"Dressing down a culture"

[TheOfficialBren]

Life's tough. Buy a helmet.

Yup! Lots of truth there, Nathan (and in the rest of your posts).

Although many of these social concepts my not be universally accepted or practised it would behoove one to be mindful of them and aware of when and when not to push them.

Things To Consider:

If one is among peers at the local dive bar I'm pretty sure that some of these social niceties will mark you as an outsider and even a bit 'odd.' Is this a bad thing? It all depends on your objective. Are you trying to blend in? Are you popping in just the one time to have a peek? Are you there on business (applying for a job, selling something, servicing vending machines/plumbing) or for recreational purposes?

Context is key. Where are you? When are you there? With whom will you be interacting? Why are you there?

If one is unable or unwilling to accept (truly accept, not just profess it publicly then harbour resentment privately) that others do not always agree and are unable or unwilling adjust one's own actions in settings where it is (and let's not kid ourselves on this one) appropriate to do so then I would submit that one should avoid those situations and that company.

Consideration for others is a golden rule to follow. It is universal and shows a better-rounded person when one is willing to set aside ones own feelings in order to be gracious and make a good impression (especially a first impression). Much has been said over the course of history about first impressions. There's something to that. One does not (the overwhelming majority of the time) get the opportunity to recant, redact, or redress any misunderstandings or errors during a first impression. Like-it-or-not, that is a fact.

Best to err on the side of being genteel in most (yes, most, not all--there are a few occasions when being genteel is inadequate) situations.

I am reminded of a story about a queen. A common woman was invited to dine with the queen on a special occasion, having performed a service for the queen. She was seated next to the queen. She looked her best and behaved her best. During the course of the evening, the common woman made the innocent error of using her dessert spoon for her soup. Rather than explain the difference the queen discreetly put down her soup spoon and picked up her own dessert spoon and began eating her soup, never batting an eye, and continuing on while the common woman never noticed the change of spoons. The common woman thanked the queen for a lovely evening.

Just a few thoughts.