English 809
Words and Acceptance
In his essay, The Power of Conformity, Jonah Berger shares his understanding of people and our natural tendency to act and speak in ways that the acceptable norms in our environment. The author uses the scenario of ordering a cold drink at a fast food restaurant, and points out that the way someone from the Midwest would order a pop, while someone else from the Northeast might order a soda. He goes on to say our language and beliefs mirror what we observe from our parents. Berger develops this belief when he describes similar copying behavior found in vervet monkeys. The vervet experiment he describes involved feeding groups of monkeys pink and blue corn, with one of the colors bitter flavored. It was observed that the monkeys became used to avoiding the bitter color, and only eating the non-bitter color. Later, when the blue and pink corn were reintroduced without any bitter flavoring, the baby vervets continued to avoid the once bitter color, even though they had never directly had the bad tasting corn. The only thing that would have caused them to eat only one color and avoid the other was that all the other monkeys were doing so. The author uses this story to relate back to our own behavior, and how much what we feel, speak and believe, is conditioned by what we observe in others around us.
Another essay that discusses people copying one another is Akemi Johnson’s, Who Gets to be “Hapa”. In the essay, Johnson tells about how she began to identify herself as hapa while in college and the sense of community and acceptance it made her feel. Johnson explains how hapa, “…seemed like the identity of lucky mixed-race people far away, people who’d grown up as the norm,” She later goes into the history of the word hapa, and its origin. Johnson explains how she learned that Hapa originally meant part Hawaiian part other. Even though she wasn’t part Hawaiian, other people had mistaken her for “hapa”, because of the way she looked. In the essay she described a time when she was at a bar in Waikiki, and a server called her and her friend “hapa girls” and how it made her feel like they were “insiders” and not tourists. After learning more about the feelings of native Hawaiians and hapa people, who felt like their word and culture was being stolen, Johnson feels guilty for misappropriating the word. Even though identifying as hapa gave her a deeper sense of acceptance and pride, she still felt that it was wrong to continue using the term.
Both essays show the power of words, and its ability to make us feel included and part of a society. In Berger’s essay he explains how people from different areas of the United States use different terms for the same thing. In my opinion, using the right word in the right environment can be useful. It can help you pass easier as a local or make you stick out like a stranger. Nobody likes to be treated like an outsider, and it seems like everyone does their best to be accepted by others in society. This is why I think the word hapa was important to Johnson. Going to Hawaii and being seen as the norm made her feel like she was part of something. It was an inclusive word that made her feel connected, instead of the word “chink” that would have had the opposite effect, making her feel singled out and discriminated against. I understand why it is important to be respectful of cultures that are not our own, and not misappropriate them. If only there was a way to make respect and acceptance the norm of society. If we did so, maybe people wouldn’t feel the need to grasp for an identity just to be liked. They could be who they are without having to label themselves to feel validated.