Wow. A thread about hand/finger gestures. All I can say is: wow.
I understand that Disney is the big mega-company with properties/parks spread out in other countries. I understand that a lot of the visitors that spend lots of money and travel long distances to visit WDW come from other countries. I understand these things. However, there is a part of this ongoing thinking/reasoning that totally perplexes me and the whole topic of hand/finger gestures and what they mean in other cultures brings that back up for me.
WDW is located in Florida..in the United States of America. If I were planning to travel to any destination abroad I would take it upon myself as part of my planning to understand the culture of my destination as well as basic laws, language, and other things that would aid me in functioning within the culture I am entering. In traveling to other countries part of the purpose is to expand one's perspective and experience the culture of that region. I would never presume to impose my culture upon anyone else or expect the people of the country I am traveling to educate themselves about me or where I come from so that they can behave according to my culture. If I went to another country and didn't like it I'd leave. I would never ask for special treatment or for anyone to change for me.
I've noticed it a lot at Disney but it's a way of thinking in general that we in the US are obligated to know and act according to everyone else's cultures, customs, etc. What about our culture? What about our customs? Why do we put ourselves aside? Do I think a CM pointing is rude? Well, my mother taught me that pointing at people is rude be it one finger or two, index finger or middle. If I see something that I approve of I'm giving it a thumbs up. If I feel the moment calls to show the hand gesture for peace or indicate the #2 then I'll hold up my two fingers. I see no reason to worry if someone from somewhere else thinks it's nice or not. It's appropriate here. If someone from somewhere else disapproves, not the problem of the culture they chose to place themselves within.
If you are in another city, state, country, etc. you are subject to the laws of that land. Same goes for culture, manners, language, and so on. If you run into trouble because you don't understand ignorance is no excuse. It is the responsibility of the traveler to know where they are going and educate themselves accordingly.
Am I alone in this thinking????
Then again, one could say that when inviting others to come into their homes it is the responsibility of the hosts to make them feel welcome. I would think this is the thought behind the extensive training of CMs in such trivial things as gestures. (((fellow guests are exempt so let those fingers fly...LOL...just kidding)))
And please don't take this as some bashing thing. I think the topic in general and how such simple gestures can mean such vastly different things by culture is quite fascinating.
, go figure!
