Gianna Vecchiarelli
Field of Study: Communication
Cultural Identity
Bailey's rhetorical discourse argues that the broader context and structures of class and difference shape the service encounters by creating stigmas for both groups. This create stereotypes of both the Korean Immigrants and the African- Americans that they use against each other. The are both fighting to maintain their own social identity because they don’t want to succeed to the other group’s culture or stereotype. Bailey states that “in this highly charged and divisive context, there is often great social incentive for individual Korean immigrant storekeepers and African-American customers to mark and maintain boundaries between each other” (Bailey, 2000, p. 102). Both groups could seek to understand the others intentions rather than choosing to be offended. However, they both also have a strong tie to their own culture and they don’t want to loose a part of themselves in trying to understand the other. The “cultural and linguistic” differences between the two groups are primarily responsible for the miscommunication. The Koreans view the African- Americans as “rude and inappropriate” for “speaking at relatively high volume and using profanity” (Bailey, 2000, p. 90). Even though the African- Americans viewed their behavior as friendly and benign because that is part of the culture they grew up in. At the same time the African- Americans view the Koreans as disrespectful because they fail to “greet with a smile, maintain eye-contact, and make small talk, i.e. personably engage the customer” (Bailey, 2000, p. 90). To the African Americans the restraint in which the Koreans exhibit “is not seen as polite, but as rude” (Bailey, 2000, p. 92).
Through Bailey's research one can see how he uses written discourse to study the relations between the two cultures. He argues that the reason for the riots are a miscommunication that can be solved through a paradigm shift. He analyses the disfunctions through rhetoric and uses communication as a lens. Rather than trying to find a group to blame, he researches both cultures in order to understand the bigger picture.
Cultural Differences
The participants in the service encounters were Korean immigrants and African-Americans. The shopkeepers were Korean while the customers were primarily African American. On the one hand the Koreans believed they were forming a community based on their cultures values. On the other hand the African- Americans had a sort of claim on South Central Los Angeles because they had been there longer and had built their lives there. Bailey’s article highlights the two main reasons why there is unrest between the two groups: The first, “an on-going source of interethnic tensions; and [the second] a local enactment of pre-existing social conflicts” (Bailey, 2000, p. 87).
According to many of the African- Americans that Bailey talked to, specifically one man who looked to be in his 30‘s said that the main source of tension between the two groups was that the Koreans had “No respect. No respect period” for the African- American customers (Bailey, 2000, p. 89). The Korean immigrants however believed that the source of tension was the “lack of restraint” and “sociable involvement” on the African- Americans parts (Bailey, 2000, p. 91). Bailey observes that respect is important to both cultures, however, the ways in which they communicate that respect are very different.
Bailey uses feild research to evaluate the African American and Korean cultures. His strategy is to understand both sides of the story rather than coming up with a specific answer to the problem. Scholars in the communication feild seek to understand communication styles rather than change outcomes.
Cultural Structures
Bailey uses the four words: 'riots', 'uprising', 'civil disturbance', and sa-i-gu (April 29) to describe the shooting of Latasha Harlins on April 29, 1992 (Bailey, 2000, p. 105). Latasha was shot by a Korean woman shopkeeper who thought she was stealing a jug of juice. However, Latasha put the juice in her bag and was going to put the money on the counter as she left because she was in a hurry. This prompted even more tension, animosity, and ill-will between the two groups. Bailey explains that the “media coverage of these events frequently racialized them, portraying them not as the result of social and economic ills, but as the result of inter-racial enmity” (Bailey, 2000, p. 105).
Bailey defines the situation between Latasha and the shop owner through his study of cultures. Media played a big role in how the events were percieved, and gave Bailey another forum to explore. The way that the media portrayed the riots gave people a different lens to look through, meaning that media had more of an impact on people's beliefs about what the events could be like rather than what they actually were which was a miscommunication between both parties. According to Bailey, the media used communication to intensify and demonize the African-American culture.
Webtext Analysis
Significant
Events
African
American v. Korean
Cultures
Inter-Cultural
Relations
