Cultural clashes or a need for a new perspective?

Question

Growing up in a multi-cultural city and having friends of various backgrounds, from my observations, the clashes that arise between cultures is more on mindsets involved not the culture itself. This is when everyone confuses religion with culture. (religions aren't supposed to segregate)

Many times, friends complain/tell me "Oh, this will never happen, or it will never work, or they will never understand because it's not following 'our ways' " etc

*Should cultures be comprised of 'a fixed mindset' aka 'ways? Because currently, there's an identity struggle with many cultured youth

So what is it that is making cultures clash? Isn't it more of collective biases/mindset?

Sometimes I wish that cultures are comprise of only

1. Food 2. Clothing 3. Dance/Music 4. Design 5. Minor rituals (eg: facing your couch northwards :D) Then I can see a more accepting 'flavourful' world.

What do you think?

Answer 1

I have come to look at this as a more territorial issue more than cultural issues.  Man is a very territorial animal and just as in the animal kingdom a certain understanding arises between the different species, to be in their own groups and mind their own business, man's mistake is to try and get all the so called 'species', to interact with each other.  

By all means, the 'ways' of different cultural beliefs do play a part, but territorial aspects lie beneath the surface.  An example would be something that occurred here in Australia, known as the Bondi Riots.  Middle Eastern culture and Anglo/celt cultures clashed over how Australian woman were dressed (bikinis) on the beach.  The Australian men took offense to their comments about 'such woman' and fights broke out over several days.  On the surface it was a cultural clash, but it was basicly about territory, 'don't come here to this country and tell our woman how to dress.'

At the heart of cultural clashes, you will always find territory.  When you consider the amount of times, in our lives, we have uttered the phrase, 'oh that's just what they think, or believe or do', without prejudice and then think about the fact that those times your territory wasn't threatened, then you start to understand why and how cultural clashes occur.  It all boils down to Territory.