Westerners

The world's media would have us believe that there is a certain lifestyle or culture in "the West". Pick up any newspaper covering international news or watch TV and sooner or later you will find an article telling you how things are different in the West. But which "West" are they talking about ?

If you look at these "Western" countries, many have vast differences between them. The UK is not similar to the USA; we don't even drive on the same side of the road. We speak the same language, but many British values are completely different to the USA. For example, in Britain, guns are seen as offensive weapons, occasionally held legally for hunting. In the USA guns are seen as defensive weapons, used for protection and occasionally used in crime.

In Europe, neighbouring countries such as France and Spain are completely different. For the sake of friendship they might have some shared interests but don't confuse that with a broad similarity. Underneath the surface many things are different. Even within a single country you should beware of comparisons of people from different towns or regions.

The people who originate these "In the West..." articles write broad introductions that imply that everyone knows what they are talking about. It's easy to read under the assumption that the specific characteristic of "the West" will eventually be more clearly defined. It's only when you get to the end you find that western-ness was never explained. It is laziness by the writer who couldn't be bothered to find a suitable word to describe the attribute they wish to compare. Here you have a powerful mega-word at your disposal that neatly encompasses a multitude of things without actually defining them. It's a lot more work to take the time to pick a word that specifically elucidates your point and you risk the chance that a clear definition is easier to disagree with.

If we briefly consider the possibility that "Western" is a real characteristic, then what is the single thing that groups "Western" things together ? Geographic location ? Economic policy ? Religion ? Skin colour ? Consumerism ? Modernism ? In fact, when people use these terms they usually mean one or more of these things. The simple truth is none of these things are uniform for anywhere in "the West".

"Western" is a stereotype of something that is rather vague, which makes it difficult to argue about the definition of what is or isn't a Western thing. For example, some people believe the notion that the neck tie is a symbol of Western values; or that Israel, Australia,Taiwan and Japan are Western or Westernised and that South America is not. I cannot argue for or against these statements without a valid measure of what "Western" means.

From the point of view of an "Easterner" (because they are all the same too, right ? - I would very much like to see those of you who think that I am over reacting tell a Japanese person that Chinese people are the same as them) "Western" is a convenient way of saying "not us" or foreign. It can also be used for any quality that you wouldn't want to associate with yourself. It seems to be used in the media as a stereotype for smug superiority, or decadent immorality depending on who needs to use rhetoric.

We should also note that those "Western" people are wearing tattoos or t-shirts with Chinese lettering, driving their Honda cars to their local sushi bar for lunch then meeting their friends later for a night out followed by Indian curry and then go home to bed, wearing pyjamas.

When I hear the terms The West, Westerner, Westernisation or Western Culture, I ask myself Who are they talking about ? Always ask when someone uses these terms - you will be surprised at what they really mean.

This is what I think:

1. The West is a geographic direction. The Earth is spherical so everyone is in the West to someone else.
2. A Westerner is a cowboy. I am not a cowboy therefore I am not a Westerner.
3. Western Culture is about people who like cowboy movies.

I oppose the use of "Westerner" and "the West" in any other context as it is a stereotype, possibly an insult, and very poorly defined.