Why Cultural Discrimination is Rooted in Communication Failure
In the digital era of globalisation, we often pride ourselves on being a connected global society. We can sample foreign cuisines through an app or enjoy cross-cultural music on digital playlists. Yet, behind this harmonious diversity, the bitter reality of cultural discrimination persists. Why are certain cultural groups still deemed inferior, labelled ‘strange’, or ostracised by the majority? Why do differences in skin colour, dialect, or traditional rituals still become fodder for mockery on social media?
If we dissect it, cultural discrimination is not merely a matter of random hatred. It is a system built upon flawed communication patterns. Communication studies provide a sharp analytical lens to understand why this phenomenon continues, notably through Stella Ting-Toomey’s Identity Negotiation Theory and the concept of ethnocentrism.
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to view the world solely through the lens of one’s own culture, regarding it as the highest standard of truth. When people communicate on an ethnocentric basis, they are not trying to understand; they are judging. The loud dialect of another ethnic group is labelled ‘rude’, while unfamiliar traditional rituals are immediately branded as ‘primitive’.
Why does cultural discrimination feel so painful for its victims? According to Identity Negotiation Theory, every interaction involves a negotiation for recognition of who we are. We all crave cultural security and respect. When intercultural communication fails to provide this security and respect, alienation occurs. Victims are forced to feel like strangers in their own land. This communication failure triggers a vicious cycle: the discriminated group withdraws due to insecurity, while the dominant group reinforces its stereotypes due to the lack of equal interaction.
The first step to change is shifting from automatic, prejudice-filled communication to mindful communication. This requires three things: mindfulness, which is the awareness that everyone carries a different cultural background and that our perspective is not the only truth; cognitive flexibility, the ability to see a phenomenon from another’s cultural viewpoint before rushing to judgement; and behavioural empathy, which involves adapting our language and attitude so as not to hurt or demean another’s cultural identity.
Culture is not a static entity to be debated over which is superior. It is the way humans make meaning of life. When we discriminate against another culture, we are actually revealing the shallowness of our own communication and narrowing our own way of thinking. It is time to stop using communication as a tool to divide and start using it as a bridge. Ultimately, harmony is not created because we are all the same, but because we are able to communicate as equals amidst all our differences.