ChristianAnarchist
06-14-2015, 06:18 PM
Social Conditioning: Examples of differences between USA and China.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_conditioning
I find it amazing how social conditioning is so effective in brainwashing entire cultures to act and believe in really crazy ways. Since I spend a lot of time in China I've seen many differences in what the two cultures believe that really make no sense when you examine them closely. Even though it may seem like I'm being critical of the Chinese I'd like to point out that I see many examples of social conditioning in USA that I will also point out. I do find the Chinese examples funnier though...
Lets start with toilet paper flushing. The Chinese people as a whole think that if you flush toilet paper down the toilet it will plug up the toilet. This is something I was told on my first trip to China in 1994 and I've been back about 20 times since then. This “belief” persists in China and I've personally proven it to be false simply by flushing lots of paper down their toilets for 21 years now. It's quite a disgusting and filthy belief I really wish there was a way to break. If you use ANY toilet in China you will see a little basket with discarded tissue in it but don't look too closely. This basket is for you to put your paper in after you wipe yourself. If you tell any Chinese that you actually FLUSH the paper they will get very agitated and explain how you are going to plug up the plumbing with your paper. Of course we can prove that toilet paper will not clog plumbing once it gets wet as the water instantly softens the paper and turns it to goo. Yes, if you put too much of ANYTHING down a toilet it will plug it and that includes paper, but if you flush before the “load” gets to large everything will go down fine. The pipes don't care if it's fecal matter or paper, it will just move it down the line.
I can guess how this idea got started. I would imagine that 50 years ago as plumbing in general was taking hold in China people may have been wiping their backsides with newspapers, strips of cloth and who knows what else. Yes, these things likely backed up a lot of plumbing so plumbers and businesses might just take to telling everyone to not flush ANY paper. Back then they probably didn't even have paper specifically for flushing so to the average Chinese “paper” was just “paper”. I wish there was some way to convince Chinese people that they can safely flush their TP but I don't see this taking off any time soon in China. I've even seen signs in some Chinese establishments here in America asking patrons to put their paper in the basket!! YUCK!
Another one is kind of a dual whammy. Chinese don't like cold drinks or cold air. They truly believe that these things are bad for you (cold water gives you sore tummy and cold air give you headache). Of course if you hear this all your life then you will convince yourself that these things are true and you will get that sore tummy and headache. Funny though, I've pointed out how all these Chinese riding bikes and scooters are getting their faces blasted with cold air but it doesn't matter. They always find a way to explain it away.
Chinese driving habits (other than driving on shoulders and in oncoming lanes and not stopping at intersections – I actually like these habits). Most Chinese drivers as soon as they stop at a light they will pull the emergency brake rather than keep their foot on the brake. I've never been able to get anyone to explain this to me but it's very widespread in every city I've ever been in. I think it's part of their driver training. If you are driving with someone who has an automatic they will shift into neutral at every light. Seems to me a bit hard on the transmission but that's how they do it. I tried to explain to one guy how it's much better to just leave it in drive and keep his foot on the brake but it made no difference. He just kept doing it the way he always had.
This idea of social conditioning is something we all need to look at in ourselves. It's easy to look at the conditioning of others and laugh at what they believe but really we have many instances of “social conditioning” here we need to be aware of and need to challenge. I would point out how we have become “conditioned” to worship our “government”. It wasn't like this 50 years ago. I remember that we did not trust anyone from the government back then and we would always joke about “I'm from the government and I'm here to help”. We really meant it. Now everyone jumps to attention when someone places a red white and blue banner in their faces. Everyone “believes” that we need these people to tell us how to live our lives. That's some “conditioning” we need to break. I would like to point out that in many countries they DON'T believe this.
The goons in goonerment want us to believe these things. They bombard us with propaganda from the TV, radio and internet. Everywhere we look they shove these ideas down our throat and use the public school system to indoctrinate the weakest among us and we just sit back and let them.
Social conditioning is sometimes “organic” and just happens because people start believing one way and promoting that idea to their friends and family. Sometimes they catch on and spread like wildfire. Other times the conditioning is planed and nurtured. Not all conditioning is bad. We “condition” our children to be good to others and to take care of themselves. These are “habits” that help them to prosper. We can also “condition” them to hate others unlike ourselves and to be too greedy and selfish. Not all conditioning is bad, but we should recognize the power of conditioning in our lives and reject those that make no sense or hold back progress.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_conditioning
I find it amazing how social conditioning is so effective in brainwashing entire cultures to act and believe in really crazy ways. Since I spend a lot of time in China I've seen many differences in what the two cultures believe that really make no sense when you examine them closely. Even though it may seem like I'm being critical of the Chinese I'd like to point out that I see many examples of social conditioning in USA that I will also point out. I do find the Chinese examples funnier though...
Lets start with toilet paper flushing. The Chinese people as a whole think that if you flush toilet paper down the toilet it will plug up the toilet. This is something I was told on my first trip to China in 1994 and I've been back about 20 times since then. This “belief” persists in China and I've personally proven it to be false simply by flushing lots of paper down their toilets for 21 years now. It's quite a disgusting and filthy belief I really wish there was a way to break. If you use ANY toilet in China you will see a little basket with discarded tissue in it but don't look too closely. This basket is for you to put your paper in after you wipe yourself. If you tell any Chinese that you actually FLUSH the paper they will get very agitated and explain how you are going to plug up the plumbing with your paper. Of course we can prove that toilet paper will not clog plumbing once it gets wet as the water instantly softens the paper and turns it to goo. Yes, if you put too much of ANYTHING down a toilet it will plug it and that includes paper, but if you flush before the “load” gets to large everything will go down fine. The pipes don't care if it's fecal matter or paper, it will just move it down the line.
I can guess how this idea got started. I would imagine that 50 years ago as plumbing in general was taking hold in China people may have been wiping their backsides with newspapers, strips of cloth and who knows what else. Yes, these things likely backed up a lot of plumbing so plumbers and businesses might just take to telling everyone to not flush ANY paper. Back then they probably didn't even have paper specifically for flushing so to the average Chinese “paper” was just “paper”. I wish there was some way to convince Chinese people that they can safely flush their TP but I don't see this taking off any time soon in China. I've even seen signs in some Chinese establishments here in America asking patrons to put their paper in the basket!! YUCK!
Another one is kind of a dual whammy. Chinese don't like cold drinks or cold air. They truly believe that these things are bad for you (cold water gives you sore tummy and cold air give you headache). Of course if you hear this all your life then you will convince yourself that these things are true and you will get that sore tummy and headache. Funny though, I've pointed out how all these Chinese riding bikes and scooters are getting their faces blasted with cold air but it doesn't matter. They always find a way to explain it away.
Chinese driving habits (other than driving on shoulders and in oncoming lanes and not stopping at intersections – I actually like these habits). Most Chinese drivers as soon as they stop at a light they will pull the emergency brake rather than keep their foot on the brake. I've never been able to get anyone to explain this to me but it's very widespread in every city I've ever been in. I think it's part of their driver training. If you are driving with someone who has an automatic they will shift into neutral at every light. Seems to me a bit hard on the transmission but that's how they do it. I tried to explain to one guy how it's much better to just leave it in drive and keep his foot on the brake but it made no difference. He just kept doing it the way he always had.
This idea of social conditioning is something we all need to look at in ourselves. It's easy to look at the conditioning of others and laugh at what they believe but really we have many instances of “social conditioning” here we need to be aware of and need to challenge. I would point out how we have become “conditioned” to worship our “government”. It wasn't like this 50 years ago. I remember that we did not trust anyone from the government back then and we would always joke about “I'm from the government and I'm here to help”. We really meant it. Now everyone jumps to attention when someone places a red white and blue banner in their faces. Everyone “believes” that we need these people to tell us how to live our lives. That's some “conditioning” we need to break. I would like to point out that in many countries they DON'T believe this.
The goons in goonerment want us to believe these things. They bombard us with propaganda from the TV, radio and internet. Everywhere we look they shove these ideas down our throat and use the public school system to indoctrinate the weakest among us and we just sit back and let them.
Social conditioning is sometimes “organic” and just happens because people start believing one way and promoting that idea to their friends and family. Sometimes they catch on and spread like wildfire. Other times the conditioning is planed and nurtured. Not all conditioning is bad. We “condition” our children to be good to others and to take care of themselves. These are “habits” that help them to prosper. We can also “condition” them to hate others unlike ourselves and to be too greedy and selfish. Not all conditioning is bad, but we should recognize the power of conditioning in our lives and reject those that make no sense or hold back progress.