# What culture is the most blunt/rude/selfish? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 12, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054 "2013-08-12T17:43:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/21 "2013-08-12T21:25:51Z")
Boy, those French. They have a different word for everything. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/22 "2013-08-12T21:53:39Z")
I wish I could recall the name, but I recall reading of one highly dysfunctional, self-destructive tribe whose culture pretty much consists of constantly trying to ruin each other; socially, personally, materially. They live in crude conditions even by hunter-gatherer standards because no one can build and keep anything without someone stealing, breaking or tearing it down the moment they aren’t looking. They and other dysfunctional societies are going to be the winners of any “most inconsiderate and selfish” competition; given that places like Germany and so forth still _function_ they can’t be as bad as a culture/subculture that has torn itself to pieces. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/23 "2013-08-12T21:54:59Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I wish I could recall the name, but I recall reading of one highly dysfunctional, self-destructive tribe whose culture pretty much consists of constantly trying to ruin each other; socially, personally, materially. They live in crude conditions even by hunter-gatherer standards because no one can build and keep anything without someone stealing, breaking or tearing it down the moment they aren’t looking. Those are called “graduate students.” ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/24 "2013-08-12T22:01:15Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Japanese culture has a reputation for politeness, consideration of the feelings of others, and cooperation. > > Somewhere on this earth there must be a culture that is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Anyone care to suggest a candidate? What culture has a reputation for rudeness, inconsideration, and selfishness? Those are three different things (blunt, rude and selfish). Japanese communication protocols favor surface politeness, but they can slice you so neatly you don’t feel it for an hour (especially women, especially middle-aged women). It isn’t only those swords that are sharp. So they aren’t blunt, but they can be very rude if they want to be. Considerations of the feelings of others mostly only happens for people of high status or who rank over you (i.e. people who can do you good or harm). Selfish is something else again. I don’t think that’s a cultural trait. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/25 "2013-08-12T22:04:30Z")
In Deaf culture, people tend to be [more blunt](http://www.silentwordministries.org/index.php/about-silent-word-ministries/faq/27-deaf-culture/39-why-are-deaf-people-so-blunt) than non-Deaf. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/26 "2013-08-12T22:42:19Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Japanese culture has a reputation for politeness, consideration of the feelings of others, and cooperation. I don’t know why; they may be self-effacing in general, but if you’re in the least bit overweight they’ll repeatedly point it out. > [@Agent Foxtrot](#): > > In a global perspective, us Americunts take the cake. self-loathing americans are amusing. ---
**Author:** ![sylmar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@sylmar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sylmar)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/27 "2013-08-12T23:10:32Z")
Quebecois? Classic Gallic snootiness, world class hagglers and an icy disdain for anything Anglaise related. Disclaimer- I am not widely traveled, North America only… ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/28 "2013-08-12T23:30:52Z")
Isn’t it the “New York Urban” culture? “You Hump!” ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/29 "2013-08-13T01:00:00Z")
Koreans are pretty rude by Western standards. They think nothing of pushing you out of the way without even an “excuse me.” They never hold doors open for the person behind them. Middle aged men hawk up loogies really loudly in the middle of the street. Middle aged women will berate total strangers if they see fit. A friend of mine (a foreigner) had her baby here and she was taken aback at how people would just pick the baby out of his stroller without even asking her if it was okay. Serious boundary issues. They can be quite warm and generous if they like you, though. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/30 "2013-08-13T02:16:19Z")
As others have said, rudeness is subjective. Spanish people are really rude to strangers, by American standards. (Also, I lived in Granada, which is famous even in Spain for having incredibly rude people.) Cashiers will unsmilingly fling your purchases at you. Old ladies will push you off the sidewalk. Strangers will shout at each other over the slightest provocation. Spanish people also don’t queue and are big shovers. However, this isn’t so much rudeness as it is a cultural lack of social obligation to strangers. A Spanish person who gets to know you will be the nicest, friendliest, most hospitable and generous person you’ll ever meet. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/31 "2013-08-13T02:30:21Z")
Russian(s) is known for being a rather blunt language. In English, you’d say, “Could you please pass the salt?” In Russian, you’d say, “Give me the salt,” optionally adding please. It’s also a non-smiling culture; if you walk down the street with a big grin on your face, people will tend to think you’re crazy or DD. A friend also called it “the land customer service forgot”: Clerks at the market do not smile when they’re ringing up your order or giving you your change. They ring it up, tell you how much it costs, then put the change in the little change dish. You can read that as rude; I found it rather pleasantly blunt and honest. When a Russian clerk smiled at me, I knew it was genuine. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/32 "2013-08-13T02:40:28Z")
Separate out rude cultures from those that speak a second language rudely. That’s without getting into asking questions that are normal in say China but considered rude in the US (“why aren’t you married yet?”) ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/33 "2013-08-13T02:45:35Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I wish I could recall the name, but I recall reading of one highly dysfunctional, self-destructive tribe whose culture pretty much consists of constantly trying to ruin each other; socially, personally, materially. They live in crude conditions even by hunter-gatherer standards because no one can build and keep anything without someone stealing, breaking or tearing it down the moment they aren’t looking. Ah yes, New Jersey!! ---
**Author:** ![SirGalahad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SirGalahad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirGalahad)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/34 "2013-08-13T02:48:39Z")
> [@Pyper](#): > > As others have said, rudeness is subjective. Spanish people are really rude to strangers, by American standards. (Also, I lived in Granada, which is famous even in Spain for having incredibly rude people.) Cashiers will unsmilingly fling your purchases at you. Old ladies will push you off the sidewalk. Strangers will shout at each other over the slightest provocation. Spanish people also don’t queue and are big shovers. > > However, this isn’t so much rudeness as it is a cultural lack of social obligation to strangers. A Spanish person who gets to know you will be the nicest, friendliest, most hospitable and generous person you’ll ever meet. When I was in Madrid, the local Spaniards were the friendliest, most happy, kindest folks I’ve ever met. Also the locals in Toledo. I mean the well-to-do, the service industry, the farmers, the blue collar types, the shopkeepers, the locals I met in the bars and on the street. Everyone, I think, except maybe the Gypsies; they tended to be kind of rude. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/35 "2013-08-13T03:01:42Z")
> [@Batistuta](#): > > I’ll give my host country (Sweden) as an example. You will rarely develop a close relationship with your neighbour. A stranger will NEVER talk to you unless absolutely necessary. Carrying a heavy bag in each hand and need help opening a door? No-one will help you unless you ask. > > These things would seem rude, or at least not very polite in most societies. And yet I don’t feel that Swedes are impolite. They are just shy enough that talking to their neighbours seems uncomfortable. They are so protective of their privacy that talking to strangers feels too aggressive. And so individualistic that offering help to people who don’t ask for it is equivalent to patronising them Huh. Sounds a lot like New England 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/36 "2013-08-13T03:06:51Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > A bit too late for another edit to my previous post: Basically, if you visit Scandinavia and people seem cold and aloof, they are actually just trying to be nice to you, by leaving you alone. Yep as a Finnish Australian I love how my Finnish relatives are aloof. They would never leave you to die in the snow but I do appreciate not having to be nice all the bloody time! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/37 "2013-08-13T03:42:44Z")
Most of my contact with other cultures is when I’m traveling, and am in contact with other tourists. I used to think Americans and Germans were the rudest, until I started seeing more and more Eastern Europeans. I’m appalled at some of the behavior I’ve seen. But the all-time rudest single individual I’ve encountered was an [del]American[/del] Texan. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/38 "2013-08-13T04:03:12Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Japanese culture has a reputation for politeness, consideration of the feelings of others, and cooperation. This stereotype comes from the veneer of extreme politeness to which guests are treated. In is, in no way, indicative of that society as a whole. Japanese culture is far more regimented, with a far greater set of acceptable rules and behaviors. Just as “Bless your soul” is code for “Go to hell,” excess politeness can also be a tool to express anger or displeasure without the overt appearance of such. Japanese society itself is a study in factions and rival groups. Governments, corporations, small companies, social groups and schools are filled with rival groups and constant power struggles. On a basic human level, humans are creatures of both conflict and friendship. A paradox of good and bad. While it shows and extreme, watch the baptism scene from Godfather, and edit it into two entirely different movies. I’m not comparing Japanese society as a whole to the mafia, but rather look pointing out that a simplistic view does not stand up to careful scrutiny. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/39 "2013-08-13T04:05:21Z")
Go around Asia and you’ll agree it’s the Koreans. From taxi drivers to ticket booth ladies to sales ladies. Ever had a sales lady in a dept store say to your face just before turning round: “I’m busy!” ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054/40 "2013-08-13T04:10:26Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I struggle to think of any times when I found people’s rude behaviour to be remarkable or memorable. Three times only have I been gobsmacked and, though it may prove to be contentious, on each occasion it was a by a group of what I presume to be Jewish people. I don’t know what sect but they had those stereotypical big hats, coats and hair ringlets. > All of them were English groups BTW and on each occasion it involved the act of pushing in, en-masse (large groups each time) into well established queues and kicking up an enormous, nay, cataclysmic fuss when they were called out on it. Once in Salzburg, once in London and once in Paris. There seemed to be a degree of entitlement at work on each occasion that I found particularly annoying. > > So, by that anecdotal evidence I’d have to say “english” but a specific subset and a specific behaviour of that specific subset. As you can see from my sketchy description I don’t really know anything about jewish people and of course it could be purely coincidental (and their behaviour perhaps touching on my pet rudeness peeve) but still, by the third time I was wondering to myself whether I was biased in some way until a colleague remarked after the incident ( and without any prior comment from me) “un-fucking-believable. I’m writing that down verbatim” Those folks were probably ultra-orthodox Jews, possibly Hasidic. So you are correct in calling them a “subset.” (Now I’m imagining a little Chinese guy with a black hat and peyes saying “That shirt ugly. Can I have it?”) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-culture-is-the-most-blunt-rude-selfish/666054.md?page=3)