New York Named Polite City?

[bella53081]

From the Associated Press 6/21/06

NEW YORK -

New Yorkers are a polite bunch.

No, really, they are. So says Reader’s Digest.

The magazine sent reporters “undercover†to 36 cities, in 35 countries, to measure courtesy. New York was the only American city on the list.

In a city with a reputation for being in-your-face, New Yorkers seem to be expressing themselves with a new one-finger salute: a raised pinkie. In fact, they seem to have even better manners than people in London, Toronto and Moscow.

In its admittedly unscientific survey, the magazine’s politeness-police gave three types of tests to more than 2,000 unwitting participants.

The reporters walked into buildings to see if the people in front of them would hold the door open; bought small items in stores and recorded whether the salespeople said “thank youâ€; and dropped a folder full of papers in busy locations to see if anyone would help pick them up.

New Yorkers turned out to be the politest: 90 percent held the door open, 19 out of 20 store clerks said “thank you,†and 63 percent of men and 47 percent of women helped with the flying papers.

In short, four out of five New Yorkers passed the courtesy test.

New York’s mayor unsurprised

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he’s not surprised.

He told reporters Tuesday that whenever he travels abroad, he hears nothing but praise for the Big Apple’s good manners.

“We are so jaded,†he said. “We want to think the worst of ourselves, and people from around this country and around the world think exactly the reverse.â€

The rudest continent is Asia, Readers Digest said. Eight out of nine cities tested there — including last place Mumbai, India — finished in the bottom 11. In Europe, Moscow and Bucharest ranked as the least polite.

Reader’s Digest, which has readers in 21 languages, is publishing the results in its July issue.

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[Guest onisakura]

I tell people that all the time when they ask me how rude people are in NYC. Its not uncommon to strike up convesations while waiting in line, on the subway or whatever. I get random compliments on my shoes or hairstyle and almost always does the person in front of me hold the door or even the elevator door.

[shortkat5]

I agree for the most part. I've been there a dozen times in 2 years, and for the most part people are polite. Hell even when asking directions, people are always very helpful (or maybe they have pity on me because they know I'm a tourist HAHA)

[bella53081]

yeah i agree too - i am one of those people that will talk to people randomly. people will always help w directions.....i think what people perceive as rude is either straightforwardness or shortness of comments.....which is just done to save time!

i have only met a minimal amount of rude people in new york - now on LONG ISLAND - now that is another story rudeness abounds everywhere!

im not stereotyping at ALL, but i thought it was interesting how asia overall had the rudest people....goes back to that comment about rudeness of select foreigners at crobar!!! (i didnt notice that this is a huge phenomenon until recently, and now i can't stop noticing it). just an observation....

[argdiesel]

yeah i agree too - i am one of those people that will talk to people randomly. people will always help w directions.....i think what people perceive as rude is either straightforwardness or shortness of comments.....which is just done to save time!

i have only met a minimal amount of rude people in new york - now on LONG ISLAND - now that is another story rudeness abounds everywhere!

im not stereotyping at ALL, but i thought it was interesting how asia overall had the rudest people....goes back to that comment about rudeness of select foreigners at crobar!!! (i didnt notice that this is a huge phenomenon until recently, and now i can't stop noticing it). just an observation....

lololololol

[ibrandon]

yeah i agree too - i am one of those people that will talk to people randomly. people will always help w directions.....i think what people perceive as rude is either straightforwardness or shortness of comments.....which is just done to save time!

i have only met a minimal amount of rude people in new york - now on LONG ISLAND - now that is another story rudeness abounds everywhere!

im not stereotyping at ALL, but i thought it was interesting how asia overall had the rudest people....goes back to that comment about rudeness of select foreigners at crobar!!! (i didnt notice that this is a huge phenomenon until recently, and now i can't stop noticing it). just an observation....

lmaooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[lolahotass]

[velvetrope]

i think that there is alot more people in nyc then most cities. i been to nyc alot and almost every week. yes there are some dick heads but there are alot of nice people that are just like everyone else just tryin to get there shit done in that day.

Z

[howienewport]

Did someone say "asia"?

[ericknnj]

here is a good question...How many peolple that live in NYC are originally from NYC? A lot of transplants in NYC.

[velvetrope]

here is a good question...How many peolple that live in NYC are originally from NYC? A lot of transplants in NYC.

Haha that is a great ? right there. alot of people that live in NYC dont even live there. Most from Jersey or Conn.

Z

[stadenko]

every big city has rude people

[bella53081]

Haha that is a great ? right there. alot of people that live in NYC dont even live there. Most from Jersey or Conn.

Z

true there are a lot of transplants. i think once u move there though, u get into the new york state of mind.... it def makes you a tougher person that's for sure. most new yorkers regardless of where they are originally from get into that mentality.

remember in that silly song, to the class of 1999 (wear sunscreen):

move to new york once, but leave before it makes you too hard.....move to LA, but leave before it makes you too soft.

ur environment definitely does have an impact on how you act. but just because you are tougher doesn't make you rude it makes u honest (which sometimes, ironically, "nicer" than being fake and polite.) there are many honest kind people in new york

[leftymo]

true there are a lot of transplants. i think once u move there though, u get into the new york state of mind.... it def makes you a tougher person that's for sure. most new yorkers regardless of where they are originally from get into that mentality.

remember in that silly song, to the class of 1999 (wear sunscreen):

move to new york once, but leave before it makes you too hard.....move to LA, but leave before it makes you too soft.

ur environment definitely does have an impact on how you act. but just because you are tougher doesn't make you rude it makes u honest (which sometimes, ironically, "nicer" than being fake and polite.) there are many honest kind people in new york

Good post.

I think since they sampled NYC only in the US they aren't getting an accurate comparison. NY would rank close to last or near the bottom in comparison to the rest of the US. Not an opinion, a fact. I've lived and traveled in many places in the US. New York is one extreme of being rude. Polite? Doubt it, when I always have some overweight, rude, or obnoxious person leaning all over me in the freakin subway. Australia... syndney, now that's one friendly city!

[Guest onisakura]

I dunno about you but i have encountered extremely few overweight people in NYC since I moved here 6 months ago. The majority of the people on the subway are curteous, even to the point of holding the door open for me as i run for it or offering me their seat. I only get frustrated whenever i have to venture near Times Square cause its full of tourists that have no clue where they are going. FAT people taking up half the sidewalk gawking at everything and stopping in the middle of the way.

[bella53081]

I dunno about you but i have encountered extremely few overweight people in NYC since I moved here 6 months ago. The majority of the people on the subway are curteous, even to the point of holding the door open for me as i run for it or offering me their seat. I only get frustrated whenever i have to venture near Times Square cause its full of tourists that have no clue where they are going. FAT people taking up half the sidewalk gawking at everything and stopping in the middle of the way.

omg i hate times square. try to avoid it at all costs! lol. too many tourists! and i think the pressure to be thin in new york is pretty great - with fashion and everything - maybe more for girls than guys - but i think there are less overweight people in new york, compared to the midwest, for example.

compared to the mid-west, south, or california, i think new yorkers also are way more comfy keeping to themselves - laissez faire type of attitude. many are not outwardly friendly like southerners, etc. For people outside of ny, this indifference can definitely be perceived as rude but if u consider the fast pace of life, the amount of crazies people meet on a daily basis, and time spent getting from point a to point b, ny do their best to be friendly when they can (subway, etc.).

i think in general new yorkers appear to be tough to those outside the city but deep down are kindhearted and many people will soften right away once u hit a familiar chord. new yorkers might not be the friendliest bunch outwardly but also we have each other's backs when its needed. just look at 9/11. new yorkers have a big heart.

[ericknnj]

I dunno about you but i have encountered extremely few overweight people in NYC since I moved here 6 months ago. The majority of the people on the subway are curteous, even to the point of holding the door open for me as i run for it or offering me their seat. I only get frustrated whenever i have to venture near Times Square cause its full of tourists that have no clue where they are going. FAT people taking up half the sidewalk gawking at everything and stopping in the middle of the way.

hey, some FAT people are fat b/c they eat like pigs and some just have the genetics to be large. I think couples holding hands can be worst depending on the size of the sidewalk and amount of people around. Larges groups of people walking side by side are 100 times worst. Just like the moving road block of three cars on a three lane highway all next to each other traveling at the same slow speed which I HATE.

[bella53081]

hey, some FAT people are fat b/c they eat like pigs and some just have the genetics to be large. I think couples holding hands can be worst depending on the size of the sidewalk and amount of people around. Larges groups of people walking side by side are 100 times worst. Just like the moving road block of three cars on a three lane highway all next to each other traveling at the same slow speed which I HATE.

omg lol!!! heavy people want some lovin too! and they gotta walk on the sidewalk too! lol where are they going to go?

anyways honestly i agree though that in general our country needs to lose weight as a whole. when 1/3 of 6 year olds are overweight, that's a big freaking problem.

no wonder people in other countries think we are gigantic. i even noticed it when i left the country and came back. i went to puerto rico about 4 years ago and saw beautiful people everywhere and then came back to see bigger americans i was like actually really turned off. now im used to it again.

[muzikchick]

hmmm, it depends. I was dropping off some unwanted stuff at the Salvation army and trying to lug the shit out of my trunk, i had a not so nice encounter.

Some scruffy black dude was commenting on my dog..."cute dog"...I just kept lugging my shit out of the trunk...wasn't in the mood for minor chit chat with this dirt bag...and he had the nerve to say "you look like a racist"... I was like WTF? I said, what? I said it's all in your damn mind...how can you tell if I look like a racist? it's in your head...get help.

^&$%^%$^%$#$^ WTF...if he wanted some idle chit chat...he could have offered to help with the heavey garbage bags instead he wants to comment on the dog....listen...i'm nice here and there but not when i am lugging heavey shit out of my trunk...just leave me be or offer to help...idle chit chat? and with a sloppy bum for that matter. grrrrrrowl.

hmmm, i'm not always nice. but, i'm not a racist, either....f-ck them if they think they could pull that "your a racist" bull shit just cuz you don't want to talk to a slob...they think you crawl in your shell because of the "racist" word...fuck you...get help. Slavery ended before your grand daddy...i don't wanna hear shit.

hmmm....i'm going to sleep, i'm cranky. I had some black bitch in jersey tell me to get out the car...i said for what...she said "cuz i'm ganna beat your white ass'.....i said, sorry, i ain't from the ghetto. your ass will be in jail you ugly black bitch. that was at a jersey gas station.

people ain't always nice...and what's up with the black folks all up on me lately...wut the fuck. do i look scared or something...i don't think so. specially not when i'm packing killah over here:

She tears shit up:

[muzikchick]

p.s. - "Asia" is the rudest ??? according to whose standards? Americas? Americans have to realize what is considered "rude" here may perhaps be the norm elsewhere...so, essentially, these rude scores mean nothing.

Asians don't put their mommas and pappas in nursing homes in their old age, that is considered inhumane in Asia...yet, here...we don't honor our old. Now, who is ruder?

[bella53081]

p.s. - "Asia" is the rudest ??? according to whose standards? Americas? Americans have to realize what is considered "rude" here may perhaps be the norm elsewhere...so, essentially, these rude scores mean nothing.

Asians don't put their mommas and pappas in nursing homes in their old age, that is considered inhumane in Asia...yet, here...we don't honor our old. Now, who is ruder?

sorry u had those bad experiences lately with the racist people at the gas station and the salvation army. some people are assholes no matter what color they are....u didnt deserve that, u were minding ur own business and going bout ur day. where do u live out of curiousity?

so i think that survey tested the same exact things in each country as far as common courtesy and politeness (saying thank you, holding door open, etc.) - testing things which are standard across the board for being polite to someone. of course there are cultural differences between different countries, but showing appreciation and acknowledgement of someone is def universal in a lot of cultures. of course each culture shows it in different ways, but they are ideals.

its just about respect and showing manners, which is important in all cultures.

i was making a joke re Asia in particular becuz many foreign asians (let me be careful to say NOT ALL, of course!!!!) who come to party at the new york clubs are not respectful of others becuz they are running into people w/o saying they are sorry, thrashing about and hitting into people, spilling drinks on people, and just being downright rude compared to anyone's standards. if that is polite in asia then i'd like to see their rude behavior. now we have all tried to ignore it, like good new yorkers, but it still doesn't make it right.

Re the nursing homes, yes - many people will argue there is plenty of abuse going on. i even wrote a paper about that in college. a lot of fucked up things go on in nursing homes - the abuse is really not reported like it should be.

[muzikchick]

Born in Montenegro (across the adriatic sea from Italy and sit above Greece)...been in NY since age 2. Brooklyn raised, bi - cultured, obviously European and American...

there are certain things i do to growing up here that in europe i am considered rude for....like not getting up to give an elderly relative your seat...even if there are plenty of seats available, you are supposed to offer yours...it's their custom...i forget...so, they think i'm being rude...but, here that isn't a consideration unless you are on a crowded bus and an old person walks on.

due to being raised 2 cultures, i am very open to how others interpret what is "proper"...it's subjective, ofcourse.

Just like getting out of your car to have a fist fight with someone is the "norm" in the ghetto...in other places like (Staten Island- where i live) it is an uncivilized way to resolve an arguement. This bitch was surprised I called her on it...I think she was enjoying the arguement...I did call her uncivilized, too...she knew she was... I wasn't even scared, and she knew it...I would have her ass thrown in jail in a heart beat she was a big one. that is the civilized way to handle things...I'm not in high school anymore...and not afraid of someone threatening me...long as they know they have consequences and "beating my white ass" better be well worth the jail time. In this case, apparently it wasn't...she drove away.

[bella53081]

Just like getting out of your car to have a fist fight with someone is the "norm" in the ghetto...in other places like (Staten Island- where i live) it is an uncivilized way to resolve an arguement. This bitch was surprised I called her on it...I think she was enjoying the arguement...I did call her uncivilized, too...she knew she was... I wasn't even scared, and she knew it...I would have her ass thrown in jail in a heart beat she was a big one. that is the civilized way to handle things...I'm not in high school anymore...and not afraid of someone threatening me...long as they know they have consequences and "beating my white ass" better be well worth the jail time. In this case, apparently it wasn't...she drove away.

wow she was probably scared of u, u know? she realized u were right.

lol on long island i did see two guys get out of the car at a stop light and get into a fist fight, right at a major intersection. it was actually kind of scary....i guess one guy tapped the back of his car and he freaked out.

[mgrewal]

the way the survey was conducted was pretty crazy, and it was biased towards english speaking places. for example one of the criteria was the frequency of "Thank You". having been to mumbai, india, i know people are rude, but in hindi "thank you" isn't really used, there are a bunch of other things said in its place

[starscream]

Just like getting out of your car to have a fist fight with someone is the "norm" in the ghetto...in other places like (Staten Island- where i live) it is an uncivilized way to resolve an arguement. This bitch was surprised I called her on it...I think she was enjoying the arguement...I did call her uncivilized, too...she knew she was... I wasn't even scared, and she knew it...I would have her ass thrown in jail in a heart beat she was a big one. that is the civilized way to handle things...I'm not in high school anymore...and not afraid of someone threatening me...long as they know they have consequences and "beating my white ass" better be well worth the jail time. In this case, apparently it wasn't...she drove away.

same here.in school i was called fag and all sorts of other shit ill be damned if anyone is gonna get away with that shit now.im too old for it and i wont tolerate it on here or in the real world period.