Argument Essay Qallunaat/Nungak

Anthropology, or the study of human beings, often references the cultures of indigenous or extinct peoples. However, Zebedee Nungak comically reverses this stereotypical role by studying white people from the perspective of an inuit. He makes bold, cynical comments on our society albeit in a humorous way. Though a bit harsh at times, I feel as though Nungak makes many valid points on white culture. One of Nungak’s primary points is about how white people from different countries have been in conflicts or wars for centuries despite his claim that we all look alike. “Why such savage conflict among such same-looking people?” (Nungak 288). Puzzling, though the notion is, that we are so similar and yet have found throughout history innumerable ways to fight and kill each other. Civil wars, holy wars, or merely wars for the sake of petty arguments between kings, have all been waged without regard that we are all a part of humanity. One might darkly suggest that at least we don’t solely discriminate and fight wars based on racial or cultural issues, war seems to be blind to such things, and kills without prejudice. However, I wonder that Nungak has a right to point out such a harsh reality upon whites. While it is in fact a valid claim, I would like to point out that Native Americans, who also had similar complexions to one another, fought other tribes on a fairly regular basis. Perhaps this is in fact less of a racial tendency and more of a human tendency, regardless of how disheartening such a realization may be. Nungak’s mockery then extends to the English language. Here, I can find little to no fault with his argument. The structure, foundation, and rules of the English language disregard any sort of logical pattern. As Nungak so eloquently put it, countless examples exist that highlight the pure stupidity of our language. He points out how “Sean” is “(sh-AWN)” and “Jean” is not “John” but JEEN. Not only that, but he wonders aloud how Dick is a nickname for Richard or Hank for Henry (Nungak 288). Even I, a native English speaker, upon retrospection of our vernacular, realize how illogical it really is. Our language is a compilation of words from all over Europe, not to mention from numerous time periods. Thus, our melting pot of a language struggles to maintain or find a “standard formula” when it originated without one (Nungak 288). I have learned from my foreigner friends that learning our language was far from easy. Furthermore, by learning a foreign language myself (Spanish), I found out that most languages have as a foundation a basic set of rules and laws that the language branched out from. Thus there are far fewer exceptions to the rules of grammar for said language. I believe this is Nungak’s point, is that we pretend to be so superior to others, when our most basic form of communication, our language, is a joke to all other cultures. White culture, more specifically the societal norms we live by on a day to day basis, seems to fascinate Nungak. He points out that the expression “keeping up with the Joneses” essentially underlies our culture (Nungak 289). He claims that we focus mainly on getting more or better things and doing so more than our neighbors. Surely, we aren’t so brazenly selfish and ignorant as to live our lives with “more” as our goal, are we? I am sad to say that Nungak has yet again made a formidable argument against which I have very little to say. It is a harsh reality to accept, but sadly not a hard one to confirm. Merely observing the white families in my hometown, I am overwhelmed by our sense of entitlement. I have overheard middle school kids complain about not having the latest iPhone; yes, rather than be grateful that they own an iPhone, they complain that it isn’t the latest model. It sickens me to think about how we must look to other countries and cultures. Sadly, Nungak really doesn’t need to elaborate on our selfishness to mock us, all he had to do was point out a very small portion of our selfishness and the cynical humor fills itself in. Then, supposedly to give us a break, he goes on to merely point out our various social oddities. For example, how using manners, simple words, keeps one from being a terrible guest. He also points out our tendency to talk a lot, especially under the influence of alcohol. “Then there seems to be an obligation to talk even more at the door before leaving” (Nungak 289). I found it humorous to see Nungak’s confused perspective on how and/or why white people date. Apparently the idea of going on a date (i.e. going to do an activity with a member of the opposite sex), is bizarre to him and I am assuming other cultures. It is interesting to note that the act of dating is so odd to other cultures, but I believe that so long as it is done properly, going on a date is a very logical way to either find a potential spouse or to learn how to interact with the opposite gender. Finally, Nungak returns to the root of his irony-laced essay, anthropology. He states what his paper had been hinting at the entire time; today’s white culture is not studied like the rest of the world’s cultures. He takes the stance of a “Qallunologist”, one who studies white people, and claims that his work is next to useless (Nungak 289). This begs the question: why are we so self-absorbed as to think that we are above being studying and analyzed as we have done to so many other cultures? Ironically, we seem to condemn ourselves to being less important by not giving credence to “caucasian-ology”. Sure, we have kept less than accurate historical records idolizing our notable white forefathers, and have thusly kept white artifacts in museums as well. But we seem to leave out anything about our lifestyle or culture, especially in today’s society. I personally believe that if we were to analyze our culture as Nungak has, irregardless of the harsh realities that will come to light, we will better our society and culture and cease the more selfish stereotypes that seem to cling to us. 
Works Cited
Nungak, Zebedee. “Qallunaat 101: Inuits Study White Folks in This New Academic Field.” The World is a Text. Ed. Jonathan Silverman, Dean Rader. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print.