The author is a cultural psychologist, and trying to explain that people's emotions should be seen in the context of (and I would say are "relative to") the cul

The author is a cultural psychologist, and trying to explain that people's emotions should be seen in the context of (and I would say are "relative to") the culture they're from. Someone is only fake if they're more fake than their cultural norms, and someone is only rude if they're more rude than their cultural norms. I would argue this also means people aren't objectively fake or rude, it's all relative, and so neither is objectively better or worse.