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Q: A strange thing happened today
I was in the elevator this morning with a little kid and his mom. The little kid starts staring at me, nothing weird so far. The weird thing was that his mom told him "What are you doing staring at him? Instead you should greet him. Staring is impolite."
Have you ever been so pleasantly surprised?
Actually, yes. I often hear mothers saying things like this.
There are some downright backward people out there, but then there are a lot of normal civilized folk out there too, probably suffering the idiots just like we do.
It's just that the backwards people make themselves known to everyone with their obnoxious behavior while the decent people just go about their business and don't get noticed.
sorrel:
It could be that the children, who may have been raised more by their grandparents have learnt this behaviour, whereas the parents are more used to interacting with foreigners and more aware of how impolite this is.
It could also be children unused to people outside their family circle.
Lord_hanson:
I gotta agree with Stiggs, it is always the noisy minority that gets the attention. It has always been this way all over the world. Most decent folks keep their heads down and get on with life.
Garbo:
In my community an interesting thing is happening . Small children maybe three or four years old say hello and ask simple questions in English. Granted I've been living here over a year and have been coming to this community for years because I have friends that live here. I have noticed a difference in the children being interested in a good way in foreigners. I too say hello to people in the elevator. I had a pleasant walk up the street with one mom as we joked about Lanzhou having better air than Beijing these days, plus the guards at my community are absolute gems but then again I always chat with them or at the very least say hello.
Actually, yes. I often hear mothers saying things like this.
There are some downright backward people out there, but then there are a lot of normal civilized folk out there too, probably suffering the idiots just like we do.
It's just that the backwards people make themselves known to everyone with their obnoxious behavior while the decent people just go about their business and don't get noticed.
sorrel:
It could be that the children, who may have been raised more by their grandparents have learnt this behaviour, whereas the parents are more used to interacting with foreigners and more aware of how impolite this is.
It could also be children unused to people outside their family circle.
Lord_hanson:
I gotta agree with Stiggs, it is always the noisy minority that gets the attention. It has always been this way all over the world. Most decent folks keep their heads down and get on with life.
Garbo:
In my community an interesting thing is happening . Small children maybe three or four years old say hello and ask simple questions in English. Granted I've been living here over a year and have been coming to this community for years because I have friends that live here. I have noticed a difference in the children being interested in a good way in foreigners. I too say hello to people in the elevator. I had a pleasant walk up the street with one mom as we joked about Lanzhou having better air than Beijing these days, plus the guards at my community are absolute gems but then again I always chat with them or at the very least say hello.
Moments like these make you realize how many polite, respectful, civilized people there are in China. I get satisfaction every time someone holds a door open for me, thanks me for holding a door open for them, wishes me well, or otherwise treats me fairly and decently. When 1,000 people walk by you and say nothing but one shrieks at you like an imbecile, it becomes easy to forget the silent majority of people going about their lives peacefully and allowing you to do the same.
Yeah come to think about it, we pin point behavior of few people, otherwise we tend to ignore thousands of other good Samaritans... 
I often say HELLO, to elevator people.... children often stare at "strangers".
good for Mom, I guess, a little education. I say Hello or Ni Hao to a whole lot of my local community. Can't speak Chinese well enough to have a conversation, but I sure as hell see nothing wrong with a pleasant greeting.
I especially enjoy the old folks smiles and "Ni Hao's and of course the kids too...
I once has a little girl call my half-Chinese baby a waiguoren, and her father corrected her, saying "ta shi zhongguoren."
Both are partially correct of course, but the acknowledgement of not being a total outsider is meaningful. the girl later had lots of fun making goofy faces, with little Andy bursting out laughing at the performance. it was very cute. Andy had a big enchanting smile, so everyone at the bus station was endeared.
I am always happy when a Chinese person has good manners and understands that foreigners are not demented animals.
There are tons of good people in China, it is just that unfortunately the bad ones ruin it for everyone. They are the ones shouting, picking fights and getting the headlines so everyone just raises their arms in defeat and despair.
Why isn't there more stories about how a Chinese person helped a foreigner, or vice versa or Chinese helping Chinese? I guess the government wants everyone separated so we are easier to control.
For some reason a large number of bad ones are in Beijing.
