Violence, Blunders, and Fractured Jaws: Advanced Awareness Techniques and Street Etiquette by Marc MacYoung

Author:Marc MacYoung [MacYoung, Marc]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Carry On Publishing
Published: 2019-03-19T07:00:00+00:00

There is no substitute for good manners, except maybe fast reflexes.”

Vlad Taltos, Assassin Steven Brust’s Jerheg series

Chapter Six

Etiquette Basics

The trick to figuring out an operating system’s key etiquette rules is to determine what is important to the people. For example, what is important to bikers? I’ll give you a hint: it’s not “Dear Abby.”

If you said their motorcycles, you can pat yourself on the back. Now if a motorcycle is the symbol around which they organize their operating system, would it not make sense that there are some serious taboos about it? When you look at it that way, it sort of indicates where you should tread lightly, doesn’t it? A serious gaff is to walk up and touch someone’s bike. How you touch it determines if you are going to get a warning look or chain whipped. It’s that serious.

Look around and figure out the important ideal of the people with whom you are dealing. Now the ideal may have changed or been polluted over the years from what it was originally, but it’s still there. A great many Westerners feel that they have to fill the boots of the legendary cowboys. There exists a shitload of good ol’ Southern boys who consider themselves “Rebels.” Gangbangers are so wrapped up in respecting and disrespecting that they don’t know the difference between their dicks and 9mms.

If a system is based on being cool, most of its rules will be based on what you have to do to be cool, what is considered uncool, and what you don’t do to strip someone else of his cool. Now an extremely important thing to remember is that a majority of people really aren’t comfortable with where they are. Most people are just out-and-out lost, scared, confused, and trying to get along as best as they can. They have no idea where they really belong. They watch what everyone else is doing and mimic their behavior. This can range anywhere from keeping up with the Joneses to wearing what everyone else is wearing.

You should understand that a whole lot of what is going on from an etiquette standpoint is that people basically fake it on the small stuff while drawing serious lines around major issues. Mostly this consists of etiquette fads that last a year or so. A lot of what people will tell you is bullshit or small-time local customs. For example, in a local pub where pools are held, local custom might dictate that you buy a round for the house if you win (doubtful, but possible). Or it could be nothing more than a sore loser trying to bullshit you into blowing your money. More often than not, the custom is for the winner to buy the next round for his friends and to hell with the rest of the bar. It really depends on who and where you are. If, for example, you aren’t a regular in the tavern, the rules may not apply to you.

When it comes to local customs, most people generally don’t expect outsiders to know and or abide by them.

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