Read the attachment and the conversation post and answer a classmates question to my response in a few paragraphs (it's not an essay but you can cite sources in APA format if needed): QUESTION: It's interesting, that you frame the conversation in terms of taking sides with Amanda or Greg against the other. Do you see this as a "zero-sum" game where someone must lose?

Ethical Response With regards to my respect for Greg’s vegan preferences and considering the initial agreement we had not to bring meat products into the house, I would be highly upset with Amanda’ s decision. I’ll approach her and courteously articulate to her that eating pork fried rice in the apartment does not sit well with me. Also, I will enumerate to her the importance of respecting her boyfriend’s decision to be a vegan. I would recommend that if she did not like the Tofu meal in the refrigerator, she could at least have considered taking a soy substitute. Also, I would explain my disappointment at her for deciding to the pork fried rice when no one was around because it indicates that she was uncomfortable with what we eat, but did not air her concerns. I noticed this from her comment on Greg’s suggestion of food we eat in the apartment. I contemplated to be angry and never say anything to her but realized that two wrongs don’t make a right. Therefore, I would advise her to talk to Greg about what happened at her own time. I can’t be too tough on Amanda because she has different cultural perspectives than Greg and she too had a justification for her actions. However, the way she went about it was wrong and disrespectful. Since Amanda’s actions were out of line and she stated negative comments about Greg being a vegan, I wouldn’t want to be the one to blurt it out to him. Therefore, I would plan my conversation with Greg cautiously not spoil what they have, I would, therefore, approach Greg and ask him if he thought that his girlfriend was comfortable with his veganism. From his reply, I would model my conversation to align with the best interests of all the parties involved. I would, therefore, explain to him what happened, that is, if he did not already hear it from Amanda. I would be emphatic that he should forgive her and ask her never to do it again since I know how strict Greg is with Veganism. I would also reiterate that he should text her explaining to her that what she did was unacceptable and see if she can understand his concerns and maybe offer him an apology. Suggested Message Utilizing Suggestions aimed at improving Inter-Cultural Communication To overcome the cultural stereotypes harbored by Amanda, I would advise her to avoid making assumptions about Greg’s Veganism. She should also avoid signs and symbols that might be offensive to vegans. Her apology should show concern to the veganism culture and aim at a desirable outcome (Matsumoto & Hwang, 2005). I would also advise her to become more involved in Greg’s culture in order to understand him more. For instance, she should attend vegan galas and events with Greg more often. On the other hand, I would advise Greg to empathize with her by putting himself on Amanda’s shoes and try and understand why she thinks vegan dietary is outrageous. In addition, I would also advise that she should treat every culture including Greg’s equally and understand that no culture is superior to others. In addition, I would also recommend that she drops insensitive behaviors that would mock veganism like eating fried pork rice when Greg is not around. Lastly, I would advise that she should seek clarification on any veganism issue that she may have concerns about. For instance, she should always openly ask Greg questions concerning veganism in order to have an extensive comprehension of the subject. Usage of Key Ideas to the Inter-Cultural Communication The idea to avoid cultural prejudices during their conversation demonstrates the appreciation of each other’s cultures. For instance, according to O’ hair et al. people from the Middle East consider maintaining direct eye contact with your partner for a long time suggests sexual attraction and sincerity of the latter (2018). The message should also be delivered in a relaxed and jovial manner to show interest to veganism. Secondly, the involvement of Amanda in Vegan activities more often would enable her to learn about veganism. Since the US is a contact community, daily involvement with Greg will increase contact between the two, therefore, enhancing their interpersonal relationship (William & Hughes, 2005). Thirdly, the usage of empathy during the conservation shows respect for Amanda’s outgoing US culture. Since veganism is an individualistic culture, Amanda should show concern towards his autonomy, privacy, and personal space. Most individualistic cultures have high regard to self- esteem (O’ hair, 2017). Greg’s ego is more likely to be pricked from the incident. However, he should understand Amanda since the US culture is modeled towards rewarding individuals who identify bootstraps within the society in order to achieve greater things. Additionally, since the US is a masculine culture, Amanda is more ambitious and assertive to woe Greg to change his veganism behavior (Hostfede, Hostfede, & Minkov, 2010). She is seen constantly trying to bait me into siding with her and gang up on Greg to enact a change of behavior. Her lack of empathy leads to her being aggressive in criticizing Greg’s veganism as insulting and ridiculous. Her remarks are a clear indicator that veganism is culturally inferior, and tries to impose her superiority complex on Greg. Lastly, both Greg and Amanda subscribe to different social identities that describe the variation in their personalities. Greg’s membership with the Veganism culture defined his personality as a person that shows affection and respect to other animals by not eating their meat. Gregg considers himself distinct and his culture is superior and should be emulated at all cost. He forces me to resort to grabbing a cheeseburger in campus before coming back home. Amanda is inherently trying to dismiss Greg’s culture and always wants to be part of the ‘winning team’. There is a conflict of interests among various shareholders within the apartment, holding discussions among themselves will make them more tolerable to each other’s cultures. Mindfulness is expressing awareness of your behavior and how it impacts on other people’s behavior. From the intercultural perspective, I ought to be fully aware of the cultural differences at stake (Ting, Tooney, & Dorjee, 2015). I ought to be more conscious when interacting with the two not to hurt their thoughts and emotions. Therefore, expressing biases in my judgment can because of negative emotional reactions. For instance, it is understood that when someone stands a bit too close to you, you might sense something cynical. Therefore, when relaying the message to Greg, I kept my distance and since it is a serious issue we are supposed to discuss. I tried as much as possible to make the latter comfortable while conversing with each other by being mindful of their cultural differences. In addition, being mindful enabled me to have a wide range on how I could communicate to them effectively. Prior to the conversation, I had asked myself some questions to determine whether I interpreted their behavioral differences appropriately. I ought to side with Amanda and ‘gang up’ against Greg since we share a similar group membership. By refusing to side with Amanda, I’m showing my ability to practice intercultural sensitivity and I didn’t want to offend either of them. ( Bennet, 2004). If I had chased Amanda away from the apartment or insisted she ate Tofu in the refrigerator instead. I would have violated her cultural beliefs and she could have felt humiliated that I disregarded her in that manner. Since I talked to her gently and assured her that I also respected her opinions, she felt that she had to reestablish the amicable relationship that existed between her and Greg. On the contrary, Greg was not mindful of our welfare and the health implications that we might develop due to being malnourished. Being a strict Vegan did not mean that he should blindly force his beliefs and practices on us. In order to improve my communication, I expressed my desire to learn the cultures of both Amanda and Greg. I was open to understand and learn their different practices and it helped me make a decision to stay with Greg in the first place. I took me time to be completely comfortable to Greg’s veganism. Learning more about his veganism was a useful starting point for not siding with his girlfriend. I increased my proficiency in cooking vegan meals by asking Greg for the recipes. It facilitated our co-culture communication but I had to be cautious not to indulge in disrespectful and personal vegan conversations. I also asked Amanda to indulge more in vegan activities and try some of their delicacies. I was empathetic with Amanda when I expressed that I respected her culture and beliefs. At the same time, I felt for Greg when he said that he would not be comfortable with me bringing animal meat to the house, and decided not to defy his desires. I decided to not to express biases when conversing with them and tried not to be swayed into the cultural quagmire. As a kind gesture, I proposed that when going out for a dinner date with both of them and decided for a start, everybody should be allowed to eat whatever meal they wanted. The timing of the message is very important to get a positive reaction. I decided not to relay the message to Greg until the next morning, giving Amanda time to express her remorse for her actions. The timing of the message is always important. I realized that Amanda had texted Greg the same day and he had forgiven her already. Therefore, Amanda had been proactive and texted Greg almost immediately, he responded almost immediately. From his quick reaction, it is evident the matter at hand was a sensitive one and had to be resolved very quickly. Empirical evidence shows that the urgency in which a person responds to an SMS or an Email indicates interest and immediacy (Ravid et al., 2006). My message has been for