> As a point of clarification, I see noise producing
> behavior mainly as the male juvenile contumacy thing -
> limited mainly to young and immature males of all
> ethnic backgrounds. A display of machismo, if you
> will. It is mainly the US phenomenon whose pop
> culture exalts juvenile behavior, but can be quite
> offensive in other cultures. For example, in most
> African cultures young people are forbidden to speak
> in the presence of elders, unless spoken to.
> Europeans and Asians also tend to have a much lower
> noise tolerance than US-ers. One thing that you
> notice when you travel overseas is how much quieter
> overseas places tend to be - less yelling, loud
> talking, and music playing in public palces, and less
> noise producing gizmos - from emergency vehicles, to
> trucks and buses, to lawn mowers, and to ubiquitous
> alarms of all imaginable kinds.
>
> Wojtek
You don't travel to South or Central America much do you? They have just as much noise by juveniles and everyone else as anywhere in the US and much more noise in many places. The machismo level of their adolescents is every bit as high as the US. Funny how the din in foreign cities just seems like "atmosphere" yet the noise close to home just seems like annoying noise. Maybe I'm more relaxed on holiday and just let it roll off?
In Dhaka mufflers are apparently optional on cars. I didn't get to see much outside Bangladesh so I can't speak for elsewhere on the subcontinent but Dhaka is full of horns, music, yelling, etc. in public spaces. A great deal more noisy place than Chicago. Lots of kids with radios trying to pick your pockets too. Much more annoying than kids with radios in NYC.
Last time I was in Paris was many years ago. The constant honking of car horns took awhile to get used to if I can claim I was ever was. Much worse than anywhere in the US. At no time did I feel Paris was quieter than NY or Chicago. I'm told they eliminated that problem with stiff fines for horn blowing in unnecessary situations.
If there's a place where people yell at each other in public more than they do in Rome please let me know. I'd really like to see that firsthand. Again it seemed more "atmospheric" than annoying.
I will grant you that Prague is packed full of quiet and polite people, much like Montreal. I feel there must be something similar in many countries and I just haven't found it in the US yet.
If the sound of juveniles loud car stereos annoys you and you are unable to tune them out do what I occasionally do. Get out of your car and tap on their window with a crowbar and yell, "Could you turn that down?". While I don't do it every time I hear someone's stereo I have yet to be rebuked for my request.
John Thornton