Tolerance

[pynkgodde55]

How does one become more tolerant of other cultures in the US? For instance, a person works in customer service and deals with many different cultures.

[Skye]

You just have to be exposed to it and keep an open mind.

[Michie]

Appreciate the beauty in other cultures : their clothing, music, types of festivals and language, etc.



Treat them like you would treat anyone else ...because they are just like everyone else you meet, except they are special.



I think it's important to be open to their culture, and accept them for who they are. Don't try to convert them to your ways, even if you insist that you're right. They ahve a different lifestyle than the kind you are used to.



And learning about the other cultures is a good way to start understanding about other cultures. Check out a library or something...

[Shwynsh]

Try to educate yourself about all the other cultures- the ones you want to become more open with. Learn about their lifestyles, their food, what they celebrate what the people do for fun that is different from the way you live. It will be pretty interesting-



And don't put anyone down from other cultures, even if it's in your own mind. Don't be narrow-minded, and be friendly to all.

[pynkgodde55]

What if they don't speak english?

[Nj]

Originally posted by pynkgodde55@Jul 7 2004, 11:48 AM

What if they don't speak english?

learn spanish.



most people in this country don't speak english... well.

[kellbell]

Most intolerance comes out of fear of the unknown. When one is not exposed to something or doesn't know much about something, they are scared of it. Try learning something new about another culture you have no idea about. Eat a new food, read a book, search online.

[pynkgodde55]

Okay, basically what I'm trying to ask w/out asking is how can you be tolerant of someone you can't understand? I live in America and I have to learn a diff lang so I can speak to ppl. I don't mean to sound rude or discriminatory but how can you be tolerant?

[Nj]

Originally posted by pynkgodde55@Jul 7 2004, 12:26 PM

Okay, basically what I'm trying to ask w/out asking is how can you be tolerant of someone you can't understand? I live in America and I have to learn a diff lang so I can speak to ppl. I don't mean to sound rude or discriminatory but how can you be tolerant?

they tolerate the fact that you speak another language.. you don't have to tolerate it, but moreso accept it and adapt.

[pynkgodde55]

How do you adapt? Where I work, I deal w/ alot of diff types of ppl. I have to direct them and I get frustratd when I can't understand what they say. I tried learning spanish and it never stuck.

[OverDrive]

Well, i am in tech support and speak to a variety of nationalities.



It is sometimes really hard to understand people so I use the phonetic alphabet while spelling out certain things. I'm not 100% sure if you can use this stuff but it really helps me in communicating to the people of different nationalities (unless they don't know what i am actually saying in english... then i use babelfish.altavista.com to get a rought translation)



The Phonetic Alphabet



This is a list of phonetics or word equivalents of the letters in the alphabet and numbers for those users that are hard of hearing or understanding.



This is the International version.



Alphabet



A - Alpha

B - Bravo

C - Charlie

D - Delta

E - Echo

F - Foxtrot or Fox

G - Golf

H - Hotel

I - India

J - Juliet

K - Kilo

L - Lima

M - Mike

N - November

O - Oscar

P - Papa

Q - Quebec

R - Romeo

S - Sierra

T - Tango

U - Uniform

V - Victor

W - Whisky

X - X-ray

Y - Yankee

Z - Zulu



Numerics



0 - Zero

1 - Wun (One)

2 - Two

3 - Tree (Three)

4 - Fower (Four)

5 - Five

6 - Six

7 - Seven

8 - Ait (Eight)

9 - Niner (Nine)

[jaydeschizo]

err...teh way to be tolerant... the dutch way: sweet talk all the bad stuff they do... and they are suddenly teh good guys... and being nice to the good guys isnt that hard... make excuses for them!!! [/national sarcasme mode]

[Michie]

Originally posted by pynkgodde55@Jul 7 2004, 01:39 PM

How do you adapt? Where I work, I deal w/ alot of diff types of ppl. I have to direct them and I get frustratd when I can't understand what they say. I tried learning spanish and it never stuck.

Firstly I think it's great of you to do this work...it sounds like a really hard job since you have to talk to people who take a while to understand what you're saying...it takes a lot of patience to work in a situation like that.



You could try spanish again...or french if you know that already...



I'd think the best bet is to learn how to say hello in a few languages first, just so you sound welcoming to everyone who you speak to. Start with two or three languages for a few weeks. and see how that goes. Even a hello in another language is nice. But you have to tell them that you speak english.



Sorry if this makes no sense...what sort of work are you doing?