What's Rude and What's Acceptable

 Today in class we talked about rude behaviors and acceptable behaviors.  I gave the students a list of different things, like commenting on a person's weight or talking on a phone while riding a bus, and asked them if they are considered rude in America and/or Japan.  I provided a second list of things that may or may not be acceptable, even if they are not rude, like a man outside without a shirt or sitting on your front steps doing nothing.  I asked them if these were acceptable or not in the two countries.

Some students felt everything is acceptable in the US and nothing is considered rude there.  I had one pair get almost everything exactly wrong.  No one got everything correct, even accounting for the number of cases where I had to admit it depends on where you are.  Is drinking alcohol in public, but not in a bar, restaurant, or sports arena okay?  It depends on where you are.  

I told them it is acceptable to ask your boss/employer for a raise if you can justify it.  I also told them it has been made unacceptable to talk about your salary with your coworkers, though people are trying to change that.  Being open with your coworkers about how much you are paid is a form of unionization.  If workers know what others are being paid, they can better argue for equitable wages for all.  This is why it is not acceptable to talk about earnings with your coworkers.

The more I teach here, the more I'm confronted with the aspects of our society I do not like.  Gun culture, the god of money, acting in our own self-interests to the detriment of others, exploitation of humans and resources, systemic discrimination.  

Jen said when she went to Scotland she found it easier to relax because she was not confronted with the constant stress that is living in America.  Here I feel I confront myself with it every day.  It's as if I cannot escape it because I chose to remind myself of it.  That may not be healthy.  The other side of that coin is that Jen came back and ended up doing work that attacks these sources of stress head-on.

This post ended up rambling a little.  I had two students come in separately to talk.  That caused me to lose my thread twice.  I apologize if this is not very readable.  This post may be for me more than you.