Thread: Societal Norms Discussion

As an undergrad one of my favorite courses was Sociology. I am fascinated by the difference in opinion that people from different geographical areas have on various subjects. What are some of the societal norms that you see being different in your experiences?

HSBC have been doing a series of adverts based on the theme "Your Point of View". The posters have been particularly thought-provoking. For example, they use identical images with polar opposite descriptions typed on top of the image like 'Good?' or 'Bad?' or 'Fun?' or 'Boring?' etc.

An example is a plate of sashimi (raw fish, raw scallops, etc.). The two images next to each other are identical except for the text on top, one of which is something like "tasty" and the other "revolting".

There are dozens of posters they use as examples. The point for HSBC is that they understand all the cultural variances between countries. (Their website is here, but I can't see any of the posters I'm describing.)

Other examples include sitting back and putting your feet up. In the West it looks like someone is relaxing, in parts of South East Asia it is considered extremely rude to show the soles of your feet.

I'll bite. Bear in mind that this is not criticism of other cultures.

In Belgium

1) the concept of having a 2 party system is foreign.
2) we support the right to abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage
3) we have 6 weeks of holiday per year
4) we put mayonaise on fries
5) It is normal for 16 year olds to enjoy a beer.
6) smoking is banned in public places and restaurants
7) firearms are NOT for shooting people. you have to keep them in a locked safe, with the ammo in a separate, locked box.
8) there is no death penaly
9) Senators and other members of government can be gay or having an affair and don't be afraid of ruining their career if / when it comes out. The french speaking PM is gay, and our king has a daughter out of wedlock. Meh...
10) Healthcare is good and almost free.
11) We pay a lot of taxes and SS. Higher payscales are taxed up to 50%
12) we have 7 governments with partly overlapping responsibilities. Each can have different coalitions with some parties being in the opposition in one government while being in the majority coalition in another government. they also sit for different periods of time.
13) there are 3 official national languages. When the king or crownprince marries, each sentence in the whole ceremony is said 3 times. once for each language.

Most Belgians can agree with most of what I just wrote. I know I do.

I'll probably think of more later on.

Originally Posted by Bruno

I'll bite. Bear in mind that this is not criticism of other cultures.

In Belgium

1) the concept of having a 2 party system is foreign.
2) we support the right to abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage
3) we have 6 weeks of holiday per year
4) we put mayonaise on fries
5) It is normal for 16 year olds to enjoy a beer.
6) smoking is banned in public places and restaurants
7) firearms are NOT for shooting people. you have to keep them in a locked safe, with the ammo in a separate, locked box.
8) there is no death penaly
9) Senators and other members of government can be gay or having an affair and don't be afraid of ruining their career if / when it comes out. The french speaking PM is gay, and our king has a daughter out of wedlock. Meh...
10) Healthcare is good and almost free.
11) We pay a lot of taxes and SS. Higher payscales are taxed up to 50%
12) we have 7 governments with partly overlapping responsibilities. Each can have different coalitions with some parties being in the opposition in one government while being in the majority coalition in another government. they also sit for different periods of time.
13) there are 3 official national languages. When the king or crownprince marries, each sentence in the whole ceremony is said 3 times. once for each language.

Most Belgians can agree with most of what I just wrote. I know I do.

I'll probably think of more later on.

I'll bite right back: here in the USA

the '2 party system' has evolved over time, as a form of Check and balance on the country itself. The thought of having a king, not an elected official, which rules simply because he was born in the right family, and not based on the merrits of his worth, is just plain scary.

we are predominitly a Christian Nation, that adheres the the values of Christianity, which includs the sanctity of life and marriage.

We have as much holiday each year as you want. You just may not get paid for the time you take off, and may not have a job when you get back. Normally, in the private sector, you are lucky to be offered 2 weeks, but usually only take about 1.

Mayonaise on Fries is just plain weird for most of us, but in my opinion IT ROCKS!!

It is also normal for a 16 year old to enjoy a beer (just not legal)

we have instituted a smoking ban from most public establishments such as restaurants and bars (at least in my state)

Firearms are for shooting your target, what ever that target may be.

there is a death penalty for two people. Usually the vicitm who did not have the above firearm, and for the convicted criminal.

Our elected representative can even do crack cocaine and kill a girl while driving drunk and still have a political career (see Marion Berry and Ted Kenedy)

our healthcare sucks and costs us an arm and a leg

We pay a lot in taxes (upper tax bracket for income is 35%, then add in SSI, sales tax, estate tax, ....)

We have the 1 federal government, 52 state and territorial governments, countless county governments, countless municipal governments, (and the ever present home owner association) So, in all I would sat that we have well over 2000 governments

I would say that we now have two official languages, English and Spanish.

There are also many, many differences between the various states.

Originally Posted by mhailey

We have the 1 federal government, 52 state and territorial governments, countless county governments, countless municipal governments, (and the ever present home owner association) So, in all I would sat that we have well over 2000 governments

There are over 511,000 elected officials in the US. FYI.

Mr Hailey rests my case.

The only thing I haven't heard about the US is how big it is and how this can really influence the distribution of certain ideas or little "micro cultures"( I don't know what I'm talking about) in places like New Orleans.
Most of the rest of the country has almost NO French influence but it is very strong there.
The geography of the US really makes it hard to pin down absolutes.

Originally Posted by gratewhitehuntr

Mr Hailey rests my case.

The only thing I haven't heard about the US is how big it is and how this can really influence the distribution of certain ideas or little "micro cultures"( I don't know what I'm talking about) in places like New Orleans.
Most of the rest of the country has almost NO French influence but it is very strong there.
The geography of the US really makes it hard to pin down absolutes.

How does that work? I have heard of people like the Amish who seem to live completely on their own, to their own standard.
Are they allowed to make their own laws?
I know that e.g. native Americans are allowed to organize gambling in certain areas. Are they the only ones who have exemptions?

Originally Posted by Bruno

I'll bite. Bear in mind that this is not criticism of other cultures.

In Belgium

1) the concept of having a 2 party system is foreign.
2) we support the right to abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage
3) we have 6 weeks of holiday per year
4) we put mayonaise on fries
5) It is normal for 16 year olds to enjoy a beer.
6) smoking is banned in public places and restaurants
7) firearms are NOT for shooting people. you have to keep them in a locked safe, with the ammo in a separate, locked box.
8) there is no death penaly
9) Senators and other members of government can be gay or having an affair and don't be afraid of ruining their career if / when it comes out. The french speaking PM is gay, and our king has a daughter out of wedlock. Meh...
10) Healthcare is good and almost free.
11) We pay a lot of taxes and SS. Higher payscales are taxed up to 50%
12) we have 7 governments with partly overlapping responsibilities. Each can have different coalitions with some parties being in the opposition in one government while being in the majority coalition in another government. they also sit for different periods of time.
13) there are 3 official national languages. When the king or crownprince marries, each sentence in the whole ceremony is said 3 times. once for each language.

Most Belgians can agree with most of what I just wrote. I know I do.

I'll probably think of more later on.

How impressive! And yet so much gun violence!

BRUSSELS -- It has been a year since the new weapon law was introduced and only 10 percent of the guns in Belgium have surfaced. In addition provincial services that grant permits are busier than ever with applications. Parliament approved a new weapon law after the shooting of a nanny, toddler and other woman on the street in Antwerp by Hans Van Themsche on 11 May 2006. All firearms are banned unless a permit is obtained from the... ( gunpolicy.org )

Maybe the more important social norm in America is a free press.

Originally Posted by Bruno

How does that work? I have heard of people like the Amish who seem to live completely on their own, to their own standard.
Are they allowed to make their own laws?
I know that e.g. native Americans are allowed to organize gambling in certain areas. Are they the only ones who have exemptions?

AFAIK, the Amish are bound by federal, state, and local laws. Since they would be a predominate factor in the population at the local level, their ways would likely dictate the laws and ordinances at the local level. Often laws are simply not enforced at the local level to compensate for differences of beliefs by groups such as the Amish. Similarly, the polygamy practices of the Fundamentalist Mormons are not prosecuted in the border area between Arizona and Utah even though polygamy is against the law in both of those states.

The American Indians are a different matter entirely... each tribe is essentially a quasi-sovereign nation within the USA, and may have territory located within multiple States. In general, they are responsible for the laws and justice of things which occur within their boundaries. There's lots of jurisdictional issues, but in general they adhere to Federal laws and some State laws. They are, of course, the local law. So, if an Indian breaks the law on the reservation they are tried and punished by the tribal justice system. If they break a law off the reservation they generally fall under the federal/state/local authorities and are tried and punished by that jurisdiction.

Restriction of Casinos in the USA is a State issue... since the Reservations are "national" the State can't regulate them for the most part. Here in Arizona the State does get some revenue from the casinos under various negotiated agreements.

BTW, the Casinos are big money makers for the tribe. Often the Casino profits are distributed amongst the members of the tribe. I don't follow it closely, but I've seen numbers published along the lines of every man, women, and child on the reservation getting $40K per year as their share of the Casino profits.

Okay, AZ beat me to it.