Plus of course rent-a-mob protest groups who have no idea what they are protesting about today, wait for the press to arrive and then lie on the floor bleating like sheep about to be slaughtered. Once the press have gone, they get up, get paid and go home.RBD wrote:Accusing people of things they clearly have not done and lying in court (both entirely without repercussion when found out) appears to be a part of local culture these days. Even 'witnesses' in the KR Tribunal have been caught talking through their behinds. Much of this is encouraged by the donor community in their role of ambulance-chaser.
Cultural sensitivity
- Lucky Lucan
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To be fair, they usually respect their family, especially the big cheese in it. This phenomenon has been part of the culture here since time immemorial. It is, in my humble opinion, why the neighboring countries are so much stronger - they have more of a sense of community and belonging to a larger society or nation.WatchTheGrass wrote: They don't respect their laws, they don't respect their environment, they don't respect other people let alone themselves. The only things that anyone here seems to respect are money, power or status.
I don't know why this is. I suspect all the intrigue that existed around the monarchy, and then the countless internal fractures, rebellions, wars and invasions over the centuries has led people not to trust or care too much about anyone outside their immediate family. Maybe we need a bit more time before we can expect otherwise.
Romantic Cambodia is dead and gone. It's with McKinley in the grave.
Vlad,vladimir wrote:
I agree we should be sensitive to other cultures and try not to offend people, but I do feel the card is being massively over-played to cover incompetence, negligence, corruption etc.
One Khmer recently got upset with me because I criticised corruption in the WP process. How they take this and turn it into a criticism of all people in Cambodia is beyond me.
It just seems that any criticism of anyone is automatically taken as including everyone. It may be a deliberate, planned strategy to curb criticism of corruption, I don't know.
I don't think it's deliberate or planned.
IMO, it's almost a national trait albeit not unique to Cambodians.
I am surprised that you have not worked out by now that many, if not most Cambodians are among the most insecure, uneducated and dumbest people around. For example, this national preoccupation with showing off or boasting , especially among men, hides some really deep insecurity about one's family background, intellect, level and quality of education, ability and competence.
The visceral hatred of the Vietnamese also hides the Cambodians' insecurity toward a race that is perceived by many Westerners (and the Vietnamese themselves, of course) to be "superior" in terms of work ethic, intelligence, achievement, even physical beauty/skin complexion or sexual prowess (as far as women are concerned; many Khmer men probably think that Vietnamese men have small penises ).
Unfortunately, many, if not most of us are kinda stuck here (for various reasons) and we need to learn to put up with such people.
It's their country, their mentality, their character. I don't think things are going to change any time soon.
When the supposedly educated "elite" is cut from the same cloth, how do you expect the plebe to be different?
- vladimir
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I realised the insecurity and lack of education within a few months of arrival.
I don't think they're dumb, I've met some very sharp people here, including some of my present students, who are from middle/ lower middle income groups.
However, I do agree that many put the knowledge they gain to bad use, but they're not alone in that, witness US/UK foreign policy or Israeli domestic policy, two very educated societies (supposedly).
I don't think they're dumb, I've met some very sharp people here, including some of my present students, who are from middle/ lower middle income groups.
However, I do agree that many put the knowledge they gain to bad use, but they're not alone in that, witness US/UK foreign policy or Israeli domestic policy, two very educated societies (supposedly).
ירי ילדים והפצצת אזרחים דורש אומץ, כמו גם הטרדה מינית של עובדי ההוראה.
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