4 ms·
> I had always commented on how I love the carved wooden letter that hangs on the taxi's rear-view mirror In many cultures it is disrespectful to make such com
by bonoboTP 7y ago
> I had always commented on how I love the carved wooden letter that hangs on the taxi's rear-view mirror
In many cultures it is disrespectful to make such comments, because they convey a thinly veiled demand to get the thing, otherwise the other person loses face for not being generous.
- spectramax 7y agoPerhaps I missed this obvious cultural sensitivity, I thought his gift to me was from genuine generosity in the true sense of the word.
- vlunkr 7y agoDon’t let some rando from the internet re-frame your personal experience. You know better than them
- munmaek 7y agoDon't change your opinion based on one random comment.
- elSidCampeador 7y agoWhile you may have missed it, you're the best judge of whether he gave it to you out of genuine goodwill. If he did, then you're good.
- bonoboTP 7y agoToo little info to tell for the specific case, but I heard many such stories, not just from east Asia. In general, gifts are complex. In some cultures you must refuse it some specific number of times, not to look greedy. But then you have to accept it, because getting help/gift is a bit submissive and results in gratefulness, and however little, the feeling of owing them back, which can create social ties.
- mc32 7y agoYeah, but that’s within the culture. They’re not dolts. They know foreigners aren’t well versed in their nuances. Can you imagine thinking that Americans would feel disrespected because a visiting foreigner made a cultural faux pas? Oh my god, they didn’t stand up for the anthem!!! They asked my salary!!!
- pishpash 7y agoAmericans are currently feeling extremely disrespected and salty af because the Chinese government built from a different culture made a cultural faux pas of demanding organizational accountability for the speech of an employee, something that happens every day in China, both now and before there was ever a Communist party.
- tjansen 7y agoNot sure why this has been downvoted. It's an interesting way of looking at the issue. You don't have to agree with what China does.
- scrollaway 7y agoI get your point but I've seen a lot of Americans be outraged at non-native English speakers use words or expressions they deem inappropriate, and show zero tolerance for the fact the people in question aren't necessarily fluent. It happens a lot here in fact.
- mc32 7y agoRight, or Parisians or people in Quebec, non metro Germany, non coastal China, etc. Those aren’t cultural faux pases, really. The situation described is two people who are acquaintances from different places trying to have an interested conversation, not just random people bumping into each other.
- dumbfoundded 7y agoI'm not Chinese but I'm guessing it's cool. https://blog.speechling.com/being-polite-in-chinese/ https://blog.speechling.com/being-polite-in-chinese/ https://www.writtenchinese.com/the-right-way-to-compliment-and-show-thanks-in-chinese/ https://www.writtenchinese.com/the-right-way-to-compliment-a...
- jhanschoo 7y agoIn the context of their continued friendship, it's quite likely that parent comment, as far as we can tell from the limited description of its delivery, would be interpreted favorably by the other party.