Reverse culture shock
I assumed wrong. Having an extremely cosmopolitan lifestyle, living right in the center of all things urban, having unlimited access to the uncensored Internet, being around liberal-minded people and working in media led me to believe that everyone else around me—at least, in the near vicinity—is a forward-thinker. Or at least, isn’t a backward-thinker.
I assumed wrong. I’m not even talking about obviously liberal views on politics. I know that plenty of urbanites are against the Reproductive Health bill and gay marriage. But I didn’t think that there are young city dwellers, working in nontraditional industries, who still equate respect to untarnished morality. (Of course, “morality” here is subjective.)
I assumed wrong. With all the sex, violence and openness we’re all exposed to because of mass and new media, you’d think that the current generation of yuppies has seen it all, heard it all, been there, done that. And have come to realize that everyone farts and poops. I understand old people and their traditional perceptions. But I thought that we, “old people” of the future, can all respect a person for their genius, their expertise, their excellence, and accept the fact that this person could be having anal sex at night.
I assumed wrong. In fact, there are people walking and living among us who are seemingly normal (and again, the definition of normalcy is per personal qualifiers)—watching the same movies we watch, listening to the same songs we listen to, reading the same gossip blogs we read—but are actually uptight, judgmental, almost bigoted, bitches (“bitches,” in this case, is a term of endearment). Still, I thought everybody’s internal Carrie has gotten over Samantha’s expression of sexuality.
I assume wrong. Sure, there’s mutual respect. But respect seems irrelevant when you say, “I respect you as a person. But because of the personal choices you made that I disagree with, I don’t respect you as my boss.” That statement doesn’t sit well with me because I thought that this generation of progressive individuals can separate professional from personal; education, qualification, skills and talent from gender, sexual orientation, race and religion.
I assumed wrong.
