Blowing Water | Stop hiding behind your culture as an excuse for bad behaviour
Hongkongers should prevent people from using the ‘culture thing’ as a defence to do whatever they want to inflict harm or violate the personal freedom or dignity of others
It would be fair to say something considered distasteful in one culture might not necessarily be so in another.
Of course, there is always common ground on certain issues, and when it comes to ethics, morality and widely recognised universal values, there is little room for compromise, no matter what the culture it is.
However, this can be tricky if you have grown up in a multicultural setting, and needless to say, many of us are living in a culturally diverse and interconnected world.
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In the West, people talking with a mouth full of food, eating loudly, slurping soup or burping openly are often habits widely frowned upon. But on this side of the globe, these are socially acceptable behaviours often tolerated by non-Asians, mostly because there is nothing morally wrong with such conduct.
There are vast differences of opinion about the way different cultures eat. For example, in some Asian countries people eat insects as they see them as a cheap and nutritious food – high in protein and low in calories. It might be gross to others, but open-minded people would not condemn it because it’s an affordable nutritious option for people in developing countries. In Alaska, the indigenous people have depended on whale meat throughout generations. This dietary practice is generally tolerated because it is a cultural practice and necessary subsistence to indigenous Alaskans.
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However, most people are disgusted by the habit of dog meat consumption, not only because of their love of dogs and think it’s morally wrong to eat man’s best friend, but also due to a feeling of disgust.