"Everyone's a drum major, leading a parade of hurt." That line, from John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, seems to apply more and more in a world grown insanely sensitive to the crossed wires that are inevitable in human interaction. Teddy bears given the wrong name, wallets given as gifts, or in another place, gifts opened in the presence of the giver......all serious -or even deadly- mistakes, depending on whose toes are being trodden. The first thing that occurs is that there's something built-in that causes such radical reaction upon nonconformance to cultural norms.....at least when it's observed in an alien culture. The second thing is that it would never involve such masses of people if it weren't for the media.
What to do about it? Stay home, I guess, where one may expect to understand the manners and mores.....if indeed such things may properly be defined in early 21st century America.
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