Saturday 5 March 2016

Path: History to Heritage to Culture



All three are Nelson's often breathless props and (marketing-)ploys to be, become more and stay relevant. With these concepts' inherent value individually and as a natural progression disregarded.
Generally to City Hall "history" and "heritage" are synonymous, as are "culture" and "art".


History
Simply put - this is the aggregate of significant past events recorded in chronological order. Seeing that usually and over time they are recorded - if recorded - by people with varying perspectives: these records may become arbitrarily selective - more historical than historic.
Remembering all, unflinchingly acknowledging dodgy and whited-out parts is of vital importance for (not necessarily to) succeeding generations. Because:
If you don't know history you are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree.                                                                                          Anonymous





An objectively comprehensive, seamless history of Nelson since incorporation has never been recorded; local history is not taught in local schools. Therefore the average Nelsonite knows (and cares) little about the city's history - while claiming to superficially.

Nelson's partial, lovingly written pre-incorporation history by John Norris and the mind-numbingly detailed, often straying off-topic History of Nelson webpage of the Visitor Info Centre stop just as things get really interesting. What with the Visitor Info page - for many years - having promised their history To be continued.
Nelson's present waiting to catch-up with its past.

   


Heritage as Tradition
Briefly - it is a set of values - a behavioral mindset - passed-on, lived and experientially added to from generation to generation.
While this is the commonly accepted definition - it clearly is not about heritage-tomatoes and buildings!

Smaller social groups within the larger Whole bring their particular heritage to it, and ideally all accept, blend, learn from each other's to eventually - together - form a stronger, more colorful, all-inclusive heritage for following generations to live by.
The goal of multi-culturalism 

Heritage as Entitled Attitude
An inherited mindset may be a positive motivating influence while just as easily a negative driving force: when generations of a domineering group - within the Whole's social construct - insist on maintaining a traditional mindset of assumed superiority, power over other weaker so-called minorities.
The failure of multi-culturalism 

Heritage as Non-Contextual Label
In Nelson capital H Heritage solely means - usually more historical than historic - buildings, only indirectly connected to heritage. While its previous Community Heritage Commission was fanatically protective of such buildings, the current Heritage Working Group is fiercely protective of no particular mandate. With historic/historical buildings still called "heritage" - out of habit and conceptual linguistic misuse.



Culture
According to Sir Edward Tylor, cultural anthropologist, 1832-1917, culture is that complex whole that includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, custom and other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of a society.

Art ideally a refined - imaginative/creative - expression, reflection of a way of life - a culture.
While at City Hall capital C Culture exclusively means capital A Art - usually with little conscious cultural context established.

A culture is the specific ways/means by which humans interact in universal situations within a given social group - positively and/or negatively.
Today moving quickly from one culture into another may present hiccups: culture-shock. Though ideally accepted as of equal value.




The History/Heritage/Culture Connect
The present-day culture of a social group is fed into by inherited traditions, mindsets, experiences of generations - those largely influenced by historical/historic movement.
History begets heritage begets today's culture.

Close to home: The suppression of indigenous and all other non-white groups and their heritage/culture by domineering whites - always whites, in particular WASPs! - through their mindset of superiority/entitlement - became part of following white generations' heritage. Somewhat toned-down in today's culture of the (not quite so) domineering (any longer) group. 
Yet covert racism and overt discrimination are alive and well.
A full-blooded heritage!








Without Chinese market-gardeners - despite their often horrific treatment - keeping early Nelson healthy with fresh, inexpensive produce thus in cultural-development mode at a crucial time in its history, working twice as hard for half the pay; disdained hippies in days gone-by fueling the local/area economy with income from high-quality - gasp! - dope: where or what would Baker St. as-is-today be? Two examples only!

 




History, heritage, culture of others: Unacceptable! 




Travis Louie:
travislouie.blogspot.com
churchofhalloween.com
maslindo.com
poetrycafe.com
ektopia.co.uk
culturainquieta.com
skyblue-pink.com
weirdfictionreview.com   

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