According to Ting - Toomey and Chung (2012), the "cultural assimilation" stance is an attitude towards the adaptation process in which individuals demand that strangers conform to the host environment. While the "cultural pluralist" stance is one that encourages a diversity of values, emphasizing the importance of providing strangers with larger sets of norms to choose from in regards to their transition into a new culture. When it comes to the stance I personally subscribe to in consideration of immigrant issues, I think that it
could go wither way depending on the cultural of an individual. I know that some cultures are more strict about keeping their culture intact, while others are not. However, that being said, I think on the other hand if there is too much assimilation, an individual may lose who they are to the new environment, and that can cause some major issues, not only culturally, but personally. In the end, I think it's important that individuals have a choice when it comes to the norms and values they relate to.
What are some enlightening and/or surprising quotes from each essay from Readings for Diversity and Social Justice?
"Umma, my mother, don’t you see that my noncreased eyes are beautiful? Asian eyes are beautiful. Your eyes are beautiful. My eyes are beautiful. Asian is beautiful. After all these years of wanting to open up my eyes with tape and glue and surgery, I have opened up my eyes to a different definition of beauty. "
I liked the short story on Olivia, and this quote specifically from the story, because it shows how Olivia has come to accept her culture. I think this is important because others who share the same struggles as Olivia can find inspiration from this story and quote. Although she often felt out of place based on her eyes, she was able to eventually overcome all the comments made by others, and realize that there is "no definition of beauty". Her culture and her eyes are just as beautiful as anyone else's.