Jackie Jarrett th th POHS, 5 & 6 period th February 25 , 2013 Ethics Misconception of Different Cultures

In Human Services, we help people from all over, with all types of problems. In order to effectively help people, human services workers have to have an understanding of who they are working with and where they come from. Most of the time, people will forget, ignore, or think less of cultures outside of their own and come off as ignorant, egotist, or prejudice. In order to better others and ourselves, human services workers need to educate themselves on other cultures and understand them. There is no culture better or worse than any other. Different cultures hold different values, morals, and customs. Though most cultures are benevolent and have positive intentions behind the values they instill, t here are bad people everywhere, revolutions are still going on, and people are continuing to fight for their rights. Maria Toor Pakay is a squash star who lived in Pakistan until she was eighteen. For years, she and her father pretended that she was a boy so she could play sports and eventually they came clean and she started playing as herself. But, Pakistan is home of the Taliban and they threatened her family saying (to her father), Stop your girl from playing squash because it is bringing a bad name to our culture and to Islam. If you do not do this then you will have to suffer very bad consequences. They ignored the threat, but were worried for Maria. They agreed she need to leave the country, so Maria wrote to clubs, players, and educational institutions and got no reply until she was eighteen (from Jonathan Power). She left for Canada to train to become world champion, but is constantly worried about her family and checks news sites for killings near her home. Someone wants to kill me? Kill me once I bring the change and I become a world champion. But not before. It seems like such a drastic thing to say, but when your country and religion say that YOU cant do something that youre fantastic at based of the sex you were born with, you want to fight back. The Taliban believe theyre preserving their culture, but Maria and her family are fighting for not only Marias rights and safety, but womens rights and safety. Does that mean the Pakistani and Islamic community feel the same way as the Taliban? No, everyone has their own opinions and feelings, even in one of the most chaotic and religiously intense counties.

Jackie Jarrett th th POHS, 5 & 6 period th February 25 , 2013 Its a dark subject to think about, but American children are not unfamiliar with guns. Throughout American history and to this day, violence is never ending, especially gun violence. It is literally apart of our culture as Americans; weve had innocent people killed in massacres, presidents assassinated, and children murdered in their own school. You can go into any store that sells toys and youll find fake guns. A lot of parents are upset that toy guns are made and sold at all. They feel its dangerous to separate guns from what they actually do, which is kill things. Parents feel uncomfortable with the thought of their children pretending to kill each other. Its understandable that certain parents dont want their children playing with toy guns. After all, how many parents want their children feeling comfortable with shooting another child or person at all? Not many. But, it hasnt been proven that pretending to kill makes someone a killer. Does that make it okay for children to play with toy guns? Thats up to the childrens parents to decide. One of the most potent examples of a need for cultural understanding was the worldwide civil rights movements from the 1950s to present for people of color, women, people in the queer community, people with disabilities, and other minority groups. All of those groups of people were citizens, but they were still oppressed, laws were made against them, and discrimination was the norm. While in the United States most of the groups mentions now have their basic human rights (most are still discriminated against), the same cant be said in other countries. In Lebanon, Muslim Judges are calling marital rape a marital right. Women are going to the streets and protesting that the government ignores objects of Muslim religious authorities, take domestic violence serious, and make laws protecting women from abusive partners. When women report abuse and rape, they are told to keep it a family issue and not to cause embarrassment to themselves by bringing it to the police. Lebanons top authority Dar al-Fatwa and the Higher Shia Islamic Council have both opposed the bill drafted to protect women from physical and sexual abuse. It seems crazy that these women are protesting for their safety in this day and age, but people tend to forget that it wasnt that long ago that the women in America were fighting for themselves. The only significant difference is the timing between the revolutions. In order to understand someones situation that is culturally different, one has to go into a situation with no judgment or stereotypes in mind. Human service workers should be willing to understand those different and educate themselves on the country and culture of whom theyre working with.

Jackie Jarrett th th POHS, 5 & 6 period th February 25 , 2013

Bibliography
The Community Tool Box." Understanding Culture, Social Organization, and Leadership to Enhance Engagement. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2013. "Civil Rights Movement." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 Apr. 2013. Web. 05 Mar. 2013.