Same Same

Tyler Maxfield

Same same, but diferent. I heard this phrase repeatedly throughout Thailand, whether shopping for oddities or asking for directions. If two things were similar and the speaker didnt care to delve further all I would get in response to questions was, Same same. But the implication was there, that they were different. Two paths might take me to the same destination but they were different. The sights, sounds, and smells would be different. The people I encountered would be different. The price and size would be different yet I would still hear the words, Same same. But different. From these differences arises a problem, for accepting the difference in the Other forces one to call into question ones most deeply rooted beliefs. I think that the theory of evolution can be applied to concepts outside the realm of biological difference and can shed some light onto the differences between cultures. Humans have been roaming this planet for some 200,000 years, developing, learning, growing, and decaying. The process of global domination has taken humans, and their culture, to every corner of the earth. Imagine if you will a single, initial culture. Within this group of people existed many different individuals, each with the same same but different core beliefs. This collective of humans grew and traveled, branching off into two separate populations. Distance separated the populations, and over time their beliefs and customs grew more distant as well.1 But they shared a common understanding about the way the world worked. This development continued for thousands of years, causing the two cultures to grow evermore distinct, the commonalities obscured. Now imagine that the two cultures had continued to split themselves into thousands of different populations over thousands of years. From this idea one could construct a tree of culture, similar to the tree of life, where every modern culture is a leaf on the tree, separated by varying degrees since the last common ancestor. Some branches grew thick with leaves while others were torn from the tree by the harsh realities of nature.2 Culture, like genetic alleles, is passed on from parent to child, instilling in the next generation a fundamental set of ideals so heavily ingrained into their Being that they are not questioned. Until the encounter with the Other. The same same but different. We poke and prod and play the game, but we play by different rules. We call the pieces by different names, but are familiar with their function. We are drawn to one another by the obvious differences and the desire to understand. We are comforted in finding so much similarity. We are destroyed in finding different souls. For in the other we project ourselves and are disturbed when we find that our crosswise projections are misaligned. We are humans with the same spectrum of emotions yet we evoke them in different ways. The differences assault us like so many stones cast down upon our ideals. And in this confrontation all that we hold dear is challenged. What we once thought unquestionable is now in turmoil, raining pain and doubt on our soul.3

The modern concept of tolerance is a fickle thing. It tells us to turn our cheek, yet we still judge. We4 fret over the mixing of the difference because it is an attack on our Being. That the Other can come into our domain, spreading their skewed perspective of the world, is an affront to all that we hold true. And we cant stop it. We are helpless to change. We are like a swimmer caught up in a current, trying to grab on to the water, to force it to be still, yet it slips through our fingers. The Normal avoid the waters all together, but some people enjoy the thrill of the turmoil, to have their head forced under by the raging current, struggling to come above the waterline and gasping for air. Some people are attracted to the uncomfortable because internally they want to reject the ideals that were forced upon them since birth. They want to fight the established normity. The Doubter, the stranger, the witch. Week one of class you claimed that you were not here to convert us. Whether that was a statement made in ernest5 is what I am calling into question. I think it was a ploy, a clever tactic used to catch us off guard. We lowered our defenses; we listened to your stories about the Other, safely seated in our concrete cube. It all seemed so far off, so surreal. Like a mother telling stories about ghouls and gobblins lurking in the closet; you are prompting us to go look for ourselves. You have us write our papers and organize discussions so that you can learn our minds, so you can eat our souls. Like Kako you let us speak while you formulate a counterpoint. Like Yabo you teach us to be witches. You would have us all choose to be the Doubter. You want us to want this change, to welcome the inner turmoil. You are an evangelist of the conversion from the We to the Doubter. Yet you also spur us to say, Fuck you, Speed! because that would prove that we are Redwoman. Every day, people badger on about how much of an ignorant, stuck up, hypocritical bitch Bowen is. How terribly she plays the part of double agent to Western culture. She plays the game but when she doesnt like the rules they play by she reverts to her own; and in this we all find fault because we think we would do better. But in rejecting you and the changes you are trying to bring upon us we are proving to be no better suited for inner turmoil than Redwoman. We ebb and flow our being to better suit the encounter space with the Other, but when the encounter space pierces into our Being our initial reaction is to tense, to draw a line and safely withdraw behind it. But whos to say that our Beings ideals are the right ones. That our concepts of family, of worth, of right and of wrong are the correct ones. Just because our ancestors had better methods of killing, traveling, and manipulating does not mean that their beliefs are the best ones. Having power does not equate to being in the right. You want us to take a step back and think about what we are doing and why we are doing it. Is it because it is what our father and our fathers father did? Does that make it right? You want us to fail as Westerners but succeed as humans.

You are forcing upon us the following choice: The more we maintain Being the more we are alienated from the Other. Yet to open our consciousness to the Other is to have the arrow pierce our eye. Our very soul put into question. You do it because you love the violence, the upheaval, the potential for change. You do it because you love us, or rather the potential human inside each of us. You are a witch.6 But you have a good heart.

Word Work
Same same- A Thai phrase meaning that the two nouns referenced are similar yet differ in subtle ways. Used by shopkeeps as a means of comparing different merchandise. Popularized by the large tourist industry in Thailand and having its foothold in the common tourist language, English. It is also used to convey indifference toward a subject. Different- Partly or totally unlike in nature, form, or quality. From the lattin word, differre- to disagree, postpone, separate. Different is contrasted by same, for the act of categorizing something as the same automatically classifies everything else as different. First known use is in 14th century Middle English. Other- Disturbingly or threateningly different. One who embodies a different set of ideas and history than the self. The Other is characterized by a fundamental difference in Being. The Other exists because of the inherent lines drawn when categorizing the same. From Old English er- second, other. Giving it implications of not as good as the first. Beliefs- Conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being. A perspective on reality that is passed from individual to individual. Beliefs reside at the core of human character and consciousness. From Old English ge- associative prefix + lfan- to allow. Human- A bipedal, hairless primate that dominates the planet Earth. Marked by the ability to think abstractly, of the future, and to communicate ideas in a spoken and written language. Susceptible to or representative of the sympathies and frailties of human nature. From Latin humus- earth Culture: What exists in the minds of those in a community that cannot be attributed to genetics. The proliferation of symbols throughout a group of people to the point that those symbols are completely ingrained within the individuals. The symbols are understood without question. From Latin cultura, from cultus which refers to cultivated land. Ideals- A standard of perfection, beauty, or excellence. The concept of striving to meet the standard model. Related to belief. Being- The fundamental qualities concreted in the core of consciousness. Within lives the unquestioned, the beliefs. being- The outer qualities that constitute an existent thing. Not fundamental to the core, but fluid and changing with the experiences of the person whom is characterized by the being. The game- The way humans interact with the world and the others within it.

We- The mass public of American and Western culture. Refers to the ideals of the collective whole, the average being within a population. First known use before 12th century Old High German wir- we, us. Soul- An active or essential part of ones Being. The immaterial essence of an individual. That which fundamentally defines the individual consciousness. Akin to Being. From Middle English soule, from Old English swol; akin to Old High German sula- soul. First known use before 12th century. Turmoil- State or condition of extreme confusion, agitation, or commotion. Marked by an uneasiness and unsteady state. Tolerance- Webster defines: a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions and practices that differ from one's own. I would argue that this definition is ideal and that in practice tolerance is akin to ignoring the Other. From Latin tolerre- to bear. As if a burden Herein lies the root connotation. Normal-Normity- Noun form of the adjective normal. That which is attributed to be normal by social, cultural, or personal standards. The standard state of an individual. First used in 1815 from Latin norma, carpenter's square, rule, pattern. Doubter- One who questions the unquestionable, the core beliefs of ones society. From English Doubt Latin dubitre- to waver, hesitate, be uncertain. Witch- One who has and uses power over another, manipulating them through what they know about the individual. Consumes the soul of the individual in order to have knowledge of them that can be used to direct their actions. From before 900; Middle English wicche, Old English wicce, Other derivative: wicked, which has taken root in the connotation of the word. Redwoman- Elenore Smith Bowen as perceived by the Tiv. A powerful woman who knows things. A witch. A European. The Other. Marked by her continued attempts to be accepted within the Tiv culture without abiding by the cultures rules. Double agent- A Spy of dual sympathies. Classically, a person who spies on a country while pretending to spy for it. Here used to refer to one of dual sympathies, abiding by contrasting cultural normities. Rules- the code of regulations observed by a culture. The way in which one acts and reacts within a culture. Set up by the moral guidelines of a group of humans. From Latin rgula- straight stick, pattern Westerners- Those who abide by the ideals and rules of Western culture. Wikipedia: The concept of the Western part of the earth has its roots in GrecoRoman civilization in Europe, with the advent of Christianity. In the contemporary cultural meaning, the Western world includes Europe, as well as many countries of European colonial origin with majority European populations in the Americas and Oceania, such as the United States of America, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. This is due to the fact that cultures are constantly changing and in this separation, two cultures cannot be expected to change in the same way. The cultures adapt to the difficulties they must overcome. 2 My favorite example of this sort of cultural collapse is the Wari of pre-Columbian South America. 3 Is this what you want!?
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See word work Or out of some self-preservation tactic used to abide by the American custom of separating education and Faith. 6 I see you.
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