- 7 Jun 2008
- 1,029
- 113
While there are many good points made above, I don't entirely accept it. There's another factor at work to cause a rise in incivility in the West: the safety of distance.
Many people today will say things on the internet (for instance) that they'd never have the courage to say to someone in person, for fear of getting a busted nose or fat lip. Americans (a people I'm familiar with) tend to be rude and uncivil by Japanese (another people I have some familiarity with) standards, but that doesn't mean we go around mocking and insulting each other all the time. Such in-person exchanges are likely to trigger conflict or even violence in most people.
It's a mistake to judge Western standards of civility by internet communications or a TV show. We do tend to believe that any religion, political stance, or custom is open to criticism, satire, or mockery; but most people here do not mock someone's religion to their face.
Many people today will say things on the internet (for instance) that they'd never have the courage to say to someone in person, for fear of getting a busted nose or fat lip. Americans (a people I'm familiar with) tend to be rude and uncivil by Japanese (another people I have some familiarity with) standards, but that doesn't mean we go around mocking and insulting each other all the time. Such in-person exchanges are likely to trigger conflict or even violence in most people.
It's a mistake to judge Western standards of civility by internet communications or a TV show. We do tend to believe that any religion, political stance, or custom is open to criticism, satire, or mockery; but most people here do not mock someone's religion to their face.
