On Sun, 1 Jul 2007 22:54:53 +0200 (CEST), Andreas Tille <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said:
> On Sun, 1 Jul 2007, Manoj Srivastava wrote: >> I am not talking about _not_ having a soc-ctte. I am talking about >> whether or not the selection criteria for ctte members needs to be >> looked at with due consideration to the cultural diversity. > I'm afraid that we will have not enough volunteers from different > cultures. This might well be the case. But I can see where an informed electorate can make a different decision for party selection if they keep cultural diversity in mind. So the practical solution might be as simple as adding a note to the charter of the soc ctte admonisng them to be aware of these issues; and for the entity selecting members to also be aware as well. > Moreover it is hard to separate between different cultures. There is > no sharp borderline between cultures and there are people who belong > to more than one culture. While boundaries might be blurred, let me assure you that the cultural background in Tennessee is distinctly different from that in the Scottish highlands, and palpably so; and both are a world apart from the culture of nothern India. > So this is a quite weak criterium to choose members for a soc-ctte > from. I dunno. I think there is a wide diversity in cultural norms and expectations (the news headlines scream with the effects); and just because there are crossovers and individuals and families who straddle the divide is no reason to pretend that the differences do not exist, or can not be catered to. > I think I understood perfectly your concerns - but I see no practical > solution. I just hope that a soc-ctte that is elected according to > the rules we mentioned will be able to understand social aspects that > are brought up by a person who has the kind of trouble you have in > mind. Well, the re are practical solutions, and there are practical solutions. Let not the perfect be the enemy of an adequate solution. While we might never be able to get a perfectly unbiased, culture neutral and yet culture sensitive soc ctte, as you rightly fear; we can still add language to the charter of the soc ctte to remind the members of this aspect of their duty long after this conversation has been forgotten. >> Based on recent conversation in the list, I would suggest that the >> proportionality criteria for party list selection be given emhpasis >> for electing the members, so the minority cultures do not fail to >> have representation on the ctte, drowned our by the dominant cultural >> subgroups. > Just for the sake of interest: What would you say to which cultural > group you would belong? Me? I belong to the modern diaspora of migrants stuck between diverse cultures, belonging perfectly to neither. I think modern migrants like me are often better at recognizing two vastly different, and often opposed, but equally valid takes on issues that our social and cultural sets take. And no, you do not want me on your soc ctte. manoj -- He whose path devas, spirits and men cannot know, whose inflowing thoughts are ended, a saint - that is what I call a brahmin. 420 Manoj Srivastava <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <http://www.debian.org/~srivasta/> 1024D/BF24424C print 4966 F272 D093 B493 410B 924B 21BA DABB BF24 424C -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]