When we come across the term ethnocentrism, we tend not to fully understand what it means. Ethnocentrism is when you or another individual judges another person's culture based on the values ​​and standards of that person's culture, these individuals are known as ethnocentric individuals. In today's world many people often don't seem to realize that they have seen or encountered a situation like this. I believe it happens anywhere and everywhere. We humans are now more exposed to many different people who are of more than one race and/or background as we as a community are growing and will continue to do so. Ethnocentrism starts from people's language to their values ​​which have separated people into different groups. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Growing up, I myself saw many forms of ethnocentrism and even met an ethnocentric individual and continue to do so to this day. As early as elementary school, many people, including myself, were taught and introduced to the different cultures, customs, values ​​and behaviors of just the people around us. For this reason, whenever we meet someone from another culture, we fail to understand that they are very different from us. Moving from state to state throughout my childhood, I was always exposed to many different races. Being a Mexican individual means having many different, fun and exciting traditions. But to others it was often seen as “weird.” During the time I lived in Kansas I was really different than the other kids who went to the same school as me. Like every other newcomer, I sat alone at recess and three children decided to join me. As soon as I introduced myself, these guys immediately asked me where I was from and what race I was. There was a little boy named Juri, suddenly he started making false judgments about “Mexican Culture”. By Mexican culture I mean the different languages ​​of Mexico, the religions of Mexico, the values ​​of us Mexican people and the Mexican arts. This kid started asking me why I was eating lunch at school if it wasn't "Mexican food." But one thing that struck me was his description of how he didn't celebrate the holidays that we Mexicans celebrate. Celebrating Christmas wasn't in the books for him, he saw it as "stupid" and "unimportant", so he judged others for celebrating the birth of Jesus. He also started trying to explain to us why we shouldn't celebrate the events we celebrate in because of how their culture sees them. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Many children often felt offended and even began to question their race. Being so young I never thought I would remember a situation like this. I never fully understood why. But as I grow up I seem to realize what I have actually encountered throughout my life and for me I firmly believe that this was a prime example of what this ethnocentrism is. Ethnocentrism can definitely cause negative consequences, which is why we face the problems we face today and will continue to arise over the years.