MULTICULTURALISM AS THE CURRENT CONDITION OF THE WORLD AND MEXICO

Think if you know cases of people that have been treated differently because of their skin color, socioeconomic status, or nationality, or because of the customs and traditions they practice, write them down in your notebook. When you are finished, discuss your answers with the class.

The purpose of the previous exercise was to identify the two types of attitudes or behavior that, in general, are adopted regarding cultural diversity, which are:

DISCRIMINATORY: The attitude of rejection and discrimination based on unfounded prejudices and fears of certain individuals or groups of people with regard to other ways of being, feeling, thinking and acting: that is, towards different cultural manifestations of their own, such as religion, language, customs, tastes and preferences, type and way of dressing and even the music that they hear or the food they consume.

TOLERANT: The attitude of recognizing and respecting the various forms of life and accepting that they all have the same rights and responsibilities. The difference between human beings must not be considered a threat or obstacle to coexist, on the contrary, it is and opportunity to dialogue and interact with common goals that contribute to building a more just and including society, where all voices are heard.

Thus, we understand MULTICULTURALISM as a social proposal that favors the recognition of diversity and is against discrimination by gender, ethnicity, abilities, language, religion, customs, traditions, artistic expressions and any other cultural element. Multiculturalism implies respecting the different cultures that existing in a geographic space, promoting tolerance and preventing the standardization of different ways of thinking and acting.

IN MEXICO the Constitution of the United States of Mexico establishes that our nation has a pluricultural (multicultural) composition based on its origin; that is, ontheindigenouspeoplethatdescendfrompopulationthatinhabitedthepresentterritory of the country before the colonization and preserve their own customs, traditions and forms of economic, political, cultural and environmental organization.

ACTIVITY:

Discuss if you’ve ever been victims of an act of discrimination or if you’ve witnessed one. Describe it in your notebooks and share it in class. Afterwards based on your experiences, propose some actions to promote multicultural is in the school, community or neighborhood.