Response to Dacia

I feel like I haven’t had an encounter where I was ashamed enough to claim my own culture. Most people that do this are the ones that seem to want to be accepted. I find it really degrading when people can’t accept who they are enough to act themselves in a crowd of people they are unsure of. So in reality they are being accepted for who they aren’t and they are being rejected by the people who know what they are doing. This can lead to a multitude of problems including ruining relationships, low self esteem, and loosing trust. The closest I’ve ever been to being ashamed of my culture is music related and it would have to be when I am talking to an older person of higher authority about what type of music I play. If I was blunt and told them that I prefer playing metal, punk, and modern rock they might judge me thinking that I am a mischievous punkrocker. I would usually start with jazz, blues, classic, rock, flamenco, ect…. to ensure that I am not a “trouble maker”. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy playing almost every type of style but in a situation where I am trying impress an older person of higher authority I would emphasize my passion for playing that style of music. I am not ashamed at all of being a rocker, but in circumstances where I may be potentially judged for the wrong reason, I would emphasize my interest in the things we both have in common to build a good relationship from the start. In “Persepolis” Marjane denies her culture by claiming “I’m French” (pg 195) because she knows that she will be looked down upon. Another way to approach this would be to be honest about her culture and point out positive details to prevent others from judging her in a negative way.