Quote: (03-25-2013 02:03 PM)Tim9000 Wrote:
Quote: (03-25-2013 01:40 PM)Andy_B Wrote:
You could actually ask a much bigger, related question, of why white anglos really dislike/disrespect/don't get along with their parents in general.
Great question. I'd love to see what people think about this.
I've always had an antagonistic relationship with my father though I think he's a good person and has certainly made a lot of sacrifices for the family. I've always respected him when thinking in these terms, but in other terms I've considered him a close minded fool, or when I was a teenager, the biggest idiot on the planet. More broadly, I thought my family was very uncool and was embarrassed to be seen in public with them. As an adult I can see that they are far from 'cool', but why did I care so much?
I have several South Asian friends and I asked them if when they were teenagers they remember being embarrassed to be seen with their parents. They weren't. That's a huge cultural difference.
I'm not sure but I think it has something to do with the combination of the "individualist" culture in North America combined with the obsession with the notion of being "cool" or "edgy."
I feel that American culture especially has its priorities kind of "backwards" when it comes to what constitutes social status. There is not really much emphasis placed on being a responsible adult. It's all about being a some kind of rugged individualist 'badass' who has tried a billion drugs and goes out clubbing every weekend and reads stupid shit like Gawker and curses all the time and whatnot.
I think it's sort of a backlash against the Puritan values of the nation's founder's.
Originally, family was VERY important in America.
In fact people were so obsessed with "the children" and shit like that, that they went ahead and did stupid things like banning harmless drugs and prostitution, made a huge deal about violent music and videogames, and so on. There's something condescending in this kind of attitude towards children and family that's bound to create people who hate their parents, and make "rebellion" a top social priority.