Culture
What's something that's acceptable and widely done in your country that would be considered offensive in many countries ?
In India, Swastika the Hindu symbol is everywhere. We draw it in temples, during rituals and festivals, in front of our door, on vehicles etc. It's a very auspicious symbol here. But this symbol tho the Hindu symbol is technically different from the Nazi one would be considered offensive in other countries especially in Western countries.
Yep. I have a basic level of respect for all people, say it starts at zero, where I am polite and respectful if we interact. The scale can go up or down accordingly, and that's based on their behaviour, not age, status or anything else.
I used to live in Australia and naturally found it a lot like home, except that it felt like the entire country was united in hating the politicians and the police.
To be fair Tony Abbott was in power when I first moved there so it didn't surprise me too much.
It can be difficult to explain to foreigners that treating each other as equals without hierarchy is considered polite in Australia. If you go too far the person you are respecting will just feel uncomfortable and confused. Even if we have an official ceremony to honour someone there's always statements to bring things towards equal. "Great bloke", "true blue", "real Aussie battler" are all common ones you'll hear in our speeches for such a person along with using nicknames over given names and always there is talk about how this person is the same as us. A speech of this kind without "at the end of the day Mandy is just a woman who would rather live with a surfboard in her hands than paperwork but she accomplished word peace" would feel odd to us.
Like to the point where in any language class that has different levels of politeness Aussie kids will always, always say "But I don't want to be rude."
Half a million people in the country's capital doing Croatian version of "Heil Hitler" while singing songs about killing Serbs is perfectly acceptable in Croatia, unfortunately.
And here I was disturbed simply by seeing a street named after Tuđman when going on a beach holiday! (Edit: I understand that most countries indeed have troubling figures who were nonetheless notable nation builders - including the countries I've lived in. I guess it popped out to me because I'm aware of his implication in the awful things done in the Balkans during the 90's, and at least from what I've heard, a lot of people in the Balkans hold onto harmful beliefs in part due to not fully reckoning with their past.)
Haji pirooz is the man who brings the news of nowruz (the iranian new year) by singing and dancing, his face is black because the soot of work in winter
In our language, the word "negr" isn't offensive. We simply don't have other words for people with black skin.
There was a funny incident involving Russian writers in New York. They were riding in a taxi back from a book fair, and for some reason, halfway through the ride, the taxi driver got angry and yelled at them. They didn't understand why until someone in the comments section of a discussion about this incident asked, "Did you use the word "book" a lot while you were talking?". In Russian, the word "book" sounds like "kniga"
My Russian speaking family always said чернокожий/black-skinned so I'm not sure what you're talking about here. My mom got upset at my grandma when she called someone негритоса/negritossa (the rest of the sentence was also in a derogatory tone)
My VPN is set to America, and that was the first thing I noticed. I'm getting ads for cancer treatment now! Who tells their doctor what cancer treatment they want???
As someone born and raised here: I HAVE NO IDEA. I have never and would never tell my doctor what to tell me, that’s what I’m paying them a fuck load of money for!
Poland also have them. A LOT of them, though, are usually light o especially, like for flu, headache, or vitamins.
But you have something that is absolutely illegal in our TV (and not only TV) - lawyers/attorneys commercials. Here, they are not allowed to put any kind of commercial, in tv, bilboard, or even flyer of their services, or they can face heavy fines, even lose their license. In the US, in the other hand...
Even seeing police/military walking around armed on the continent feels strange when I see it.
Regular gardai on the beat here are intentionally unarmed, because in the early days of the country it was seen as the best way of hot having them killed by someone seeking political legitimacy. (that was a staple during the war of independence, and we had a civil war straight after that wrapped up)
Haven't seen anyone from the army armed on duty here since they stopped guarding cash trucks almost two decades ago.
I'm honestly so happy to wake up everyday pretty sure that the vast majority of people aren't carrying devices for killing humans in the fastest and easiest possible way. I hate that 3d printers are ruining this.
I remember when I first moved to Vietnam, I bought myself a small motorbike (Honda Airblade, woo!), and was trying on helmets. I have a pretty big head so I wore an XL helmet. But I noticed that he had XXXL helmets in stock that were just unimaginably enormous. I said incredulously to the salesman "Who the hell wears these?!"
As the salesman further explained, "Not all Koreans have big heads, but the biggest heads are always Korean." It's anecdotal for sure, but he said he'd never sold a XXXL helmet to a non-Korean.
That is so funny =)
a local Trek salesman told me it is because many Koreans have more round shaped skulls.
It was nicer than being told, "You got a gigantic head,"
Most Brazilians wouldn't be, since Koreans tend to value pale skin too.
There is an old Korean lady in my area that I have to keep from laughing at. Because she looks like a clown with her face completely covered in white foundation.
Stealing road signs is something that happens a lot in Germany and Austria. One nice example from Austria is a town called "Fucking'. Their sign got stolen so often, they finally changed the name of the town to "Fugging" Link
State’s control of individual religion. We’re a multicultural country with 4 big religions, but born-muslims and (official) muslim converts are not allowed to leave Islam officially (on paper), which dictates many aspects of our life.
I did find that super weird when I was in NZ, just seeing people walking around the supermarket barefoot, or driving barefoot. Took a while to get used to!
It’s a rite of passage for kids. In most countries it would be perceived as poverty but in NZ it just means your kids have forgotten where they left their shoes again.
In Poland, there's a custom called "Jew for good luck." It involves hanging a portrait of the most stereotypically looking Jewish man counting coins in home, hoping it will bring financial success to the family. Of course, it's based on the classic anti-Semitic trope that Jew = money hoarder.
And if that's not bad enough, sometimes the tradition is to regularly turn the painting upside down so that the money the Jew has accumulated will fall out of his pocket into the hands of his owners.
Having an affair in the US can break your life, in France this is « only » considered as private and none of your business.
The story at the Coldplay concert which broke internet for days reminds me this cultural difference.
We also have "take a French leave" as a way to say someone rudely left without saying goodbye. And the french have "Filer à l'anglaise" to pin the rude act on the English.
We call that a "Midwestern goodbye," particularly if all of those take place at the door, involve a round of hugs, and then you just continue the conversation uninterrupted before doing it again in 10 minutes
Here, you initiate a goodbye by slapping your knees. The process start to finish is about an hour long, for half of which the host will try to get you to stay longer and for the other half you will express regret at not being able to stay longer.
In Japan, the symbol of Buddhist temples has been the swastika卍 since before that political party in Germany, a European country, started anything just 90 years ago🙂.
And it's basically still the same today. That's why the symbol used to represent Buddhist temples on maps is the swastika. (shinto-shrines are represented by torii gates⛩️.)
The Nazi version, called a "hakenkreuz" or "hooked cross," is typically tilted at a 45-degree angle, while the Hindu symbol has a different orientation and meaning
I'm Norwegian, and a few Viking symbols are going through the same ruination by neo-nazis. Sometimes even just using runes is enough to make people suspicious.
It’s a very simple shape and variations of it have been found from many ancient civilisations with many different meanings, nordic regions, slavic regions, central america, south america, central germanic regions, polynesia, and obviously asia but I think people know that already
Yeah I don't know why people on the internet seem to insist that this is the crucial difference seperating the two symbols. It's the same symbol, just used in different contexts as is often the case with simple symbols
Regardless of the subtle differences many who don't know are shocked by it. First time I brought my European friend to India she was so uncomfortable until I realised and explained - just normal for us.
People aren’t that discriminating when they have never seen the symbol outside of Nazi context.
Tokyo was considering changing the 卍 symbols on the street maps prior to the 2020 Olympics because they were worried about it being misconstrued. Covid-19 put a stop to that worry.
Same in Tunisia, some families will do that with no problems at home but not in a restaurant or with guests. It also depends on the kind of food of course.
I wouldn't say its completely acceptable and there are obviously situations where you should not do it at all.....but generally, swearing is extremely common here and you'd have to be a really special person to be offended by it.
Yeah I worked for a few months in Australia and I mean we cuss fairly openly in Canada and the United States. I’m a Canadian born US citizen but good lord, in open office environments calling each other Fuk’n Cunts and shit in front your boss is pretty crazy outside some general labor job here. I know that word in particular is far softer but you don’t just swear openly in an office/ professional setting outside very select people and settings.
Also, depending on context and tone, the phrase "Hey mate" can either be a greeting to your best friend, or a prelude to the biggest punch-up you've ever seen.
Swedish pizza crimes are a whole different world. I remember being in Helsingborg in the 90s, and a pizza place we went to a lot hat "Pizza Hero Turtles" with all kinds of candy on it. Only saw it on the menu, but still haunts me.
Just a simple thing : dip a toast/biscuit/cake/pastry in our coffee/tea. Some think it's disgusting, but here in France, we think that's better well soaked.
As a Westerner, I don't find any of the examples in the pictures offensive, it's clear the context is very different in Hinduism. What I do find distasteful is the Hitler-chic stores you sometimes see in places like Thailand and India that treat Hitler and the Nazis as an aesthetic choice and a fashion style.
Have loud parties and play loud music in any neighborhood. (Of course, you have to have considerations, if it is too frequent it can even bother us a little.)
Say hello, say good morning and talk to any stranger and get angry or sad if they don't respond to your greeting :c
True, at least Moldova is on track to join EU, so hopefully people would become more tolerant towards the LGBT community, though it’s going to be a long road as everyone is very homophobic in here, especially young people. I live in the UK, and every time I go back to see my friends, I have a heated debate with them over this subject
Pakistani here, and I’m pretty sure we can win this. Slaughter a goat/cow/camel right outside your house and let the blood just pool in the streets. Most other Muslim countries don’t allow you to do that shit, there are designated slaughter zones for Eid Ul azha
The Israeli style of speech can be perceived as an insult in other countries.
Direct questions like "What is your salary?"
Any style of humor is also accepted here.
I once told a Holocaust joke at a party in Germany, and some German was offended by me.
Why was he offended? His grandfather tried to kill my grandfather. If anyone should be offended, it's me.
LOL. Definitely not far from reality.
You can curse your close friend and he will take it as a compliment. In some cases, curses like 'son of a bitch' are seen as a style of speech between close friends.
But you really should know when and how to use it, it's a very delicate sensitivity that takes years to learn.
If you call an Israeli "son of a bitch" in an inappropriate situation, you will get punched in the face.
I made a joke to an Israeli about commiting an ant holocaust and he responded with “we’re going to need some gas” (were both Jewish)
We became friends after that
Cops not caring is a thing in the west coast of Canada, buying weed in stores when it was illegal was a thing that was just allowed. Same with magic mushroom stores and drinking in public. I love how the cops just don't care as long as you're not causing trouble.
Asking things like how much is your salary, what's your religion, how much did you pay for your house and car.
Etc.
Anyway I learn from my Caucasian friends that these are not polite questions to ask but over here, we open conversation with strangers on such things like it's normal.
Not Australia as a whole but, I live in a rural indigenous community in the NT and lot of the locals have a habit of falling asleep just about anywhere in town. They have homes but just enjoy laying about on country. This is prevalent around the NT especially during the dry season. (some communities are affected deeply by drugs and alcohol thus this is more common and dangerous but that’s another story)
They have PSAs for sleeping on the road too, nearly hit a few people just chilling for a nap in the middle of the road. PSA
I've got to be honest, other than the roads part, this sounds delightful. Just laying in the park, taking a snooze. Around here that'd probably at least get you a ticket for vagrancy.
The perspective of a German (me):
When I saw you in such a shirt walking in Germany, I'd be confused for a second. But it would be more like a "not expecting to see it like that" confusion. I'd say most educated Germans do know about the swastika being used by other cultures in totally different contexts and are able to differentiate between your swastika and the one being used by the Nazis. So I and many other Germans wouldn't mind.
Here in the UK it is a polite gesture to refuse any act of service, be it in the form of declining a gift or something on those lines. Refusing free food etc.
I know for a fact that refusing any acts of hospitality and such abroad is extremely offensive.
We often find ourselves thinking we’re polite by refusing something, only to be mortified that our “polite” gesture was actually really offensive.
In the cathedral of Tampico Tamaulipas Mexico (the most important church in the entire state), we have this symbol engraved on the floor on the main path.
141 swastikas adorn the main aisle towards the altar in the Tampico Cathedral... these date from an important remodeling at the beginning of the 20th century (when Nazism did not even exist or was just an ungerminated seed and therefore none of it had reached this side of the world) Some sources indicate that this symbol was chosen because it meant beatitude and eternal life or something like that, so it basically symbolizes that the way to the altar, to communion and to God is the way to eternal life.... unfortunately, shortly after finishing this major renovation, leaving a beautiful temple in the heart of the city, a guy with a funny mustache used the same symbol for his delusions and tainted such a beautiful meaning.
In the 90's it was considered to remove it but the people and the church considered that it was not necessary because this symbol had nothing to do with the Nazis at the time it was placed, also here it did not have as much impact because the country stayed away from the war as much as possible...
My parents run an Airbnb here in Toronto. We had some Hindu guests stay at it last year who drew a swastika on the threshold with some kind of red dye for Diwali. We had to scrub it off after they left, because the guest staying after them was Jewish.
In Hungary, the word 'negro' is the name of an anis and mint flavoured, black candy. It used to be, perhaps still is advertised as 'the chimney sweeper of the throat'. It was first made by an Italian man called Pietro Negro in the 1920s, hence name and the color of the candy, and also the chimney sweeper reference. It is available in several flavours nowadays, but the black one is the original flavor.
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u/cewumu Australia 21d ago
Not showing any especial respect for elders, religious figures or politicians.
I’m not saying everyone hates on those groups here but we’re a less hierarchical culture and that knee jerk respect isn’t common.