Topic > Why some folkways should be broken

Culture, norms, customs and folkways are all tied together. Culture implies a lot. “Culture is the language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and even material objects that characterize a group and are transmitted from one generation to the next” (Henslin 2017). Cultures can be completely different from others and can have a very strong difference in beliefs, values ​​and norms. What someone does in one country may be highly frowned upon in another country. Norms are what is considered the right thing to do or the right way to act. Norms are tied to culture because it all depends on what someone's culture is to determine what the norm is. Customs are just like norms, except they are strictly enforced norms because they are deemed essential to core values ​​(Henslin 2017). Folk customs are much less serious and are said to be norms that are not strictly enforced (Henslin 2017). I'm going to break three different folk customs and those folk customs are chewing gum obnoxiously, not holding the door open for someone who's right behind me, and drinking out of a milk carton. Typically, when you don't do the common thing, people get angry and sometimes give dirty looks or make snide comments. Basically people will try to let you know that you should have done something else, like holding the door open or saying thank you after doing something for you. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay The first popular way I broke was by obnoxiously chewing gum. I specifically chose this way of breaking up because it's one of my biggest pet peeves. Chewing gum is similar to chewing food, you typically try to chew silently and with your mouth closed because that's the table manners you learned as a child. The first person I decided to test it on was a Caucasian male of similar age. I chewed gum obnoxiously for a while until he finally said "you can't." He spoke more openly than the other two people I tested this on. For my second person I tested it on someone who I know is shyer than other people. When I started chewing gum loudly, she looked at me, raised her eyebrows, and then laughed. She took an approach that wasn't as harsh as the men's. The third person I tested it on was an older woman who was perhaps in her sixties. I chose to test this on someone older because I tend to think older people stick to norms more than younger people. As I chewed my gum around her all she did was stare at me. It was a mean, dirty look, but she didn't say anything to me. The next folk custom I broke was not holding a door open for someone. Once again I chose this way of doing things because I usually always hold the door open for people and get irritated when others don't do it for me. Holding the door open for someone is such a common norm that I feel people should follow it, but that doesn't always happen. The first person I tested it on was a teenager. To open the door it was tested on, you need a fingerprint entered into the system to enter. I walked into mine and then let the door close behind me even though someone else was going to walk in. The person knew I saw it then, so when he opened the door he said "thank you" sarcastically and then laughed about it. The second person I tested it on was someone at a restaurant. He looked like he was in his late thirties and didn't seem to mind when I didn't have the door open. I didn't notice any glances, comments or sighs.