And because it is their culture, you are not supposed to complain. And if you do have the temerity to complain, you are expected to accept it's their culture as a legitimate excuse; and let that be the end of it.
Well no, just no.
But noise is only the start. Bad behavior in restaurants, undisciplined children running amok, cultural scams like the skin tax, praying en masse on the streets and sidewalks, the amplified adhan five times a day, the lack of daily bathing, the failure to respect lines (queues), elastic punctuality, the list is endless.
But noise is only the start. Bad behavior in restaurants, undisciplined children running amok, cultural scams like the skin tax, praying en masse on the streets and sidewalks, the amplified adhan five times a day, the lack of daily bathing, the failure to respect lines (queues), elastic punctuality, the list is endless.
And don't get me started on table manners and eating habits. Now I do not care what people eat. Different cultures eat different things. But I do care a great deal if your culture attempts to control what I eat. No, that's really bad, and no, I don't care if it is your culture. Not even a little.
Lately ghetto and racket behavior are ruining, or threaten to ruin, all public spaces. But don't you dare complain; you see, it's their culture.
And notice this: It's their culture is rarely applied to good habits. Why? Because few of us notice a culture's good habits. Why would we? Oh, he bathes every day? I hadn't noticed.
So each of us can decide for ourselves whether cultural practices should be accepted. But I do not accept, cannot accept, the cultural excuse for bad behavior. Bad behavior is bad behavior. And here is a dirty little secret that only gets revealed over time and only if you pay close attention. People are fully aware that their cultural practice is bad.
So each of us can decide for ourselves whether cultural practices should be accepted. But I do not accept, cannot accept, the cultural excuse for bad behavior. Bad behavior is bad behavior. And here is a dirty little secret that only gets revealed over time and only if you pay close attention. People are fully aware that their cultural practice is bad.
One final example that I like to use is people from Holland and Germany and Scandinavia, who love to tell others how direct, blunt, and frank, they are, as a culture. But I have long suspected that what is really going on is that they use frankness as an excuse for rudeness. And moreover, they are perfectly well aware that this is what they are doing. Bad behavior is bad behavior; and rudeness is rudeness.
They all know. Of course they know. It's my culture is just the most efficacious excuse.
Culture is what we tolerate.
If you want to improve your culture, do not tolerate bad behavior.