Amish
Amish dedicate themselves to four core values: faith, family, community, and living a simple and modest life. Often the first thing that identifies the Amish is the simple, and modest way they dress, signifying their commitment to the principles of the Amish church – to live simply. Anabaptist originated in Switzerland and Germany.
Inner-city Values and Culture
There are a number very iconic characteristics associated with America’s inner city “hoods.” The overabundance of gold bling, the throwing of shoes over telephone lines, tattoos, to name a few.
Gold has always had a certain importance in most cultures of the world. A symbol of wealth, power and prosperity through the ages. However, the unique role of gold bling in person of color can be quite extraordinary. The relationship between bling and Black expression is generally understood as something reflecting conspicuous consumption. Grillz, over-sized platinum chains, and diamond earrings evoke images of rappers showing off grand fashion in music videos, defining and selling the idea of urban cool. The need to flash is not something that was born in the hoods of America. As MC Schooly D put it, wearing gold “goes back to Africa.” The sharper the dress, the flashier the gold, the more you take care of yourself and putting yourself ideally in proximity to important people.
Shoefiti is the throwing of laced footwear across raised cables, such as telephone wires and power lines. Across North America, shoes are thrown onto wires in both rural and urban areas. The perceived meaning varies from region to region but there is no confirmed meaning behind it. Many theories exist on the meaning of shoefeti from:
- A part of a rite of passage, e.g. the end of a school year or an upcoming marriage, bullying, where shoes are stolen and tossed where they are unlikely to be retrieved, or a rite of passage after completing basic training or when leaving the service.
- A practical joke played on drunks who wake up to find their shoes missing.
- Gang messaging.
- Organized crime signifying the location of gang turf, commemorating the death of a gang member or a non-gang member who lived in the area.
- A site marker for drug dealings.
- Symbol that a deceased individual is now “walking in heaven.”
- Kids being kids.
- A form of street art
Throwing shoes over power lines may have the look and feel of a very American pastime, but this practice common in Australia, U.K., and Spain South Africa.
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