Because there is an objective standard of “violent”, in a way that doesn’t work for “rude”. If you kick someone’s head in, the result will be the same no matter who you do it do. If you’re being rude, the level of butthurt that results will vary wildly between individuals depending on their culture.
Israelis are a special breed, for sure. I’m friendly with quite a few and have worked for some (You can’t have lived in Great Neck, NY without knowing some Israelis). They will straight up say things like, “Your hair looks like shit today!” I think its because Israel is a young country without a strongly established social heirarchy – they don’t feel deferential or obliged to hold their tongues.
I did not find Greeks to be friendly when I visited Athens. If I approached someone asking a question in my broken but earnest Greek, they’d ignore me or give me a dirty look. I think I had one pleasant conversation with a local the whole time I was there.
The Japanese are now just minor players in international trade and have given up on calling Americans “fat and lazy.”
Heck, certain comments that might seem rude in one culture could even be compliments in another culture. I heard an interview with a woman from Malawi on NPR (This American Life) where she was talking about gossip relating to people’s HIV status. In Malawi describing someone as “a little bit fat” was a compliment, but remarking that someone looked thin or that they seemed to have lost weight was a way of suggesting that they probably had AIDS. But in the US saying someone is fat, even “a little bit fat”, is insulting while saying they’ve lost weight will usually be taken as a compliment.
Hey, if they didn’t tell you, how would you know?
^
Americans might apply more finesse than Israelis but the end-result is the same. “Better grow your mustache back man, someone might land an airplane on your upper lip.”
Israelis have nothing on the lovely people from the Punjab, especially, Lahore. They have only two modes, exceptionally polite or exceptionally…open.
Can you send me the master list of which cultures are quirky and which are not? I seem to have misplaced my copy. 
Interesting and relevant follow-up re: the Huns - they are revered in Hungary, and “Attila” is an extremely popular name there. One culture vilifies the Huns, another lionizes them. Who is to say which is right? Rudeness is in the eye of the beholder.
Correct on both counts.
My old neighborhood in New York had lots of Korean shopkeepers, and a more cold, brusque, taciturn bunch you will never find. They never smile at customers, never make small talk, and act as if they just want you to pay and get the hell out of their store.
Just the opposite of a Greek shopkeeper, who will smile, chat, and treat strangers like close friends.
That said, Koreans CAN be delightful and very funny people, once they get to know you and feel comfortable around you. But that can take a long time.
There are several variations on this joke:
A TV reporter approached an American, a North Korean, and an Israeli, saying, “Excuse me- what is your opinion about global warming?”
The American replied, “What does ‘global warming’ mean?”
The North Korean replied, “What does ‘opinion’ mean?”
The Israeli answered, “What does ‘excuse me’ mean?”
I had a lovely long conversation on the MegaBus from Chicago to Kansas City with the wife of a Mongolian diplomat. Needless to say, they have a very different view of Genghis Khan than I was taught in school. Luckily I had seen Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan so I had some idea. As in most things, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
I’ve quite often heard (second-hand, only – don’t think I’ve ever personally met an Israeli) about Israel being a strong contender for “rudest nation on earth” – a reputation of which apparently, many of the inhabitants are proud.
I remember a post from an Israeli contributor to a Harry Potter website, to the effect that it is standard and normal conduct in Israel, for people to behave to each other like Snape did to Harry on a bad day. I hope that he was exaggerating a bit, at least…
Hey! I’m Punjabi! And my grandfather was from Lahore!
(Really, though, I am pretty thoroughly American).
I’ve been thinking about this thread and the most humiliating experiences I have had were by spanish speakers. I never no idea what country they are from, but certain Spanish-speaking guys will walk right behind you and, in Spanish, talk about your fat ass, or how they’d like to ride you all night long, and how your pussy must be this that or the other thing. The same segment of Spanish-speaking women will deride your hair, clothes, looks and anything else they want, and I’ve had more than one spanish-speaking grandmother come up to me and bitch me out for not speaking Spanish - although when they (finally) realize I am not Spanish of any stripe, they usually laugh, though never apologize.
The last time was in the DC zoo two years ago…we were walking through the zoo and a group of young* Spanish men were following behind, making downright nasty comments about the women in the vicinity. My Spanish is clumsy but I understand enough, and after a few minutes of non-stop lewd talk, I turned on one and snapped, “Hablo espanol, idiot.” Even that didn’t stop them, but at least they stopped their lewd and crude talk and switched to what a stupid bitch I was.
It was pretty humiliating. And it’s by no means the first time.
*Groups of young men are kind of scary no matter the nationality.