Are Americans Ruder Than They Used To Be?

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aspergian_mutant
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14 Oct 2005, 11:25 pm

Are Americans Ruder Than They Used To Be?

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/50 ... s&psp=news



jb814
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15 Oct 2005, 5:43 am

This is one of those infuriating questions that its silly to ask in the first place. Circumstances have changed, culture has changed, you might as well ask why people should outgrow clothes. If they were to ask if living in or outside the US had any proven effect on things, or how have people compensated for changing culture (new ways of being polite that were not applicable before). The notion that politeness has some sort of fixed aspect independant of people, I find nonsensical.



CockneyRebel
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15 Oct 2005, 9:26 am

I estimate that people are getting ruder in all parts of the world. Life just isn't the way that it used to be, and I feel that it would be wrong to single out just one Country. I also find that the younger a person is, the more likely that person is to be rude. It shows in both the Verbal Language and Body Language.



jb814
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15 Oct 2005, 10:06 am

It doesn't seem to matter who you speak to, from where or even if you read an account in a history book we are always told people are less polite than they used to be. If it were true we probably wouldn't be here due to levels of violence. IMHO its called change and people just don't like it.



Sanityisoverrated
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15 Oct 2005, 11:10 am

Screw you! There is NO way that I'm ruder than my forebears!



larsenjw92286
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15 Oct 2005, 11:32 am

It depends on the person.


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jb814
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15 Oct 2005, 12:25 pm

Sanityisoverrated wrote:
Screw you! There is NO way that I'm ruder than my forebears!

I like the style.



slowmutant
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19 Apr 2008, 9:00 am

Americans have always been rude. Even the colonial Puritans, who supposedly embodied the utmost in politeness and civilization, would be considered hateful, self-righteous bigots by most Americans & Canadians alive today. Extreme-left liberals can be just as obnoxious as their ultra-con counterparts on the right. Since rudeness and politness are on the same continuum, it's ultimately a matter of perspective. Different cultures will give you different rulebooks as far as this goes.

But Americans take the cake when it comes to being offensive and culturally insensitive. George W. Bush is the absolute personification of this. Can you sum up why the US is so despised with any other name? :lol:



Tim_Tex
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19 Apr 2008, 9:01 am

Absolutely.


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Dantac
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19 Apr 2008, 9:16 am

Its like being French but speaking a language spoken around the world ;)



pandabear
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19 Apr 2008, 9:29 am

The original article in the link is gone, but I think that it is the opposite. We used to have slavery, enforced segregation, etc. Some pretty rude things were done in the Civil War. Also, the Jim Crow laws and lynchings were rather rude.



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19 Apr 2008, 11:17 am

The article is no longer available on the url you posted.


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19 Apr 2008, 12:00 pm

When I was working in tech support for HP, I would talk to people from all over the lower 48 states, I did notice a regional difference with most people. I found people from Boston very rude and demanding, compared to people from the south, some of the young guys were what you would call country gentlemen, yes sir, no sir, and aways super polite. As a Canadian I think Americans are getting an undeserved bad rap, they are no more rude then some of the Canadians I have to deal with. I think we're becoming ignorant and arrogant people who like to point out only our good points, but are quick to point at Americans for their faults



slowmutant
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19 Apr 2008, 6:35 pm

spudnik wrote:
When I was working in tech support for HP, I would talk to people from all over the lower 48 states, I did notice a regional difference with most people. I found people from Boston very rude and demanding, compared to people from the south, some of the young guys were what you would call country gentlemen, yes sir, no sir, and aways super polite. As a Canadian I think Americans are getting an undeserved bad rap, they are no more rude then some of the Canadians I have to deal with. I think we're becoming ignorant and arrogant people who like to point out only our good points, but are quick to point at Americans for their faults


No, Canadians love to poke fun at ourselves. I don't think we'll ever start believing our own hype. Americans, OTOH, have always believed their own hype. :)



Ryn
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19 Apr 2008, 7:33 pm

I do believe there are more rude Americans than there used to be, but I also believe that Americans that aren't rude are even more polite and kind than ever. I seem to either meet jerks or very polite people.



velodog
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19 Apr 2008, 8:50 pm

slowmutant wrote:
Americans have always been rude. Even the colonial Puritans, who supposedly embodied the utmost in politeness and civilization, would be considered hateful, self-righteous bigots by most Americans & Canadians alive today. Extreme-left liberals can be just as obnoxious as their ultra-con counterparts on the right. Since rudeness and politness are on the same continuum, it's ultimately a matter of perspective. Different cultures will give you different rulebooks as far as this goes.

But Americans take the cake when it comes to being offensive and culturally insensitive. George W. Bush is the absolute personification of this. Can you sum up why the US is so despised with any other name? :lol:


I call BS, You're letting the French, Islamofacists and at least one self righteous Canuck off the hook entirely.

Check your "Prayer of St Francis" thread in Politics, Philosophy and Religion forum Mr. Tolerance.