This is a question directed to people from different countries all around the world.
There are people in Russian whom I dubbed "sit-it-outs": those who'd rather sit it out than ask a question that's on their mind, speak up or do something they think is right, especially if there's an amount of unfamiliar people around, even if they mind their own business.
I remember what solidifed the image in my head: I've been riding a very early trolleybus home, and due to wetness and low temperatures, trolley cables got frosted, making the "horns" of the trolley elicit sparkles as it moved (with big difficulties, mind you). Not a single person asked about it (there was a conductor in the trolley); people just looked out of the window, clearly worried about the whole issue (it did look quite scary, like a cheap movie SFX that's happening to you, which suddenly makes it real).
Do other countries/cultures have that kind of attitude anywhere near common?
That is not very common in Norway. I was quite surprised by this attitude when I first came to Norway from the U.S. Norwegians speak out. It is part of the culture, and it takes some getting used to. Everyone feels they have a responsibility to speak or act when they see something that is not right. I have been approached by someone (not an employee) who told me I could not take pictures inside of a building, even though I was not taking pictures of people. Another time I swung my car to the other side of the street to nab a parking spot so I could run into a store to grab something quick. Someone called out to me as I ran into the building, but I was in too much of a rush to stop and see what he wanted. When I came out I saw that I had pulled into a handicapped spot - I did not see the sign because I pulled in the wrong way. The man was standing by my car and had waited 10 minutes to tell me that I parked incorrectly. A part of this is connected to the Norwegian expression "take the ball, not the man", meaning when you speak out against someone's behavior, you address the behavior and not the person. When this attitude exists at a culture-wide scale, it is easier both to speak out and easier to accept correction when you have done something wrong ("Oh, I did something wrong, I am thankful that someone let me know. I am not a bad person.")
Of course. This a human thing, not a nationalistic thing. I've been in movie theaters where the picture is blurry and everyone knows it. Everyone just waits for someone else to do something about it. Before you know it, several minutes passes before someone gets out of their seat. -in this case me.
Sure! Kind of similar to the Bystander Effect I guess? The more people that are present, the more they'll assume someone else will take it upon themselves to do something. I know I'm guilty of it. "Someone else will sort it out... I'll just wait here until they do." I'm trying to fix this.
Do you think it might be a case of reverse Eagleland Osmosis going on? (I do believe there must be a trope for that, but I couldn't find it) Norway, at the very least, doesn't seem to agree with you (see mike's comment in this post's comment section).
Mike's reply makes me see that it's not all intrinsic but is cultural as well. Thanks for pointing me toward it. Still, even in Norway, my guess is that certain Norwegians are more likely to get up and notify the projectionist that the screen is blurry than others. But perhaps I am wrong. I may be.
Many cultural differences. I'd be interested in my Chinese or Indian students' responses to this. If you travel you notice how people differ. I wonder too if more advantaged people speak out, while less advantaged people in the same society are more reluctant. Do Israeli Arabs speak out as much as Israelis living in Israel? Cumol? Do Turks living in Berlin speak out as much as Germans? Canadians are pretty quiet. Like thenewgreen, I usually start to yell "focus" or "sound" -- but, of course, there's no longer a human around who can control these things.
I started writing this and then noticed that it usually depends on the setting and situation. The first situation is the individual interaction. An example would be a person telling another person in public that they might be doing something against the law/wrong. - Arab Israelis to arab israelis: this basically never happens. If you do this, you will probably be called a smartass and people will mock you. It gets worse if you take the fact that in an arabic city in israel, everyone knows everyone. Some people take your note as a personal attack and it can snowball into something much bigger than you expected. - Arab israelis towards other israelis: very little speaking up. Arabs don't bother doing it because they know they might lose most of the time. There is a lot of racism and class-thinking in Israel. The minority keeps quiet in fear of waking the lion up. - Non-arabi israelis to other non-arab israelis: Speak out. The cities are larger, people in public are actual strangers and not relatives or people you know. Speaking up usually goes in a neutral or rather negative way. I cannot recall a situation where the intention of speaking out was to educate but rather to show that the one speaking out is in the right and the people accepting the critique is in wrong. Usually leads to arguments which are pretty loud. - Non-arab israelis to arab israelis: much easier to speak out. We are a minority, it is easy to speak out against a minority, specially if in the current public situation (jewish city) you are a minority. - Germans in general: rather passive until they are personally affected by the actions of another person. Then they speak out. Here again, not with an educational intent but rather snappy. - Germans toward german turks: no more speaking out than usual. They complain a lot about the turkish minority but do not confront directly. - German turks: I do not speak turkish, which makes this part hard as german turks usually prefer talking in turkish than in german. This is actually something that is discussed a lot in the german society. This is different when it comes to group interactions. An example would be something that is happening in the bus where everyone is listening/watching what is happening and it is about doing something or reacting to the situation. - Germany: it usually takes some time until someone dares to say something. Usually it is the younger generation saying/doing something about a situation. Once somebody starts, many people try to pick a side and just jump on the bandwagon, sometimes without really realizing what they have just subscribed to. - Israel: Pretty fast and loud. Bandwagoning happens here too, but people are more aware of their opinions. In both situations, group interactions in Israel and Germany are usually initiated by people from the ethnic majority in the situation. In a situation where there are 8 jewish and 2 arab israelis on a bus, the "speaking out" is usually initiated by the jewish fraction in this situation. While it might be just a matter of statistics (8 vs. 2) but there are additional factors that go into this. The ethnic background surely plays a role here as the two arabic passengers feel that whatever they might say will be ignored or countered because of the fact that they are arabs, without taking into account if what they are saying is right or wrong. I might be very vague in my descriptions or not know the correct terminology for such situations. A social scholar or anthropologist might be able to make more sense into this situation?? Keep in mind, everything I wrote is taken from situations I have encountered myself and probably is heavily influenced by socio-economic-ethnic-bias and might be far from the statistical reality, so take it with a grain of salt.
Thanks Cumol. Is this an ethnic thing in Russia ThatFanficGuy In Canada it seems people speak out at strangers mostly to be helpful, although it can sound hostile: "WRONG WAY" they might say, if you are driving the wrong way on a one-way street. But if you tell someone not to litter after they throw their bottle or potato chip bag on the street, they are likely to tell you to f off!
I haven't observed much interethnic interactions in my life, let alone speaking up among different ethnic groups. That being said, I would imagine that, had Russia have a more outspoken culture, non-Slavic ethnicities would be either silenced or shunned for them speaking up against immoral or unlawful activities. There are plenty of people from southern countries - Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and so on - coming to Russia to work because of its more prosperous economy, and many of them - those who don't look Slavic, that is - are treated by a shamingly big number of people as inferior. Jews get the same or similar treatment. The racism stems from the way non-Russians were treated back in the USSR: from what I gather, the "union" part wasn't followed up culturally, which entails Russians, being the "main" nation among "equals", seeing themselves as more important, more powerful and so on. It's funny how the nazism the country fought so hard against finds its way inside Russia's veins. (that's another #russiabynatives topic! thanks again!)
and many of them - those who don't look Slavic, that is - are treated by a shamingly big number of people as inferior.
It is a horrible truth of almost every culture: to treat the "other" as inferior or different or dangerous instead of as humans equally deserving of consideration.
You're right, sadly. However, I feel like the Russian culture is under more pressure - or responsibility - to behave otherwise, given its supposed "all cultures united" promise from back in the Soviet Union. In general, every culture to promise tolerance or equality ought to follow on that promise, and not doing so reflects even worse on then than it does on those not promising anything of that nature at all.
Yes, automated and still faulty. There is a room with a digital projector of some sort but there is no longer a human in the room operating the projector. In many cases one has to leave the viewing room and hunt around for a manager who understands the technology.
In my head, this makes cinema watching much colder, emotions-wise. Granted, I think Russian cinemas still have operators - I think, because I haven't been in any in years and am not planning to visit any. (which gives me a good topic for #russiabynatives - thanks, lil!)