[KS] Egypt and Gwangju 1980

[Frank Hoffmann]

>"middle-class white Americans"


Okay now, got your point, but "middle-class white Americans" was not 
supposed to be the key term. I acknowledge that we all want to become 
middle-class white Americans anyway, no matter if we are black or 
red, Russians or Germans or Koreans, or green and from Mars. (And 
once we are there, we feel so excited that we die of boredom, sell 
our house, divorce our spouse, and so on.) But feel free to replace 
that with any other class in any other country.

How about the key terms "conflict theory" and maybe "deviance"? 
Aren't those possibly of some help in explaining such demonstrations 
(2000s in Korea and now in Arab countries)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deviance_%28sociology%29
QUOTE:
"Norms are rules of conduct, not neutral or universal, but ever 
changing; shifting as society shifts; mutable, emergent, loose, 
reflective of inherent biases and interests, and highly selfish and 
one-sided. They vary from class to class, and in the generational 
'gap.' They are, in other words, contextual. (...) Social norms are 
different in one culture as opposed to another. For example, a 
deviant act can be committed in one society or culture that breaks a 
social norm there, but may be considered normal for another culture 
and society."

As was already said on this list, "no beef from the U.S.!" does not 
necessarily mean "no beef from the U.S." (Either not only that, or 
not that at all.) If we were in the U.S., however, THEN it would very 
likely mean exactly that. When one explains such demonstrations to a 
non-Korean readership then it seems very essential to address such an 
issue, other then saying that this is a mass of manipulated frenzied 
people, or something of that sort. That is my point. And to do that 
one may look for some tools to do so, to explain what this means, why 
this is. (Hardly comparable for soccer fan violence.)

Best,
Frank


-- 
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Frank Hoffmann
http://koreaweb.ws
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