by JackRoad » Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:55 am
Chuangt2u wrote:That smile thing?
They do that to defuse a situation.
Shit happens, and it can happen more often than not, here. The Khmer smile, to me, shows well that part of their mindset that looks for a compromise, a meeting half-way, an agreement, a way to settle things between parties before problems become too big.
They do that because there really are no brakes on a situation once it's out of hand - things turn into red mist and body parts around here in the blink of an eye when folks get serious.
So they smile at the most insane shit, because, unlike us, they're aware of what can and will happen if things are taken seriously - and that smile is a coping mechanism amidst the chaos of life here.
As for the most of us westerners, we're still in the mindset of our home countries, where unless you're some kind of prison butcher, bikie hitman, or GI Joe, you're never likely to come across that level of violence. So we get threads like this that say "Why do they smile at such insane sh1t?"
Look to the recent thread about the axe attack to see what I mean. Most of us have never had to deal with inescapably being a part of that type of society.
When they start smiling I ramp it up and get really in there.(Just guys)
Then when I can tell they are about to burst and axe me I 180 and give them a genuine smile like I wasn't just being a total dick and say something really nice that would make them look like the dick if they said or did anything
Then they lose the smile real quick because they think I've made them out to look like a dick, because they're fuming and I'm cool as a cucumber
Mind you this only applies to people who can actually converse with me in English otherwise its not fair. Gone are the days of the red mist unless you're trying to score meth on the street and then you'll get what's coming to you.
[quote="Chuangt2u"]That smile thing?
They do that to defuse a situation.
Shit happens, and it can happen more often than not, here. The Khmer smile, to me, shows well that part of their mindset that looks for a compromise, a meeting half-way, an agreement, a way to settle things between parties before problems become too big.
They do that because there really are no brakes on a situation once it's out of hand - things turn into red mist and body parts around here in the blink of an eye when folks get serious.
So they smile at the most insane shit, because, unlike us, they're aware of what can and will happen if things are taken seriously - and that smile is a coping mechanism amidst the chaos of life here.
As for the most of us westerners, we're still in the mindset of our home countries, where unless you're some kind of prison butcher, bikie hitman, or GI Joe, you're never likely to come across that level of violence. So we get threads like this that say "Why do they smile at such insane sh1t?"
Look to the recent thread about the axe attack to see what I mean. Most of us have never had to deal with inescapably being a part of that type of society.[/quote]
When they start smiling I ramp it up and get really in there.(Just guys) :catfight:
Then when I can tell they are about to burst and axe me I 180 and give them a genuine smile like I wasn't just being a total dick and say something really nice that would make them look like the dick if they said or did anything :cheers2:
Then they lose the smile real quick because they think I've made them out to look like a dick, because they're fuming and I'm cool as a cucumber :axe:
Mind you this only applies to people who can actually converse with me in English otherwise its not fair. Gone are the days of the red mist unless you're trying to score meth on the street and then you'll get what's coming to you.