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Rude? Moi?
Aug. 12th, 2010 09:50 amAccording to the BBC "Londoners (have been) given etiquette guide for 2012 Games".
I haven't received a copy but the article on the BBC website contains important advice such as "Do not take offence if an Australian or a New Zealander makes a joke about 'Poms'" and "Never call a Canadian an American".
Sadly it doesn't mention anything about bundling the Portuguese and the Spanish together! (I'm saying this because Adrian once said to a Portuguese bear in SItges - as a joke :"Portuguese? Spanish? It's all the same!". It didn't go down well! The Portuguese chap probably still thinks that the English are rude, and![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
london1952 still thinks that the Portuguese don't have a sense of humour).
Anyway, I was saying that I haven't received such guide, but with perfect timing this week's Time Out asks the important question
The article says that the British were famous for being polite until London - recently voted the rudest place in the UK - ruined it all.
Naturally we tend to judge rudeness in other cultures using our own cultural parameters.
So, for instance the two gentlemen, visiting from the offfice in India, who sit opposite me don't really mean to be rude by chomping their food and sharing the flavours of their meals with me in gaseous form with their loud burps.
But I guess there is a lowest common denominator to human behaviour that makes it polite or rude, and I hope it's what the Time Out writer looked at when judging London's competition for the title.
( Click hear to find out whether NYC, Sydney, Paris or - gasp! - Barcelona are ruder than our fair city )
I haven't received a copy but the article on the BBC website contains important advice such as "Do not take offence if an Australian or a New Zealander makes a joke about 'Poms'" and "Never call a Canadian an American".
Sadly it doesn't mention anything about bundling the Portuguese and the Spanish together! (I'm saying this because Adrian once said to a Portuguese bear in SItges - as a joke :"Portuguese? Spanish? It's all the same!". It didn't go down well! The Portuguese chap probably still thinks that the English are rude, and
london1952 still thinks that the Portuguese don't have a sense of humour).Anyway, I was saying that I haven't received such guide, but with perfect timing this week's Time Out asks the important question
The article says that the British were famous for being polite until London - recently voted the rudest place in the UK - ruined it all.
Naturally we tend to judge rudeness in other cultures using our own cultural parameters.
So, for instance the two gentlemen, visiting from the offfice in India, who sit opposite me don't really mean to be rude by chomping their food and sharing the flavours of their meals with me in gaseous form with their loud burps.
But I guess there is a lowest common denominator to human behaviour that makes it polite or rude, and I hope it's what the Time Out writer looked at when judging London's competition for the title.
( Click hear to find out whether NYC, Sydney, Paris or - gasp! - Barcelona are ruder than our fair city )
