[Leica] Piercings and Tatoos

[jgovindaraj at eth.net (Jayanand Govindaraj)]

You equate an arranged marriage with female circumcision? Wow! Liberal 
European thinking!!
Cheers
Jayanand Govindaraj
Chennai, India
(who has been happily married for 27 years through an arranged marriage, and 
has had no problem with it)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nathan Wajsman" <nathan.wajsman@planet.nl>
To: "Leica Users Group" <lug@leica-users.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 10:30 AM
Subject: Re: [Leica] Piercings and Tatoos


> Well, I feel like I understand quite a few different cultures because of 
> my rather nomadic life, the international family I am part of, my Puerto 
> Rican wife etc. I agree with Dennis' sentiment that we should respect the 
> fact that things are done differently in other cultures/religions, but I 
> do not agree that this implies that they are all equally valid, 
> particularly in modern, liberal societies like the US or Europe. An 
> arranged marriage, for me, is beyond the pale in the 21st century, as is, 
> for example, female circumcision--which after all, also is grounded in a 
> strong cultural tradition. In Denmark there have been cases of parents 
> sending their daughters to Somalia to undergo this type of mutilation, and 
> of parents sending their daughters to rural Turkey or Pakistan for an 
> arranged marriage against their will. Both types of activities are 
> illegal, and rightly so.
>
> As someone who has lived most of his life as an immigrant in four 
> different countries, I say that if someone wants to live like that, then 
> they should do so in South Asia or wherever this type of tradition is 
> considered normal. My guiding motto on this type of issue is the wonderful 
> American expression, "shit or get off the pot."
>
> Strong family ties are all well and good, but not if they manifest 
> themselves in coercion or in practices that are unacceptable to the wider 
> society. Some decades ago the Mormons had to accept that polygamy was not 
> acceptable in the United States and they abandoned this tradition (yes, I 
> am aware of the splinter groups that still cling to it, but mainstream 
> Mormons do not). As far as I can tell from the Mormon friends and 
> co-workers I had in the US, this has not had any negative impact on their 
> family ties or ability to practice their religion.
>
> BTW, we know several South Asians (as evident from my latest PAWs), many 
> Muslims among them, who all live in thoroughly modern, voluntary 
> marriages, in many cases to "infidels."
>
> Nathan
>
> Dennis Painter wrote:
>
>> This is a very interesting set of photos. One certainly needs to know a
>> bit of what's going on here to understand them. I am glad that Tina is
>> working on this project as I doubt anyone could do better than her.
>> Despite that I am not sure photographs will lead to greater
>> understanding.
>>
>> Much has been said of and about different cultures and cultural
>> differences.  Here are my beliefs.
>>
>> It's almost impossible to truly understand another culture. Perhaps if
>> you know all the history, can read the language, and live within that
>> culture for years, then, you might really understand.
>>
>> If you apply your standards, your culture, against another you are lost
>> to understanding.
>>
>> The best way of "understanding" is to accept that what they believe and
>> do is correct to their way of life and culture. Respect their culture.
>> This helps greatly to avoid forming prejudice in your mind.
>>
>> It's hard for me to put this into words.
>>
>>
>>
>
> -- 
> Nathan Wajsman
> Almere, The Netherlands
>
> General photography: http://www.nathanfoto.com
> Seville photography: http://www.fotosevilla.com
> Stock photography: http://www.alamy.com/search-results.asp?qt=wajsman
> http://myloupe.com/home/found_photographer.php?photographer=507
> Prints for sale: http://www.photodeluge.com
>
>
>
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