Are Taiwanese pussy?

Discussion Open Forum
21

Then be proud of this positive aspect of your personality, and continue to say your something when it’s called for, because you’re absolutely right to do so and will be setting a good example for others.

The best way to modify bad behaviour is through social pressure: if enough people openly display disapproval of what someone is doing, there’s a very good chance that person will cease to do it, or at least will do it less often and less flagrantly. A society where everybody minds his own business, looks the other way when other people act outrageously, and avoids confronting wrongdoers at all costs, is only going to encourage the worst of its members to make life more and more unpleasant for everyone else.[/quote]

Jacana,

I just wanted to second this opinion. The more people like you stand up to bores and bullies the better for everyone.

You’re doing a good job. If there’s a next time and it happens somewhere near me, I’ll back you up.

Cheers.

22

In my early days in Taiwan in 1989, I came across a large, drunk and rough looking Taiwanese guy in Yungho who had tied a very young puppy to a pole with a short rope in an alleyway. He then proceeded to throw firecrackers near the puppy and was laughing as the dog yelped in terror and tried to jump away from the explosions.

Horrified, I jumped between the guy and the puppy and demanded that he stop doing this to the dog. I had just gotten paid from an English teaching job and offered to give him all the money I had (NT$15,000) in exchange for the dog. He growled at me in Chinese that he had money and we stood a few feet apart eyeballing each other. After a few minutes of this, he untied the puppy and left (with the puppy).

I don’t know what happened to the dog. Maybe he realized his error and became a wonderful dog owner. :smiley: Maybe he said, “fucking foreigner” and took the dog home and killed it. :frowning: I have no idea.

Although he was bigger than me, I remember that I wasn’t scared but simply very angry with him. He was kind of out of shape so I figured even if he tries something, I can take him in the end when he tires. Of course, I am thinking that any fight will only be between he and I.

At the time, I did not have much understanding about Taiwan, its people and its culture. I think I may have been here for 6 months or so when this incident occurred. Over the years, I have witnessed some brutal fights in Taiwan where a gang of guys pummel some poor (and alone) sole. I often think back to that incident and wonder, “what if that guy had a gang of buddies around the corner just as drunk and as ignorant as he?” If that had been the case, I too may have been a poor (and alone) sole.

Anyway, having lived here off and on since '89, I have learned to ignore a lot of shit. Some of that has come from a better understanding of how relationships work in Taiwan. I know that if I get into a hassle with a local guy, I may end up alone against him and all of his mates.

Luckily, I have never again come across a guy throwing firecrackers at a defenseless puppy. If I do, the puppy lover in me will react the same way I did in '89, except that this time I most likely will be a bit more scared.

23

I’ve often told friends back home that the difference between the way people treat each other in public in Taiwan, and the way people treat each other in public back home is like this:

Take a random sample of 1000 people in both Taiwan and the U.S and put them in public situations where they are competing for the same road, elevator, seat, etc.

In the U.S.:
900 of them will often yeild to you, let you into traffic, let you cross the road, apologize if they bump you, etc.
99 of them won’t give a flying fuck about you.
1 of them will take the opportunity to hit, rape, or kill you if said opportunity presents itself.

In Taiwan:
900 people won’t give a fuck about whether you need to get into a lane, need to get off the MRT, need to board the elevator, or they’ve just knocked you on your ass. It’s me, me, me first.
100 people will be kind and courteous.
0 will steal from, rape, or kill you.

Obviously, this isn’t scientific. One thing I do here that I probably shoudn’t do is generalize about local culture and mores in order to synthesize things that I don’t like or I’m not used to. On balance, I like living here, have a lot of good things to say about Taiwan society and culture. Public apathy and the lack of gentility in public situations is a fairly minor irritant for me.

I also find that people in Taiwan are quite different face-to-face than they are out in public. The guy who will cut you off in traffic will also treat you like a king when you visit his home.

I think that people should stick up for themselves. The other day, my girlfriend and I were nearly killed on my scooter when a guy in a Lexus SUV suddenly decided to pass another car. I flipped my helmet visor back and screamed as many obscentities as I could muster in two languages, then pulled up next to him and signalled for him to pull over. My girlfriend is a sweetie but you don’t want to piss her off. We walked over to the driver’s window, saw that he had his whole family in the car with him and that everyone was pretty nervous. We did a good cop-bad cop routine. My girlfriend chewed him out first, and then I told him: “I see you’re with your family. Well, my girlfriend and I have families too. They’d like it if we stay alive. You nearly killed us back there. Please drive more carefully.” He was quite docile in his response, apologized profusely, and we went away satisfied that he’ll drive a little more carefully. For a day or two anyway.

24

[quote=“Tomas”]I’ve often told friends back home that the difference between the way people treat each other in public in Taiwan, and the way people treat each other in public back home is like this:

Take a random sample of 1000 people in both Taiwan and the U.S and put them in public situations where they are competing for the same road, elevator, seat, etc.

In the U.S.:
900 of them will often yeild to you, let you into traffic, let you cross the road, apologize if they bump you, etc.
99 of them won’t give a flying fuck about you.
1 of them will take the opportunity to hit, rape, or kill you if said opportunity presents itself.

In Taiwan:
900 people won’t give a fuck about whether you need to get into a lane, need to get off the MRT, need to board the elevator, or they’ve just knocked you on your ass. It’s me, me, me first.
100 people will be kind and courteous.
0 will steal from, rape, or kill you.

Obviously, this isn’t scientific. One thing I do here that I probably shoudn’t do is generalize about local culture and mores in order to synthesize things that I don’t like or I’m not used to. On balance, I like living here, have a lot of good things to say about Taiwan society and culture. Public apathy and the lack of gentility in public situations is a fairly minor irritant for me.

I also find that people in Taiwan are quite different face-to-face than they are out in public. The guy who will cut you off in traffic will also treat you like a king when you visit his home.

I think that people should stick up for themselves. The other day, my girlfriend and I were nearly killed on my scooter when a guy in a Lexus SUV suddenly decided to pass another car. I flipped my helmet visor back and screamed as many obscentities as I could muster in two languages, then pulled up next to him and signalled for him to pull over. My girlfriend is a sweetie but you don’t want to piss her off. We walked over to the driver’s window, saw that he had his whole family in the car with him and that everyone was pretty nervous. We did a good cop-bad cop routine. My girlfriend chewed him out first, and then I told him: “I see you’re with your family. Well, my girlfriend and I have families too. They’d like it if we stay alive. You nearly killed us back there. Please drive more carefully.” He was quite docile in his response, apologized profusely, and we went away satisfied that he’ll drive a little more carefully. For a day or two anyway.[/quote]

There is also the density problem. I’m convinced that people notice assholes more than nice people. In the U.S., you have (for the sake of argument) 200 people per square mile, 1% are assholes. That’s 2 assholes per square mile. Taipei has (for the sake of argument) 50,000 people per square mile, 1% are assholes. That’s 500 assholes per square mile. The perceived difference is the total levels of assholes per square mile, so it SEEMS that the numbers are as you suggest, but I really do think that most of us don’t notice the nice guys and focus on the 500 who have just pissed us off :slight_smile:.

25

[quote=“acearle”]
There is also the density problem. I’m convinced that people notice assholes more than nice people. In the U.S., you have (for the sake of argument) 200 people per square mile, 1% are assholes. That’s 2 assholes per square mile. Taipei has (for the sake of argument) 50,000 people per square mile, 1% are assholes. That’s 500 assholes per square mile. The perceived difference is the total levels of assholes per square mile, so it SEEMS that the numbers are as you suggest, but I really do think that most of us don’t notice the nice guys and focus on the 500 who have just pissed us off :slight_smile:.[/quote]
“Acearle’s Theory of Asshole Density.”

26

[quote=“Jive Turkey”][quote=“acearle”]
There is also the density problem. I’m convinced that people notice assholes more than nice people. In the U.S., you have (for the sake of argument) 200 people per square mile, 1% are assholes. That’s 2 assholes per square mile. Taipei has (for the sake of argument) 50,000 people per square mile, 1% are assholes. That’s 500 assholes per square mile. The perceived difference is the total levels of assholes per square mile, so it SEEMS that the numbers are as you suggest, but I really do think that most of us don’t notice the nice guys and focus on the 500 who have just pissed us off :slight_smile:.[/quote]
“Acearle’s Theory of Asshole Density.”[/quote]

Hmmm, I think I could get rich off of this :laughing:. Those places with the densest assholes…errr…never mind :smiley:.

27

This whole “Taiwanese guys never beat up on people unless they’re in a a gang” is bullshit. Well, its true, but no less true anywhere else I’ve lived. Try spending a Saturday night in almost any British inner city if you don’t believe me.
There’s nothing the British peasant class can learn from their Taiwan counterparts.

http://www.glasgowsurvival.co.uk
http://www.chavscum.co.uk

28

[quote=“sandman”]This whole “Taiwanese guys never beat up on people unless they’re in a a gang” is bullshit. Well, its true, but no less true anywhere else I’ve lived. Try spending a Saturday night in almost any British inner city if you don’t believe me.
There’s nothing the British peasant class can learn from their Taiwan counterparts.

http://www.glasgowsurvival.co.UK
http://www.chavscum.co.UK[/quote]

Well, which is it? Bullshit or true? I’ve seen it too many times to believe that it’s just the figment of my paranoid foreign mind. I’ve also had too many friends’ cars smashed by baseball bat wielding thugs to think that I can just wish it away with a flippant remark that it’s all “bullshit.”

US inner cities have a notorious gang culture, but it’s reach is fairly limited. If you stay out of the gang areas, you won’t have any trouble. However, I believe that the “gang” mentality is more pervasive here. In the States when there is a fight, if one guy is getting his ass kicked, you will often see others intervene to stop the fight (even the friends of the victor). Here, a gang of guys will mercilessly kick the shit out of some poor schmuck, knock him unconscious, and keep on kicking and punching. No let up whatsoever. I never saw that until I came here.

29

I’ve seen it time and time and time again in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Manchester, Newcastle – city centres, “student areas” and “tourist areas” mind, not the ghetto council estates, many of which even the police won’t venture into without a reinforced van and at least six tooled up officers. I’ve also seen it in Copenhagen, Paris, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and other places, too.
In 15 years in Taiwan, I’ve seen it outside Spin, TU and Roxy. I can’t recall seeing it happen anywhere else here, although of course I’m sure it does.
All I know is that in Taiwan, your safety from random street violence anywhere, at any time of day or night, is virtually guaranteed. Wish I could say the same for my own country.

30

That’s funny, Taipei is the one place I HAVEN’T seen this. Xinzhu, Zhongli, Taoyuan, yes, but never in Taipei. Granted, I have lived most of my Taiwan time outside Taipei.

Yes, I agree, when it comes to petty street crime, Taiwan is very safe. Simple disagreements, however, can escalate to unimaginable levels of angst. That’s where the problem lies.

31

[quote=“skeptic yank”]i interrrupted a fight before. got a beer bottle upside the head and they both started pounding on me…

[/quote]

sorry to hear that…sometimes people can be mean… one time my friend got into a fight in Vibe and I tried to stop the big guy who’s heating my friend and guess what,the F*** big guy push me so hard that I fell on the ground and the chair besides me fell,too… :x

32

The nice guy in me who feels the need to think the people in the world is all the same and different cultures share the same basic qualities wants to say yes.

But…

Play in a few basketball games against the locals and you will definitely be saying they are the most pussiest people on the planet.

No doubt there.

Well… that goes for basketball atleast.

33

Does Tony Blair read forumosa.com? Should we notify him that sandman has made this posting?? Does anyone have his mobile phone number by any chance??

34

Contact Tony Blair

35

hit the buzzer in the train if he yells at you.

36

Ah…that’s a rough trade…

If you spread them all out, will there be any room to walk? Would Street Vendors scoop them up, skewer them on a stick and slap 'em on the barbie? Atta Atta Pee Guo…5 for 30 NT…

I don’t take any guff from any goof at anytime. If someone tries the sneaky counter browse and purchase dump jump at the Sevie…I’ll ahhhheeemmm him, if he refuses eye contact, I’ll invade his personal space and force eye contact, then I use my eyes to point to the back of the line and will not allow the counter girl to serve him…I always have a good attitude, even a smile and a “piese” at the ready…it works…

Another approach I use is a not so under-my-breathe utterance of something like “You’ve got to be kidding, you’re not really gonna push in line are you?”…By expressing physical and vocal displeasure, the merchant usually catches on to what’s going on and serves the line accordingly…and the would-be interloper slinks face-less to the back of the line…

MRT’s…well, I won’t hesitate to give a nasty a wee tap on the shoulder followed by a suggestive nod t’wards the tail of the line…usually works…but if they try to ignore me, then I bring out as much Mandarin as I can muster…Ni shi bu shi atta atta? Aiyeo…Go Pee…and more :wink: and try to shame them into retreat…I will go as far as to impede their progress physically until the true first in liners get aboard. Kinda reminds of my days between the pipes…many a skater has learned just whose house that blue painted crease is…it’s mine for you non-hockey folk…

Now…one thing you never, ever want to do…this happened in one of the fastest growing Asian cities in the world…Hong Couver, British Colombia…a guy once told me that if a Chinese person cuts me off in traffic, I should suck my thumb in a mock blow job fashion and then allow a little spittle to roll down your lower lip…got the picture…

Well, I naturally get the chance within a couple of days…BIG MISTAKE…we ended up with this road raging Cantonese immigrant not allowing us to pass him and when we turn off the main artery, he gives chase, eventually penning us in…

Well, I am not a fighter, but I can present a formidible opposition when stimulated so…and this guy weighed in at 48 Kilos soaking wet…

He jumps out of his car screaming “You want fuckin’ blow job, I give you fuckin’ blow job” and on and on…I just told him to get back in his car and drive away before this went any further…but he just kept on offering me a blow job…my g/f was busy recording the situation with her cam-corder and the guy thought better about his rage and left…

I realize i caused him to lose a great deal of face in front of his wife and mother-in-law and he had no choice but to confront me…he was a brave little bastard and I have never, nor will ever, use that particular gesticulation again.

And if he’s reading this post…Sorry about that…my bad.

37

I was waiting for gas yesterday in a line of 15 (I was #10) motorcycles and this lady completely cuts in front of everybody. I gave her a smack on her helmet and told her in Chinese to stop being so impolite and wait like everyone else. The other people clapped their hands for me. I was so happy!

38

Taiwanese are definitely pussys in the way they deal with bullys etc. They take a lot of stuff lying down. Maybe the 228 incident and facist occupation removed a lot of their backbone, I don’t know.
That’s why they didn’t build the bomb when they should have back in the 70s. That’s why they let big brother US take care of things.

Chinese could ride one tank through Taipei and people would be afraid to throw a rock at it. Different down south but.

It’s all about me me me. Then its us us us. After that it’s you boo hoo.

39

[quote=“headhonchoII”]
It’s all about me me me. Then its us us us. After that it’s you boo hoo.[/quote]

How many major Chinese philanthropies are out there? besides the buddhists stuff and what not.

40

Last time I nearly got run over by a truck crossing the road (I had green and he turned) I made some well-known gesture and the guy showed me a sledge hammer in return.
So much for confronting them - beware as you only have one life.