Comment from Andy
Time: April 16, 2007, 9:20 pm

And respect to you Ben. A really lovely video, thanks.

Comment from Katie
Time: April 16, 2007, 9:24 pm

interesting, ben. i agree that the principles of spanish culture value respect, but i’ve had so many experiences where individuals han faltado respeto that i’m not sure i totally agree. in general, i think that an argument (like marina’s) about respect is a convincing one, in many different cultures–respect is important! but in defining the spaniards, i think it’s debatable. hopefully it’s just me meeting lots and lots of rude people, though …

Comment from ValenciaSon
Time: April 16, 2007, 9:40 pm

Respect is subjective. I think the the definition of respect relies on the cultural context. Disrespect is also subject to the cultural norms. I think we all too often forget that simple fact when observing other cultures and rush to judgement.

Comment from Beckett
Time: April 16, 2007, 9:54 pm

The Spanish are the most well-mannered people? LOL! Ben, no me hagas reír. Es obvio que no has tenido ninguna experiencia con los que se cuelan. Cutting in line seems to be a national sport in Spain, particularly among the elderly. And then they get really angry and annoyed when you point it out to them. And let’s not mention how infrequently little words like “por favor” and “gracias” are used when someone asks you to do something or he/she receives something. Me encanta España pero no me caen bien los maleducados.

Comment from Stuart
Time: April 16, 2007, 10:24 pm

I bet you won’t get in trouble by making positive broad generalisations about the Spanish, by evoking aged stereotypes that the Spanish are respectful people.
Only when a generalisation or categorisation is perceived as negative does it become wrong it seems.

Comment from Beckett
Time: April 16, 2007, 11:08 pm

Yes, Stuart, you’re right. Just a quick glance at the readers’ comments on 20minutos.com on any article having to do with the U.S. will show anyone how much disrespect exists in current Spanish society. More than 30 people massacred in the U.S. today and the comments from many Spanish readers about the tragedy are pretty rude and totally uncalled for. Such much for respect.

Comment from Mark
Time: April 17, 2007, 3:10 am

Beckett-
I find those commentaries pretty painful, but one has to look at the messenger when reading the message. Both sides of the “discussion” throw around insults, stereotypes and half-truths. There are also plenty of incredibly rude Americans. I lived 1.5 years in Spain and met all sorts of people during my wonderful time there. Many I still am in contact with and am proud to call friends. Did I meet some “antipáticos”? Of course. But I would not categorize a whole people by the actions of a few. Let’s be careful with generalisms.

Comment from carl
Time: April 17, 2007, 6:29 am

Ben is trying to be very P.C. and make ammends for that post about “a day in the life of a Spaniard” - which was funny, by the way. But it is true that it is very ok to paint a negative picture of “foreigners” and of course, Americans in Spain. They just don’t see that as wrong because everyone thinks it right?

Comment from jose antonio
Time: April 17, 2007, 7:47 am

I think more people are comfortable with the ‘funny’ vision of a dirty, lazy Spaniard than with a respectful one. Of course you will get idiots on 20minutos making cruel comments, happened about 11-M in the USA no? Bravo Ben for your video.

Comment from Edith
Time: April 17, 2007, 11:13 am

@ José Antonio,

Why do you think Spaniards are being perceived as ‘dirty’ by many foreigners? This really puzzles me, because in my opinion the opposite is true - when you get on a Spanish bus in the summertime you aren’t engulfed by the aroma of stale sweat, like in some other countries.

Nationalists often get angry when foreigners want to discuss their culture but on the other hand, they are often trying to set themselves apart from other nationalities, stressing their so-called ‘uniqueness’and so on. This is a paradox which I have never understood.

@ Ben,

I think that man was being very rude to you! He could have asked you to remove your suitcases instead of throwing them on your lap. Perhaps he needs some anger management counseling, LOL. He could have achieved a lot more with a smile and a simple request.

Rude people exist everywhere, so do friendly people. Regardless of culture, all of us like to be treated with some respect and consideration.

I often think of the Dutch as being ill-mannered but on the other hand, shop attendants and desk clerks tend to be more customer-friendly here than in Spain. And I really appreciate the Anglo-Saxon habit of waiting your turn while standing in line.

Comment from jose antonio
Time: April 17, 2007, 11:26 am

@ Edith
I am referring to the comedy piece which made fun of dirty Spaniards. I don’t think everyone thinks that of Spaniards, I just didn’t like the piece at all. Anyway, I don’t want to go there again - I am over it now.

Ben’s video cheered me up. He should be on TV or radio as a broadcaster.

And - I wouldn’t describe myself as a nationalist if you don’t mind!

Comment from luke
Time: April 17, 2007, 11:57 am

Hi Ben. Respect and manners seem to be quite different to me. Manners are bound by cultural norms, whereas respect and disrespect are more universal impulses which can be misinterpeted throught the culture of manners. In any country the behaviour of the baggage handler was disrespectful and sounds like it came from a xenophobic attitude towards you. I know your incident was in Ibiza but I’ve come across this more and more in Madrid, as some of the population are becoming fearful of mass immigration.

Comment from ValenciaSon
Time: April 17, 2007, 3:17 pm

Talk about a lack of respect. After reading comments in 20minutos, it’s appalling that some would choose the travesty in Virginia Tech to get in there anti-American shots such as not knowing where are countries are located, US gun laws and the recklessness of life in the US. To me the lack of respect for human life is the worst lack of respect of all.

Comment from jose antonio
Time: April 17, 2007, 4:44 pm

I agree, the people who make those comments should be ashamed. Our thoughts should with the victims and their families. Is there a case for reviewing the gun laws in the US now as this seems to happen too frequently?

Comment from ValenciaSon
Time: April 17, 2007, 5:56 pm

Unfortunately, gun laws are regulated at the state level. Some state make it almost impossible to purchase a gun. Other states make it too easy. I wish there could be some federal control exerted which would make guns impossible to obtain in all 50 states. The gun lobby is a powerful lobby and has a lot of influence with republican legislators in government. With democrats overtaking the house and the senate, at least it will be more difficult for the pro-gun side to exert its influence.

Comment from Ben
Time: April 17, 2007, 10:07 pm

OK, lots of interesting comments above. I think that the point here is that respect, of the type I was trying to refer to, is one thing, and rudeness is another. The Spanish are pretty bad at queuing for example, but does that make them disrespectful? I have experienced terrible rudeness in the past from waiters yet I still think that the Spanish have a concept of respect that the British, for example, would do well to learn from. It is about being polite and well meaning to each other at the bottom of everything, about caring about certain core values concerning manners and correct behavior. Of course you get a lot of rude idiots (like the 20 minutos commenters) but where don’t you these days?

Comment from PattyN
Time: April 18, 2007, 4:03 am

Kudos to Ben for tackling a fairly difficult topic in the last 2 posts. Although it may not be possible to “Define the Spanish” objectively, I enjoy hearing other’s perspective on typical Spanish behavior that they perceive as rude, or passionate or reckless. I think the luggage incident would be considered rude in any cultural context, but it’s much more interseting to hear about behavior that is interpreted differently across cultures. While traveling in Asia, I found that pushing ahead in a queue was not considered rude in China, and showing up an hour late for a dinner party was not considered rude in Manila, but making direct eye contact with someone was often considered very rude.

Comment from ValenciaSon
Time: April 18, 2007, 12:57 pm

Funny how you made a video blog to begin with because you didn’t feel like typing but ended typing more than in other blogs

Comment from Ben
Time: April 19, 2007, 10:17 am

True!

Comment from Pete
Time: April 20, 2007, 7:23 pm

A great video blog Ben. Some interesting points made. I would like to refer back to Beckett -’how infrequently little words like “por favor” and “gracias” are used ‘. I understand how this can be conceived as being rude, coming from a society where these words are used frequently in communication. However for the Spanish, using these words does not make you polite. They are basically uneccessary most of the time, particularly when speaking with friends/family.
Indeed you may be seen as being cold if you use these words with your family. I think it boils down to different styles of communication in this case.

Comment from Salam
Time: April 23, 2007, 2:58 pm

Wow…lots of interesting comments, but I agree w/ Ben, about people in Spain having that general “respect aspect” especially saying “hola” to people in the street and so forth, because I travel a lot, and I’ve noticed that in lots of places you smile at people and say hi, and maybe 1/3 of them will reply, and probably not, so yeah, I think that even if there might be some personal incidents of rudeness, the whole idea of respect is still pretty existing in Spain.

Pingback from Are the Spanish rude? - 1 - Queuing in Spain - Notes from Spain: Travel, Living in Spain, Podcasts, Forum and Photos
Time: April 26, 2007, 8:33 pm

[…] A few of the comments on my last post about just how respectful the Spanish are, claimed that the Spaniards are, in fact, just plain rude. A major complaint was that the Spanish are incurable queue-jumpers… […]

Comment from champagne charlie
Time: July 10, 2007, 8:08 pm

Brilliant - I do agree. Have you noticed how, in Spain, when two blokes get into a fight, you see their mates physically holding them apart and going, come on, it’s ok, ignore him, let’s go. Seen that happen in any UK pubs lately?

Pingback from Are the Spanish rude, please? Thank You - Notes from Spain: Travel, Living in Spain, Podcasts, Forum and Photos
Time: August 15, 2007, 7:59 am

[…] while back we looked at different ways in which the Spanish might be defined as rude, an accusation that is commonly […]