Essay On Honor Culture
Culture of Honor
Southern states in the U.S. have higher violent crime rates than the rest of the country. This violence is known as culture of honor, defined as “a culture where people avoid intentionally offending others, and maintain a reputation for not accepting improper conduct by others.” (Wikipedia) It was brought to the South from the earliest settlers, Scotts-Irish, whom practiced the honor by putting their lives in danger to protect their herds against animals and thieves. However, is the culture of honor a misrepresentation of Southerners today or is it a generalization based on events occurred? The culture of honor is a theory by anthropologists who believed these early settlers only killed friends and family, only …show more content…
He also mentions that behavior is passed on genetically, therefore feuds against other families are never-ending and homicides don’t come to a halt until someone apologizes and admits they’re wrong. Scotch-Irish settlers had to protect their reputation because it was central to their economic survival. “When one family fights with another, it’s a feud. When lots of families fight with one another in identical little towns up and down the same mountain range, it’s a pattern.” (Outliers, p.249) However, Gladwell only mentions Scotch-Irish descents, in which he believes their herding cultural heritage allowed them to respond to threats more than agriculture people. The Scotch-Irish was a big part of migration to the south, and this is why Gladwell believes this heritage is tied to Southern culture today. “This thesis is limited, however, by modern evidence that a culture of honor in the American South is strongest not in the hill country, where this thesis suggests it has its cultural origins, but in Southern lowlands.” (Nigel Barber, Psychology
Southern states in the U.S. have higher violent crime rates than the rest of the country. This violence is known as culture of honor, defined as “a culture where people avoid intentionally offending others, and maintain a reputation for not accepting improper conduct by others.” (Wikipedia) It was brought to the South from the earliest settlers, Scotts-Irish, whom practiced the honor by putting their lives in danger to protect their herds against animals and thieves. However, is the culture of honor a misrepresentation of Southerners today or is it a generalization based on events occurred? The culture of honor is a theory by anthropologists who believed these early settlers only killed friends and family, only …show more content…
He also mentions that behavior is passed on genetically, therefore feuds against other families are never-ending and homicides don’t come to a halt until someone apologizes and admits they’re wrong. Scotch-Irish settlers had to protect their reputation because it was central to their economic survival. “When one family fights with another, it’s a feud. When lots of families fight with one another in identical little towns up and down the same mountain range, it’s a pattern.” (Outliers, p.249) However, Gladwell only mentions Scotch-Irish descents, in which he believes their herding cultural heritage allowed them to respond to threats more than agriculture people. The Scotch-Irish was a big part of migration to the south, and this is why Gladwell believes this heritage is tied to Southern culture today. “This thesis is limited, however, by modern evidence that a culture of honor in the American South is strongest not in the hill country, where this thesis suggests it has its cultural origins, but in Southern lowlands.” (Nigel Barber, Psychology