Spitting.

Dr. Bogad's spitting story intrigued me. There is no excuse for spitting at someone who has done absolutely nothing to you. I mean I'd understand if this was 1848 and I were a slave and I had a cruel master. Yeah, I'd probably want to spit too. But it isn't. There is no excuse for it, except rudeness.

I worked at the Woonsocket Wal-Mart for three years so I have seen underprivileged people and the way some of them act. It does not take money or status to have manners. Manners are part of everyone's cultures, and although there may be differences (such as speaking distance, certain behaviors while eating...etc)they basically operate on a principal of respect. Respect is found universally throughout the cultures of Earth, from the Aborigines to the English. You do not have to be part of the dominant culture to have manners.

I briefly looked up a few common rules of Hispanic etiquette. It seems that there is a great deal of chivalrous respect for women. Things such as opening doors, lighting ciggarettes and helping women with luggage are expected, and when meeting a woman for the first time, you should always call her señorita, as this implies a "virgin women" (which is important in the overtly Catholic Latin America, as pre-marital sex is forbidden). With this said, why would it be considered alright to spit and especially to spit at a women who in Hispanic culture are generally viewed so chivalrously?

Was this a problem with past immigrant groups? I have not read anything regarding this bit I'll keep an open mind. It's just I really can't picture my Nonna spitting at a WASP family in their Model-T. But who knows, in her older years she was referring to all the other women in the nursing home as "puttanas" which literally means "whore" but has the same connotation as calling someone a "bitch" in English. Maybe she did have a wild rebellious side. Haha.