well, a friend asked, another friend from India.. the question above.
of course, the Indian friend couldn't believe it.. disgusting behavior? in india? impossible!
what was the behavior? they were sitting on a bus, and as they inched for an hour through heavy traffic, on wayside, the foreigner on first trip to india, could spot, people peeing and spitting blood red liquid, as well as throwing waste, even glass bottles in public places. other people just walk nonchalantly around as if all this behavior is invisible.
a culture clash of course... and what was the point of contention? disgusting. for the person from local area, disgusting about india or indians was offensive... anything that touches patriotic pride is to be eliminated at once.
(probably because that's all there remaining from the glorious history - i might be walking in pee, spit, plastic & food waste, but my great grandfather lived in a golden city full of intellectuals... and that's what matter. and you might be living in clean & systematic way now, but your great grandfather was hanging around with bunch of monkeys... so you are a looser. and its ancestors who decide your status, not you).
forget the above para in brackets... and lets get back to the first question... is it a good thing to have public places turned into all kinds of waste dump? if an ebola like disease reaches india, can anyone even imagine how quickly it will spread? so, it would be a good idea to think about, how to change such disgusting and destructive behavior... but, then, what would be the FIRST reaction to such a comment? people who do it, or who tolerate it, will often come up with an angry reaction... and defend or block the other person's question.
its a cultural difference, you wont understand. or, some of the people do it, not everyone does it. its changing gradually, you will find it only in some places. its the un-educated people who keep doing it, they have no sense. (these could be some defensive responses... and there could be some outright angry and counter offensive questions too... like, "what about high divorce rate in your country?")
anyway, the observation here - is about, what triggers these reactions... first in the case of a foreigner and then in the case of the native / local person?
...even if a cultural habit, or common behavior is destructive, if its pointed out from a shocked view point or aggressive view point, - then, defensive or offensive reaction can be expected and it doesn't lead to solving that issue, but makes the environment even more toxic and aggressive.
so, even if we are disgusted by some behavior (kissing in public could be seen as disgusting by some indians, but enough is being written about kiss of love strikes these days)... a reactionary comment arising out of indignity wouldn't be a good idea. first try to think of it as, a behavior, born out of long years of repetition. many people would not be aware of the overall impacts of such behavior, and they might look at it as, taking away their right. for example, a person used to throw waste anywhere scot-free, would consider it as inconvenience and infringement of personal right, if its denied... especially if its to be obeyed as a personal choice... and some others are still doing it around them, without having to pay any consequence.
so, in conclusion, that leads us to the tricky area of initiating a cultural behavior change. do not explode immediately with your first reaction... when some different behavior occur. think about, how inoffensively it can be presented/communicated. what can the local people do by themselves to change such a behavior is the next question.. and local people should feel the solution idea occurred to them, and were not told / enforced with it. and its them, who should be motivated to sustain the different healthy behavior... so, encouragement & support will be required.
"whew! its tough". my friend told me. even though i am saying all this now, its not easy to give a reactionary comment, when we see something different from our culture, age old habits. but, we gotta try, because, i would prefer clean & hygienic public places..
how about free wi-fi everywhere?... (well, that's another blog ;)
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