This is my first official blog post for my Business Communication blog! It took me quite sometime to think of an incident/ story that would truly demonstrate an interpersonal/ intercultural conflict. Well, I thought of this incident which did not exactly happen to me personally, but it was a situation which most of us might have observed in our everyday lives as a commuter.
I used to travel a lot back in my junior college days. I spent an average of three hours traveling everyday. It was really interesting during these journeys because I got the opportunity to observe and pay attention to the details and surroundings while I was on the public transport. On a couple of the trips I made to and fro school, there were instances where commuters openly display their displeasure and intolerance towards other commuters who may, in their perspective, be carrying distinctive smells that are considered unpleasant and unbearable.
To me, clearly, those smells were not a result of bad personal hygiene, but they were more likely to be due to traditions or personal preferences (type of food consumed, type of cologne etc). I thought the communters' response towards the smells was absurb, and I felt embarrassed sometimes, when I see a fellow Singaporean being so insensitive towards other people's feelings, especially towards people from a more diverse background and culture. Do they not think their actions were very rude and offensive? Or were driven by self-centredness and only cared about their feelings at that point in time? It was really apparent to me that those people lack basic courtesy and respect towards the minority.
Thankfully, their actions were not being confronted, not because the other party was not aware of the situation, but I would think it was because of the generosity that the other party displayed that prevented a conflict from arising. Despite the other party being forgiving, is there anything that can be done to prevent such a behaviour in the first place?
Perhaps on my part, I came from a culture where people were more sensitive towards each other's feelings, and we tend to not display displeasure openly. This definitely contributed to my annoyance towards people who are less sensitive towards other people's emotions. In this aspect, maybe on my part, I should also be more willing to accept individuals who are more expressive. Then again, to what extent should I accept such behaviour? And will it be so overbearing that it crosses the line and becomes ungracious and insensitive?
