In Decency

Think about common decency. What is it? What does it mean to be professional? Think about image and portraying oneself and perceiving others. What makes something proper, or acceptable? Is it simply social convention and agreement? A consensus of sorts? these are not the laws of the land but are the mores of the inhabitants of the land. So what does it mean to be decent? Which is more respectful; to accept somebody else's habits, or for somebody else to curb their own habits?

In the detention center today, Juan - one of the security personnel - was eating some sardines directly out of the can with his fingers. I was confused as to how to interpret the scene. Ought I to think him a brute that cannot discern between proper behavior and impoliteness, or should I respect his choice and maintain honoring him as a human being? He's done nothing truly wrong, and he hasn't disturbed me badly. It just seemed...odd. But then I wonder if that is simply because of my programming from my environment. That same programming tells me that a person who eats sardines out of a can with their fingers isn't surprising to be found working as a security guard.

However, if he were eating with a utensil somewhere else in the world, the programming there would direct one to believe that the security guard thinks himself to be better than everybody else. So perhaps we can borrow a page out of the minimalist's book who are attempting to reduce their impact on the world by only eating food that is grown within a hundred miles radius of where they live. Maybe people shouldn't venture so far from their roots only to find themselves in a foreign environment, hostile to their habits, and punitive to the point of confining them to a rubber roob - a place for outcasts.