SO WHAT IS A “MULTICULTURALIST?”

I) SOMEONE WHO CAN SEE THE WORLD FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE “OTHER” === (1) SOMEONE WHO SEES DIVERSITY AS A WAY OF LEARNING ABOUT OURSELVES AND THE WORLD AT LARGE; (2) SOMEONE WHO IS INTERESTED IN TRANSFORMING THE WORLD TO MAKE A PLACE FOR THE “OTHER” AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE WHOLE; (3) SOMEONE ONE WHO BELIEVES THAT ACTUALIZING OUR MIXED ENDOWMENTS STRENGTHENS ALL OF US AND CAN HAVE CASCADING POSITIVE EFFECTS FOR HUMANITY.

II) THE QUESTION, OF COURSE, IS: “WHY?” =====> WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF SEEING THE WORLD FROM OTHERS' PERSPECTIVE?

BEING A MULTICULTURALIST IMPLIES OR BEGINS WITH THE EPISTOMOLOGICAL (THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE) BELIEFS/STIPULATIONS/PROPOSTIONS THAT {1} “REALITY” IS “SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED AND CULTURALLY CONTINGENT” === THEREFORE === {2} IT IS MULTIDIMENSIONAL AND IN FLUX === THEREFORE === {3} PEOPLE ARE FUNDAMENTALLY EQUAL, AND ==== THEREFORE ===== {4} THIS LEGITIMATES THE DYNAMIC RICHNESS AND RESONANCE OF DIVERSITY === THEREFORE === {5} THIS IS THE CRITICAL/CRUCIAL BASIS FOR CHALLENGING HOW POWER AND PRIVILEGE ARE DISTRIBUTED [AND HOW HISTORY AND LITERATURE ARE TAUGHT].

III) WHAT DOES IT MEAN? =====WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SEE THE WORLD FROM OTHERS' PERSPECTIVE? HOW CAN YOU TAKE DIFFERENCES SERIOUSLY?

AS A PRACTICAL MATTER THIS MEANS === **** EMBRACING OF THE POLITICS OF DIVERSITY === COUNTER-HEGEMONY INVOLVES THE DIALECTICS OF INJUSTICE AND INCLUSION: FRAMING INJUSTICE AND PROMOTING INCLUSION]

[[[{MOST SOCIOLOGIST TRANSLATE THIS AS} IT IS VITAL THAT WE CONFRONT OUR ETHNOCENTRISM, AS WELL AS THE IDEA THAT MAINSTREAM CULTURAL PATTERNS ARE INEVITABLE, NORMAL, UNIVERSAL, OR SUPERIOR. INSTEAD OF ETHNOCENTRISM WE OUGHT TO EMBRACE ALTRU-CENTRISM — THAT IS, WE OUGHT TO TRY AT ALL TIMES TO INTERPRET REALITY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF OTHER PEOPLE’S CULTURES, AND SEEK OUT THE LOGIC THAT UNDERPINS THE WORLD-VIEWS OF OTHERS. TO ACCOMPLISH THIS WILL REQUIRE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE. WE WILL HAVE TO REPLACE DOGMATIC THINKING WITH CULTURAL VERSATILITY. MULTICULTURAL VERSATILITY INVOLVES LEARNING TO TAKE DIFFERENCES SERIOUSLY, TO SEE SITUATIONS FROM A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES, TO REJECT ONE’S FIRST “CULTURAL TAKE” ON A SITUATION, TO FACTOR IN THE IMPORTANCE OF OTHER CULTURAL VALUES, AND TOLERATE AMBIGUITY AND UNCERTAINTY. MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCE REFERS TO THE EXPERTISE ACQUIRED BY INDIVIDUALS FOR COPING WITH THE CHALLENGES OF A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY. THOSE WHO ARE MULTICULTURALLY COMPETENT POSSESS THE CAPACITY TO CONSTRUCTIVELY ENGAGE DIVERSITY WITHOUT NECESSARILY ABANDONING THEIR VALUES AND PRINCIPLES IN THE PROCESS.

{{{FOSTER ASIDE: FOR ME, I BELIEVE THAT IT ULTIMATELY MEANS === SHARING OWNERSHIP OF REALITY [?]}}}

THE MULTICULTUALIST SEEKS TO EMPOWER THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED, EXPLOITED AND DENIED -- “THE OTHER” – WHO REMAIN(S) AT THE MARGINS OF SOCIAL LIFE

MULTICULTURALIST MOTTO: THERE IS ROOM FOR US ALL ON THE THRESHOLD OF HISTORY