March 4

In class, Sione talked about how western culture is views by the Tongans. Many Tongans believe that the palangi (white) way is better than the Tongan way. It made me really sad actually. While there are good things about our culture, there are probably more bad things that I can think of right now. If Tongans made a significant effort to become more western, I can imagine them adopting materialistic attributes that would make them extremely unhappy. Kaylee talked about how a girl refused to eat in front of her, and when asked the girl said that she didn't want to eat in front of her because Americans think Tongans are fat, so she didn't want Kaylee to see her eat and re-enforce the stereotype that all Tongans are fat. I was extremely saddened by this. If there are some western things that I wouldn't want Tongans (or anyone) to adopt, they are body image ideals, materialism, and acceptance of extreme inequality between people. By that I mean, the capitalistic mindset of poor people are poor because they are lazy and dumb. This is completely untrue, and I would argue that poverty and inequality is a result of the way society is set up in America.
So, as this relates to my project, I just hope that Tongans don't have the view that I think I'm better than them, or that I want to teach them my ways because I think they are better. I want to understand their ways, not impose mine on them. No one's beliefs or lifestyles are better than another's. We are all different, but in reality, everyone has a common goal of finding happiness, so we should be accepting and decide for ourselves what kind of lifestyle that we want to lead in order to create that happiness.