Talk about Muted Groups.

A muted group is a group or a culture that has effectively been "muted" by the majority, or the dominate culture. What happens is that the way of speaking or thinking of the minority culture just doesn't "click" with the majority, so, the minority is forced to assimilate the way that they think and speak to that of the majority. This sucks, for everyone. It's essentially the same as losing an entire language. We lose the ways of thinking and expressing thoughts that are unique to the culture or group. When a culture loses their ability to speak, we all lose. Here's why: there are likely systems of thought, or specific ideas that minority cultures or groups have that the majority doesn't. These are things that the majority can learn from. So, when a group is muted everyone gets stupider (OKay, that's a stretch, but I hope you can see my point). Needless to say, when a group is muted, everyone also misses out on the creative insights that that group or culture might have brought to the table. That sucks.



On a side note - muted group theory doesn't just pertain to cultures. It applies to all minority groups that have to cater their voices to that of the majority. The LGBT community is a great example of this; as are most religious groups.



Now, there's a difference between being diverse, and being "open minded." People like to throw that term around a lot. Oh sure, you're open minded, but is that really a good thing? While you're busy being "open minded," you're also creating and perpetuating the idea that there is a central group, or a right way of thinking (naturally you're an integral part of this group). Doing this implies that there is a "right" way to act or think. Fine. You do you. Keep on being "open minded" if that's your jive. When you're ready to make some real progress in accepting others for who they are, and start promoting a world where everyone is free to think their thoughts and be who they are, try to keep in mind the difference between being "open minded" and accepting diversity. By the way, there's also a difference between accepting diversity "at a distance," and really accepting it. To accept diversity at a distance is no different than being "open minded."



So, amen to this guy for giving a voice to his muted group in a language that's authentic to him. And if you listened to anything he had to say, well, then amen to you too.