Form a line!
Recently, I read an article in TIME magazine about how Chinese in China were taking Western etiquette classes so as not to offend the western world when dealing with them, now that the Chinese economy is booming and will be more involved in the global market. These are actual classes that people pay hundreds of dollars for to learn what is polite and what is not. For example, spitting on the street, how to properly use silver-ware at a fancy restaurant, how to line up and wait your turn instead of pushing and shoving, etc.
Chinese learning manners from the Western world? These are the same people who thought the Western world were barbarians a mere 400 years ago. I called up my brother and told him about this article, of which he was skeptical.
According to him, the Chinese may find that Americans are not that much different than they are when it comes to manners and etiquette. Granted that people in the Western world may not wash their soup spoons in a community soup bowl at dinner time. However, the notion of waiting in line is something that the Western world, Americans in particular, are unfamiliar with as well.
Perhaps things were different 25 years ago when I was growing up. We had to wait in line for our lunches at school, we had to line up in the yard before proceeding to class or anywhere else for that matter. "After you" was the mentality, something that I picked up and carried with me throughout the years, thus leading me to become known as "passive", "not aggressive enough", and "not a go-getter".
Things started changing, already in 1987. I remember attending a lecture on how to get in to good high schools. THE high school to go to in San Francisco at the time was Lowell High School, noted for its academic strengths and high turn-out of graduates as well as college applicants. Going to Lowell meant that you already had a better chance of getting in to a good college, or so we all thought. At the end of the lecture, they announced that they had applications for Lowell High School, and that they would be passing them out (apparently, applications for Lowell were hard to come by). Suddenly, a crowd of jr. high students thundered up to the stage and within seconds there was mass hysteria. People were shouting and pushing and grabbing, trying to get their hands on an application. What had once been a quiet auditorium filled with intent listeners just 5 minutes before had turned in to absolute chaos and cacophony. Seeing this, I thought I had better get up and at least make an attempt to get one, which is what I'm sure everyone else thought, as well. However, unlike the panicking masses, I stood up calmly and walked over to the crowd, which had become so thick it was impossible to navigate through. This is bloody ridiculous, I thought to myself.
A classmate of mine was in the thick of things, and saw me.
"Vince, did you get one? Vince, did you get one?" she called to me with a mixed look of fear, concern and uncertainty. Obviously, she wasn't able to get one, either. I shook my head in response and went home, leaving the countless masses to fight over the applications. What was ironic, almost amusing was that the majority of these people didn't have a snowball's chance of getting in to Lowell, anyway. But, whatever.
And then there was always the bus stop. As my brother had pointed out to me, if you ever watch a crowd waiting for the bus or cab, no one is standing in a line. It's always a disorganized crowd. As soon as the bus door opens, everyone tries to get on at the same time, regardless if people are trying to get off (one of my biggest pet-peeves). But lines? No way. And this is in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago. Same thing for the taxis in New Jersey.
The same thing happens with elevators.
And opening night for Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring? It was stampede! You had to run along with the crowd, unless you wanted to get trampled to death. Okay, maybe movies are an exceptioin.
This behaviour starts young and is taught to people, starting at a young age, or so Goh theorizes. But I believe this to be true. Kids in this country aren't taught to line up orderly; they're encouraged to be go-getters, meaning if anyone is in your way, bull them over. Don't let the other guy get ahead of you (my theory on why nobody ever lets you change lanes in front of them).
However, I do believe that lining up is taught in Europe. As evidence of this, during the British occupation of Hong Kong there were taxi lines that people lined up for in an orderly manner, or so the movies portrayed. Interestingly enough, if you watch the Harry Potter movies, which were filmed in England for all of you who live in a cave, the kids are always told to form a line and take turns when they're in school. Apparently, kids in Europe, or England at least are taught to line up.
Anyway, I'm not here to judge. I report; you decide.
Chinese learning manners from the Western world? These are the same people who thought the Western world were barbarians a mere 400 years ago. I called up my brother and told him about this article, of which he was skeptical.
According to him, the Chinese may find that Americans are not that much different than they are when it comes to manners and etiquette. Granted that people in the Western world may not wash their soup spoons in a community soup bowl at dinner time. However, the notion of waiting in line is something that the Western world, Americans in particular, are unfamiliar with as well.
Perhaps things were different 25 years ago when I was growing up. We had to wait in line for our lunches at school, we had to line up in the yard before proceeding to class or anywhere else for that matter. "After you" was the mentality, something that I picked up and carried with me throughout the years, thus leading me to become known as "passive", "not aggressive enough", and "not a go-getter".
Things started changing, already in 1987. I remember attending a lecture on how to get in to good high schools. THE high school to go to in San Francisco at the time was Lowell High School, noted for its academic strengths and high turn-out of graduates as well as college applicants. Going to Lowell meant that you already had a better chance of getting in to a good college, or so we all thought. At the end of the lecture, they announced that they had applications for Lowell High School, and that they would be passing them out (apparently, applications for Lowell were hard to come by). Suddenly, a crowd of jr. high students thundered up to the stage and within seconds there was mass hysteria. People were shouting and pushing and grabbing, trying to get their hands on an application. What had once been a quiet auditorium filled with intent listeners just 5 minutes before had turned in to absolute chaos and cacophony. Seeing this, I thought I had better get up and at least make an attempt to get one, which is what I'm sure everyone else thought, as well. However, unlike the panicking masses, I stood up calmly and walked over to the crowd, which had become so thick it was impossible to navigate through. This is bloody ridiculous, I thought to myself.
A classmate of mine was in the thick of things, and saw me.
"Vince, did you get one? Vince, did you get one?" she called to me with a mixed look of fear, concern and uncertainty. Obviously, she wasn't able to get one, either. I shook my head in response and went home, leaving the countless masses to fight over the applications. What was ironic, almost amusing was that the majority of these people didn't have a snowball's chance of getting in to Lowell, anyway. But, whatever.
And then there was always the bus stop. As my brother had pointed out to me, if you ever watch a crowd waiting for the bus or cab, no one is standing in a line. It's always a disorganized crowd. As soon as the bus door opens, everyone tries to get on at the same time, regardless if people are trying to get off (one of my biggest pet-peeves). But lines? No way. And this is in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago. Same thing for the taxis in New Jersey.
The same thing happens with elevators.
And opening night for Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring? It was stampede! You had to run along with the crowd, unless you wanted to get trampled to death. Okay, maybe movies are an exceptioin.
This behaviour starts young and is taught to people, starting at a young age, or so Goh theorizes. But I believe this to be true. Kids in this country aren't taught to line up orderly; they're encouraged to be go-getters, meaning if anyone is in your way, bull them over. Don't let the other guy get ahead of you (my theory on why nobody ever lets you change lanes in front of them).
However, I do believe that lining up is taught in Europe. As evidence of this, during the British occupation of Hong Kong there were taxi lines that people lined up for in an orderly manner, or so the movies portrayed. Interestingly enough, if you watch the Harry Potter movies, which were filmed in England for all of you who live in a cave, the kids are always told to form a line and take turns when they're in school. Apparently, kids in Europe, or England at least are taught to line up.
Anyway, I'm not here to judge. I report; you decide.
posted by V-Hume at 8:04 PM
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