Sensitive topics
I was thinking. Sometimes I do that when there isn’t anything else to do. There are some topics considered taboo in some countries.
There are some topics that aren’t considered taboo but good manners. One, for example, is not to ask a woman her age. But other topics can be quite sensitive in some countries but pretty normal in others.
One example of what is a sensitive topic in Canada and not in Mexico is the price of your house. Ask anybody in Mexico how much they paid for their house or apartment and everybody will tell you a number. This may provoke envy or surprise to the one who asked. However, in Canada, if I asked to any bloke how much did his house costs, he would punch me in the face or at least tell me “Mind your own business.” The most educated person would tell me “Why o you want to know?”
The same things will happen if you ask about cars, clothes, salaries or shoes.
Why this happens must be related to some odd stuff in English-related cultures. Spanish-related cultures, on the other side, like to show off their wealth to their neighbors. It’s odd.
Religion has a big bunch of taboos too. Muslim cultures tend to consider dogs as impure and don’t tolerate their touch. I had a neighbor in Vancouver that was muslim, and another that was a Presbytherian dog lover. They fought over that issue for years until an atheist neighbor (me) proposed a simple solution: the dog lover got an Afghan, because the muslim neighbor didn’t consider a Tazi a dog.
So, do you know another taboo in your comunity? Mind to share?
Cheerio, partners.
V.
Comments
well, i don’t know if this could be catalogued as a taboo but rather a difference in human relations between countries, in Mexico is common to salute a female by a kiss on the cheek, even if she is someone you just met, while that in Japan is grounds for a sexual harassment lawsuit. many of my japanese friends had trouble adapting to this rather effusive salute, but they are used to it now and don’t care, tough they’ve warned me not to do it Japan.
In Mexico this kind of salute is ok only between a man and a girl or a girl to another girl, not men to men, as it may be considered queer, but in italy is pretty common even between men.
I guess it all depends on the tolerance of the person, first they have to realize that they are speaking to a foreigner that might not know that such and such is actually a sensitive subject for them, they have to adjust their reaction according to that.
Religion is actually kind of a taboo topic everywhere, although i have many friends, specially muslim that don’t get upset at my atheist rants and are actually willing to have a conversation about it. none of us can convince each other, but we can talk about it openly.
yeah, surprisingly are catholics and christians who get more freaky about this topic, or at least that has been my personal experience.
Germans, they pretend that WWII never existed. so don’t talk to them about such thing, they’ll think you are trying to blame them.
Chinese and Taiwanese, most taiwanese i know will really get upset if you call them chinese, the situation is very complicated, and everyone has their own opinion and chooses sides accordingly. but as a general rule, taiwan is another country. chinese citizens are almost all of them deluded by their governments propaganda and are convinced that taiwanese don’t actually want to separate but is all an evil plot by the U.S. , which is to some degree, also true, but it seems to be that is actually the taiwanese themselves who claim their independence. this is actually a lot more complicated.
Very interesting topic, ill try think about more taboos.
I managed, in Vancouver, to broke a couple taboos in Iranian, Indian, Korean, Chinese and Japanese girls. I’m lucky with oriental girls, I think.
With the Indian girl, I managed for her to eat cow meat. Just a little bit at first, but by the end of the course she was eating Brazilian food with us. The Iranian girl got a cocker spaniel to live with her and her fiancé. They were migrants, of course, fresh off the plane, and not atheists but muslims. The Korean, Chinese and Japanese girls learned how to hug and be hugged as part of saying goodbye, and how to kiss in the cheek and shake hands as part of saying hello. My Japanese girl also learnt how to burp, but that’s because I’m such a devil. It’s odd at times how N Jie, the Korean girl, switched from not allowing anybody to be near her to kiss and hug everyone in just two months. She was a nice gal and I envy the guy who will marry her. Yes, another one I lose. But that’s because I, like all the greatest lovers in History, don’t count the women I had, but the women I hadn’t had.