I think this reflects the difference between a traditionally Christian culture and a traditionally non-Christian culture. In non-Christian cultures, disability is shameful. The disabled aren't valued.
I'm not so sure about that. Lets compare with India. While the US might have handicapped parking signs and wheelchair inclines at various building entrances, etc. and India does not, it is more so because of funding. (Moreover I'll wager that in the US, this is all a recent phenomena.)
In India, the disabled are everywhere. I mean everywhere. Whether its the blind beggar at the street corner or the person without hands at the church service, they are everywhere. They are an unavoidable sight and for some Westerners tourists, a major culture shock.
What I have found in my back and forths from Bharat to the US is that there are ways in which the disabled are accepted in India that they simply are not in Western cultures. From GQ magazine to Road & Track, Western cultures are excessively stuck on image. Indian cultures are not or not to the same extent and in the same ways.
So for example, if you are in India, and you see a guy on the street walking down with perhaps two front teeth missing or vitiglio or a withered hand, you will find that no one will think anything of it as they pass by him. Here in the US if the same guy goes for a walk in a mall, everyone will be staring at him. In India, there just is a way of accepting people that is not so here. And also - yes India is a honor/shame culture, but it does not cut across disability so much. I think this is because there is just such a staggering amount to be found there.
I think India and China are very different cultures.
I'd say historically India has had a more substantial Christian influence than China.
Of course, Christianity has grown in leaps and bounds in modern China, but the evangelical-type Christians (as opposed to, say, the state sanctioned churches) are still largely "underground". By contrast, at least to my understanding (please correct me if I'm mistaken), the evangelical-type Christians in India don't generally have hide or be as secretive.
Also, we could be more finely-grained in our comparisons. For example, port cities like Hong Kong have historically had a more substantial Christian influence than the rest of China or maybe even much of India. That's in part because the British ruled Hong Kong as they did much of India.
I'm not so sure about that. Lets compare with India. While the US might have handicapped parking signs and wheelchair inclines at various building entrances, etc. and India does not, it is more so because of funding. (Moreover I'll wager that in the US, this is all a recent phenomena.)
ReplyDeleteIn India, the disabled are everywhere. I mean everywhere. Whether its the blind beggar at the street corner or the person without hands at the church service, they are everywhere. They are an unavoidable sight and for some Westerners tourists, a major culture shock.
What I have found in my back and forths from Bharat to the US is that there are ways in which the disabled are accepted in India that they simply are not in Western cultures. From GQ magazine to Road & Track, Western cultures are excessively stuck on image. Indian cultures are not or not to the same extent and in the same ways.
So for example, if you are in India, and you see a guy on the street walking down with perhaps two front teeth missing or vitiglio or a withered hand, you will find that no one will think anything of it as they pass by him. Here in the US if the same guy goes for a walk in a mall, everyone will be staring at him. In India, there just is a way of accepting people that is not so here. And also - yes India is a honor/shame culture, but it does not cut across disability so much. I think this is because there is just such a staggering amount to be found there.
In the end, it all comes down to common grace.
~ Raj
I think India and China are very different cultures.
ReplyDeleteI'd say historically India has had a more substantial Christian influence than China.
Of course, Christianity has grown in leaps and bounds in modern China, but the evangelical-type Christians (as opposed to, say, the state sanctioned churches) are still largely "underground". By contrast, at least to my understanding (please correct me if I'm mistaken), the evangelical-type Christians in India don't generally have hide or be as secretive.
Also, we could be more finely-grained in our comparisons. For example, port cities like Hong Kong have historically had a more substantial Christian influence than the rest of China or maybe even much of India. That's in part because the British ruled Hong Kong as they did much of India.
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