Are you cultured?

[Andreus]

dont misread my posts as being offtopic or vague

I am trying to point out ina very light hearted way that we all have our various traits, both good and bad, and really in the end, education has nothing to do with culture

its about choosing to act a certain way at a certain time to be respectfull of certain situations and social environments, not what you know or what you do

the whole point of being a well rounded conversationalist is knowing how to have fun and enjoy a topic. You dont have to be serious or knowledgeable, just polite, to be " cultured".

 

[Andreus]

and lets not forget, it all depends on the culture you are participating in

don't shake hands in turkye (they wipe their bumms with them and wash in a sink. touching hands is considered rude and disgusting) and always kiss hello in russia (not doind so is an insult. It implies you dislike the person you are greeting). In the philipines straight men who are close walk down the street holding hands.

those are just a few examples

 

[CrackerJack]

I think I generally am. For my age, I've been to many foreign places, I have tried "different" things, and generally have many unique experiences under my belt. My family has always been into really getting to know the world, the good bad and ugly.

 

[slobone]

Whenever I ride an elevator, I usually turn to the men next to me and ask:
"You gentlemen aren't really trying to kill my son?"

[hint: North By Northwest]

Does this qualify me as cultured?

\]

Aha -- but Jesse Royce Landis was six years younger than Cary Grant. Explain that one.

 

[Andreus]

haha

well I have been to about 25 percent of the countries on the planet, and farting on an elevator is considered rude and uncultured in each and everyone of them.

maybe i can borrow your yacht DS

the elitist angle here is the one part that we are pretty much ignoring

defining what is different between elitist and cultured would be a great benefit to the conversation.

 

[Andreus]

Don't misread mine, either. The "that's" in the second line of my post referred to the first line of the post. And if I'd been trying to be impolite, I would have gone about things a little differently.

not even thinking of ya in that post buddy

just making sure the thread starter didnt feel disrespected, by my use of irony and jest to make my point.

Ill go back and read your post, though

one sec

 

[Andreus]

Actually, if you want to be technically correct, everyone is 'cultured'.

But that's not quite as much fun as noisome acts on elevators.

aahhh

i see

well cultural norms and rules dont really consider fun, they consider other peoples discomfort and aleviating them in social circles and situations.

some people use cultural expectations as a weapon, though.

I think our thread starter is equating having an education with being cultured. he shouldnt.

You can be intelligent and rude OR polite and less informed.

i was using the intelligent and rude model with a dash of self deprecation to make a point that he is probably just fine.

 

[Andreus]

harsh words and angry diatribes are considered rude in most every culture I have visited.

Its about intent really. If you seek to make someone comfortable then its within the bounds of most cultures to be polite, no matter what the method. To do the oposite, to seek to cause one individual social discomfort through action or inaction is just not considered classy no matter how we wrap it up with bows and pretty paper.

Classism, elitism or whatever we may define it as is just as rude as a social faux pas.

education, exposure to the arts... etc... can all be faked

anyone ever read the diaries of Andy Warhol? he went on and on about using the elitist attitudes of the upper crust of society to make fun of them. he went on about how amused he was that someone would pay hundreds of dollars to see his instalation of beer crates, or his reproduction of a can of soup.

He was truly amongst the pinacle of upper society and yet he held them all in contempt for their phony ways and arrogant airs.

something to consider

 

[Andreus]

Andreus, I've read your above reply three times now, and frankly, I still don't get how that applies as a rebuttle to any of the distinctions I was making or which of the words it applies to you were trying to refine connotations for.

My post was just a few thoughts on the topic, not so much to anyone in particular

often a post makes me think of things that dont exactly relate, so while the order would seem like a rebuttal its actually not.

if I respond directly to someones ideas i usually use the quote function.

you make some valid points. they made me think... thanks for the posts

 

[Dobson73]

I OOZE Culture, Love! Just OOZE it.

For example, I would never be seen at a public outdoor entertainment event type of thing where one had to stand. I hear those "Rock Concerts" are like that. Entertainers like "You Two" seem to make people stand and they all just wave and sway and sweat. Ugh.

If there is no chair/seat for me with room to place my champers, I just won't go. Quite simple, really.

 

[KentuckyPython]

processed with yogurt

I didn't realize this was about my sex life.

I'm with Elvin. Define cultured please.

 

[KentuckyPython]

In the philipines straight men who are close walk down the street holding hands.

What do gay men do?

 

[KentuckyPython]

But do you wear pearls during daylight hours?

It really bothers me when people do that.

 

[Andreus]

What do gay men do?

suck dick, I'd imagine

 

[KentuckyPython]

suck dick, I'd imagine

While walking down the street? That could be fun.

 

[Andreus]

i fell right into that one...lol

I havent been to the phillipines, so I dont really know the cultural expectations of gay men there, but I can imagine if open affection is acceptable amongst all men, we stick out alot less.

 

[frankfrank]

Cultured? Well, my yogurt is. Me, I'm not so sure.

 

[Swellegant]

La, what an interesting discussion! And such differing viewpoints!

I think that some of the confusion comes from the fact that the word "culture" means so many different things... on the one hand there is "culture" which means the attitudes, mores, and practices of a given group of people in a given time and place, and then there is "culture" which means the arts and history and all the other civilizing la-di-da that the Greeks attributed to the Nine Muses.

It is my understanding that "being cultured" requires one to acknowledge and attempt to understand and even assimilate "cultures" other than one's own. And only in this sense do the two meanings overlap.

That said, I do consider myself cultured. I know which fork to use on my fish course, I know how to talk about wines (though I no longer drink them), I can discuss and appreciate art and music and performances on an intellectual basis as well as on the immediate surface. I have an immense knowledge-base of foreign customs and history both ancient and modern, and I kick ass in trivia games. I can listen to opera and pop, I can watch ballet and sitcoms, I can enjoy haute cuisine and mac-and-cheese.

To me, being cultured means having been educated (either formally or through experience, though ideally both) to understand and appreciate things on more than one level. My understanding of being cultured is a refinement of the senses and of knowledge that enriches one's life.

For example, I can walk into a museum and spend some time considering the paintings from a number of different perspectives, enjoying the contexts and the subtexts and the brushstrokes and the framing and the placement, as well as the immediate impact and the possible inspiration (thereby getting my money's worth for the price of admission), as to where an uncultured person could only appreciate the painting by whether or not he or she liked the painting.

There is a lot of art and information in our global society that requires education to understand and appreciate... so much that is not immediately accessible, so much that is an acquired taste, so much that is so unfamiliar that it takes an act of will to not reject it out of hand. The cultured person is trained to do this, while the uncultured person is not.

There is no better or worse involved. These are simply two different ways of being. Nevertheless, there is a fatal urge in the human animal that seeks domination over others, and many people will use culture as a weapon in this battle... and it's not just the cultured people who attempt to bludgeon others with their culture, but also the uncultured who attempt to bludgeon others with their lack of culture.

So it's not culture itself that is at fault here, it is the use of weapons to achieve a false sense of ascendancy. This is what should be excised from the civilized heart. Anyone who thinks his culturing makes him better than anyone else is not truly cultured: he is merely a poseur.

 

[dpnice]

Anyone who thinks his culturing makes him better than anyone else is not truly cultured: he is merely a poseur.

There are only a few on this board who could have matched your eloquence.

Personally I have never understood why my knowledge and appreciation for the arts was supposed to make me a better person than the car mechanic who knew every in and out of their workings and was capable of relating the history of every known model of automobile.