To Give Up On Words- Blog

I think this article was very interesting. I was thinking about what was written and how the Apaches lived and I couldn't help but compare them to our society. (I've seperated my thoughts into the categories given in the book.)

As far as being silent when "meeting strangers", I wonder if that is mainly built on a trust thing and I can't help but wonder if that is our (the U.S) fault, as descedents of the white colonizers. They were nice to us (granted I may be refering to the wrong tribe but the idea is still there) and we used them when we needed them and then threw them off their land when we were self-sufficent. So I'm wondering if this distrust has just been handed down the generations and their cautiousness now is a product of that.

On "courting" I think not talking before you "know" each other is an interesting concept. More so because it seems to be the opposite in our culture. In the U.S. when a couple is "courting" it seems like they do nothing but talk and it is not until way later when they know each other are they comforatble with silence, or not talking. I just get this image teenagers texting non-stop compared to the elderly couple sitting on the porch in silence just enjoying the moment.

Once again when I read about the "coming home" I thought is was the different to the U.S. customs but not completly. When kids go away to school and come home in both cultures the kids will do most of the talking when they first arrive (in the U.S. though the parents will ask questions). The difference I see, however, is that while the Apache are afraid their child will be less like them while in the U.S. the parents are looking to see if the child is more like them.

The Apache's thoughts on getting "cussed out" I think are the best way to handle the situation. How many fights in our society could have been avoided or at least not as damaging if the people had walked away instead of firing right back and escalating the situation.

These are just the thoughts tht occured to me while I was reading the article. Hopefully I wasn't too far off base. Till the next time.