishing by the day and the rights afforded to Unitedstatians being eroded with every law the Bush administration passes.A High Individualism ranking indicates that individuality and individual rights are paramount within the society.
A Low Individualism ranking typifies societies of a more collectivist nature with close ties between individuals. These cultures reinforce extended families and collectives where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group.
This is dead wrong, it is in essence saying that if you have close family ties you can’t at the same time value your individuality. I pride myself on being part of a very close knit family, and I can assure you that no two of us are in any way alike, except maybe for the fact that we are all altaneros, soberbios and orgullosos. Probably I should clarify that this is more of a family trait than proper of Peruvians as a whole though.
