This Issues in Communication narrative is designed to provoke individual thought or discussion about concepts raised in the chapter.

Jo Dahveeto was a world traveler, but she was often troubled by different practices in different cultures. Some practices were positive and probably ought to be adopted by other cultures. The practice of giving gifts to guests, as is done in Thailand, Malaysia, and other Pacific Rim countries, would be an example.

Other practices were irritating but not very important. Chinese people, for example, crowd to the counter instead of lining up in an orderly fashion like Westerners are wont to do. And Caribbean, Central American, and South African drivers seemed to have only a vague sense of the center line on the road. Irritating, but not very important.

What really bothered her the most were practices that were acceptable and even encouraged in one culture but discouraged or even illegal in her own. Afghan women, for example, under the Taliban regime were not allowed to go to school, leave the home without a male escort, converse with an unrelated male, or go outside without being totally covered. An unmarried woman seen with an unrelated male could receive 100 lashes; a married woman with an unrelated male could be stoned to death. Young males were allowed to beat mature women who were thought to have disobeyed one of the many rules of behavior.

In parts of northern Africa and the Middle East women were subjected to female circumcision, a bit of surgery that Jo regarded as mutilation. In China people whose religion bothered the government authorities were punished and sometimes killed for their beliefs. Many countries around the world killed journalists and judges who were courageous enough to reveal damaging information or prosecute crimes.

The question that Jo faced in all her travels around the globe was how to relate—to communicate—with individuals from other cultures when those cultures were violating human rights. Should she visit only Western-style democracies? Should she let her international hosts know her position on human rights? What was her responsibility as a citizen of the world to relate to cultures unlike her own?

Apply what you have learned about intercultural communication as you ponder and discuss what Americans can or should do when faced with practices, major and minor, that violate their sense of fairness, justice, or human rights. What would you do as a visitor to a culture that practiced measures with which you disagreed?