# Western Culture vs Eastern Culture



## .17485 (Jan 12, 2011)

Which Culture do you like?


----------



## .17485 (Jan 12, 2011)

I would like the Eastern Culture more.


----------



## Aslynn (Jun 2, 2012)

This is way too broad. West vs East could mean American culture vs. Indonesian culture, Polish culture vs. Mongolian culture, or any other radom combination of West/East countries. Is the the Middle East Eastern or Western? What about Russia?


----------



## Blazy (Oct 30, 2010)

I love Asian food and movies, so I'm gonna have to decide Eastern! Sushi, Korean BBQ, Indian curry, orange chicken.. mmmmm better than sex


----------



## AnCapKevin (Jun 7, 2012)

I love eastern philosophy. The west, in many ways, lacks "soul."

Obviously I adore the West's technology. So I'd say my ideal culture would be Western technology and further integration of some eastern lines of thought.


----------



## Nekomata (May 26, 2012)

I love both, but as far as culture goes, I probably prefer eastern stuff more. Especially where Japan is concerned <.<; otherwise, I tend to prefer western food more, no doubt about that.


----------



## Naia68 (Jan 28, 2013)

I'm sick to death of living in the left-brained, super-active Western world!


----------



## TheProcrastinatingMaster (Jun 4, 2012)

This is kind of hard to answer, I guess simply put I'm more interested in western history, but perhaps more interested in eastern culture.

Honestly though I'd say it is half and half, I'm fascinated with pretty much everything I don't understand, so they both interest me equally, which is to say a lot.


----------



## chenowith (Feb 17, 2013)

I wonder how many people answering "eastern culture" would honestly prefer to fit in with the often strictly-regimented schools and behavioral mores that strongly discourage dissent.

I'm not criticizing Eastern culture, but I feel most people who believe it's this strongly superior, more free sort of culture are only aware of its pop culture which is readily disseminated via the internet, and not the day-to-day living culture in Eastern countries.


----------



## .17485 (Jan 12, 2011)

@chenowith lol yeah it's probably from pop culture. I've liked the shows in the eastern culture like Takeshi's Castle, Dragonball Z, Pokemon. I'm into Japanese culture. I've learned Japanese in a module in university. It is interesting. I would like to go to a eastern country to see the different in culture, people and lifestyle. I do see the eastern culture being strict but more loving.


----------



## Devrim (Jan 26, 2013)

Eastern Culture?
You mean:
Syrian,
Turkish,
Egyptian,
Japanese,
Indian,
Pakistani,
Afghani,
Chinese,
Khmer,
Thai,
Etc. 

Are now all one monotonous culture?
I think not.
Western culture is different across the board,
And although popular,
Is still subject to variation.

You CANNOT lump all these distinctly different cultures together and call them "Eastern",
They have as much in common with each other,
As they do to "western" culture.

I prefer my African culture.


----------



## Bat (Jul 21, 2012)

I assume we're talking about classic Western culture and classic East Asian culture. I see advantages and disadvantages to both.


----------



## Vengeance (Feb 1, 2013)

Not going into details but _Western Culture _for me


----------



## Consistently Inconsistent (Feb 22, 2011)

I'm interested in both, but in terms religion, philosophy, political ideoology, etc., I'm closer to Western Culture.


----------



## LQ9 (Jul 24, 2010)

I'm uncomfortable with the huge generalizations and stereotypes that would be needed to answer this question.


----------



## Hal Jordan Prime (Dec 13, 2012)

chenowith said:


> I wonder how many people answering "eastern culture" would honestly prefer to fit in with the often strictly-regimented schools and behavioral mores that strongly discourage dissent.
> 
> I'm not criticizing Eastern culture, but I feel most people who believe it's this strongly superior, more free sort of culture are only aware of its pop culture which is readily disseminated via the internet, and not the day-to-day living culture in Eastern countries.


Ah. roud:

Growing up in both Eastern and Western cultures I'd honestly say I prefer the western culture more. 

Eastern culture is too mired in tradition, respect for elders and all that jazz. The one main value I kept from my Eastern upbringing is FAMILY ORIENTATION. That is pretty much it. 

I'm all about freedom, individuality and doing what the fuck you ever want to do (provided it doesn't intentionally and directly hurt anyone) and that is very hard to do in traditional Eastern culture. I'll explain more elaborately:

In many Eastern cultures i.e. Japanese, Chinese, Filipino etc. etc., the family one belongs to is sometimes respected at the expense of an individual's identity hence one is hard-pressed to do anything to "smear the name of the family". I find this particularly true in case of many Japanese and Chinese traditionalists, the latter where half my heritage comes from. 

It's difficult to truly "be yourself" given how majority of your actions you do in life reflect on your family hence it's common for many Asians to suppress or repress themselves for the sake of "harmony".

I ain't having none of that.


----------



## surgery (Apr 16, 2010)

no vote for a false and useless dichotomyyyy


----------



## milti (Feb 8, 2012)

I honestly don't know what to vote for. On the one hand, I feel stifled in my Indian culture. On the other hand, the culture in MY home/family is more informed by Western practices and values. It's tough to say if any one of them is the "better" way of living.

If there is one thing I like about the East, it's the respect given to older people, and a strong sense of family values and stability (not always, I admit, but I for instance had only one classmate whose parents are divorced, whereas that seems to be more or less common in the US and UK.) A healthy respect for food and nutrition, which, sadly, the West seems to have ignored after the 1950s or 60s. 

If there's one thing I really dislike, it's the lack of relative freedom given to women, and also a strong patriarchal tint to everything that goes on. There is also an unbending faith in pure bullshit - superstition, in other words. That really impedes any sort of progress. I agree people need something to believe in, especially when they don't have much to begin with, but it saddens me to see them put their faith into the wrong stuff. 

I also find the melodramatic aspects of my culture a bit hilarious and unnecessary. But then again, like I said, I am from a family/upbringing where I am taught to take these things with a pinch of salt.

So that puts me somewhere in the middle, maybe skewed east-wards since ater all this IS the only culture I am immersed in and fully know. Not that I am particularly interested in staying within the confines of it.


----------



## Bardo (Dec 4, 2012)

Powers combine


----------



## Mattylad (Apr 13, 2012)

This is rather vague, even for a dichotomy. My grandparent's Cantonese culture will be largely different to someone from Kolkata or even somewhere like Tokyo. My dad's pseudo working class English culture also differs from somewhere like Paris or New York.

I've been fortunate to be brought up in a somewhat contemporary Cantonese culture by my grandparents and distant family, where there is very little expectations or cultural pressure to conform to anything. My grandparents made their way in Britain in a rather stereotypical fashion, however I haven't known any jobs or career paths that my grandparents have been adamant that I pursue. I still have the 'try and get a Cantonese girlfriend' and 'get a haircut' but really my grandad has never put any external pressure on me to act in a certain way, which I've always been grateful for.

Although I am aware my mum has had some of these expectations placed on her, and she would've been better off without them. My parents, both being brought up in England, are also similarly relaxed. I'd say I've been brought up in a slightly more liberal Cantonese culture and a slightly stricter English culture, but I feel I've been given reasonable freedom to express and develop my personality.

Honestly after living in both, I wouldn't want either my Cantonese or English culture gone away.


----------



## strangestdude (Dec 8, 2011)

Think people here are taking this distinction like it has political significance. OP's just playing with generalizations and stereotypes.

I went to Malaysia for 2 months and had a 'non-tourist' holiday thanks to some contacts. 

Despite it's flaws one of the things that I loved as an introvert and a HSP (Elaine Aron) was the 'spaces' they had in their society for quiet and reflection. You could sit in a mosque, or temple and reflect quietly. And cafes were open til late at night where you could gather with friends and have 'quiet fun'. In the UK the night life caters primarily for extroverts.

And the traits associated with introversion and the HSP disposition (Elaine Aron) are sought after and/or respected. Solitude, reflection, appreciation and awareness of subtitles, quiet groups, etc. 

In the west the traits of extroversion are sought after and respected.

So I'd like eastern culture, with political secularism.


----------



## JBOY (Sep 1, 2017)

Middle eastern culture is a mess because it's not secular 

Asian culture is pretty great when there is capitalism

I think most people who live in the West and hate on Western culture are typically spoiled naive partially-college educated kids who put too much emphasis on how corrupt our government has been in the past. They care too much about being "woke" and going against the system. They don't realize that regardless of corruption, the West is highly prosperous and we are extremely privileged to live in a secular capitalist society

Though, Eastern culture interests me more since I do not live in it


----------



## Jaune (Jul 11, 2013)

I'll go with Western overall, but I have not had much experience in an Eastern society. It depends on certain aspects. For instance, I'll take music from the Western world over Eastern music any day. Western Europe and the United States make the best metal/rock, in my opinion. However, Asian television shows are more intriguing to me, especially their cartoon style (then again, I'm not a big fan of TV). I like food from both cultures about equally. I'm Asian-American so I grew up with both. In terms of philosophy, I think I line up more with Western culture. I don't want to go political in my answer.


----------



## Malandro (Jul 17, 2014)

While there is what's dubbed 'Western Culture' there is no 'Eastern Culture' so...


----------



## Asmodaeus (Feb 15, 2015)

They’re not mutually exclusive. In fact, my eclectic lifestyle combines elements of both.


----------



## shinedowness (Dec 11, 2017)

I prefer the Norwegian culture where there is universal education where you would never have to deal with college debt or being a refugee that won't be able to have an education like the rest of the Norwegians if that refugee is born poor, universal health care where you wouldn't have to worry about being an non-native that has an accident and needing health insurance, better maternity leave than in the US that actually prevents mental disorders in new mothers from the lack of anxiety and depression from the lack of having to worry about working at a job and being a new mother at the same time (so more focus on wellbeing more than the economy's pocketbook), and much less corruptly discriminatory business protocols than in the US. Some people feel like the US has a marry into your work type of culture where they have more of a work life than a social life from the lack of decent business protocols, and so they leave the US.


----------



## PaladinRoland (Jan 11, 2014)

Oh yeah. :kitteh: The far East is where its at. :tongue:

I'm a fan of the weapons, armor, style, culture, history, food, entertainment, games, music, art, schooling, philosophies, ways of life, language, mannerisms, locales, the animals, the people... etc, etc..

Would love to travel to China, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, Philippines, and India. :happy:
I may be missing more, but I can't think of anything else at the moment.  

Though the East has barely any snow from what I hear. 

WHY!? :bored:

heh heh heh :kitteh:


----------



## Skeletalz (Feb 21, 2015)

I like the 11th century and earlier European culture.


----------

