> I spent a few hours thinking about this and decided the
> following:
> 1. All abstract groupings must have an opposite. We know
> what something is by contrasting it to something else.
> 2. If we don't have a word for the opposite then it "may"
> be part of the mainstream culture which is by definition
> difficult to see due to our immersion.
> possible candidates:
>
> the great unwashed
> populist climate change thinkers
> environmentalists
> luddites
> California deep thinkers
>
> I have trouble finding a common phrase which is opposite to
> these ideas. They were all used as negative groupings and
As far as I can see, such terms are used to describe a group or individual
that is different from the speaker and often mainstream society. It does
not seem strange that there would not be a term for the mainstream
equivalent, since it would usually be "everyone else" or "normal people" or
"us" etc. This seems simplistic, but often so is the use of such terms, as
you are describing them.
In other words, I can see the lack of an opposite indicating a cultural
norm, or at least a perceived cultural norm. I suppose this could be
considered "cultural immersion", but that seems to assume that no one is
capable of, or takes the time to, see the comparison or the normal cultural
position. If all you mean by cultural immersion is that people take the
mainstream position or view as "normal", then it doesn't seem to be saying
much. If you are saying that people can't see the comparison because they
are blinded by the apparent lack of an opposite, then I'm not sure I'd
agree. I would go as far to say that most people don't think about what,
to them, is daily, ordinary, normal stuff. It does take exposure to other
cultures, values, or points of view to make our own positions clearer.
Perhaps this is what you mean by cultural immersion. Even without exposure
to other views, I can imagine someone going through the exercise of
articulating the "normal" position based on a given phrase of the type you
are talking about.
It would be interesting to find such a phrase that I use, to see if it does
indicate some kind of cultural immersion. I would find this particularly
interesting because I consider myself very open to other cultures and the
huge variety of values, traditions, customs and points of view that exist.
I have been going through a process of tearing away cultural assumptions,
so finding some would be enlightening, and possibly difficult since they
would be deep ones (I assume).
Eric Storm
