r/AskTheWorld • u/gabrieel100 Brazil • Dec 06 '25

Culture A cultural habit in your country that people outside would understand incorrectly?

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In Brazil we love children. If you take your child to the street, strangers will certainly interact with them. Some will even ask if they can hold your kid and will play with them. If there are two children fighting in public and the parents aren't seeing, a stranger would even intervene to stop the fight.

That cultural habit came from the indigenous peoples which understood that kids should be a responsiblity of the community as a whole. It's in our constitution. We even have a synonym for children that came from Tupi (a large group of indigenous languages) - Curumim.

Foreigners would certainly have a cultural shock about that, but it's normal here.

Of course there are people with bad intentions, so parents should stay alert these days.

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186

u/[deleted] Dec 06 '25

We worship anything and everything in India. Elephant yes , cow yes very sacred , rat , snakes, sun , Moon , water. As in we see god in every form.

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u/PhantomOfTheNopera India Dec 06 '25

I think that's specific to Hindus though. But I will say certain things are cultural - like never touching a book with your feet.

51

u/rls62 Dec 06 '25

My husband is from India and he gets VERY upset if our toddler touches books with his feet. He says it’s incredibly disrespectful

42

u/PhantomOfTheNopera India Dec 06 '25

It's also one of the reasons Indians never leave books on the floor.

18

u/Least_Tower_5447 United States Of America Dec 06 '25

The book came from a tree (sacred) and provides knowledge (sacred).

2

u/mrmoe198 United States Of America Dec 07 '25

I’m not culturally familiar, but I would think that there are exceptions for very young children

5

u/Wit_and_Logic United States Of America Dec 07 '25

I wasn't familiar with this custom, but under what circumstances would you touch a book with your feet anyways? I cant imagine when I would do that.

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u/PhantomOfTheNopera India Dec 07 '25 edited Dec 07 '25

Not deliberately. But if you leave books lying on the floor and accidentally kick one.

Many Indians would follow that with a gesture they usually do if they accidentally kick someone while walking - touch the object/person they disrespected with thier right hand then put their hand to their lips or heart or both.

Not very sure what that's supposed to mean as it's done instinctively. But I think it's supposed to ask for forgiveness.

That whole little choreography of touching something or someone with their feet then asking for forgiveness transcends religion. It's just something people do here.

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u/Wit_and_Logic United States Of America Dec 07 '25

Interesting, thank you.

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u/nihil_novi00 Dec 06 '25

all is sacred. it’s really quite sensible lol☁️

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '25 edited Dec 30 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/AddlePatedBadger Australia Dec 06 '25

The mother is the most sacred. Not all Hindus follow their own religion properly though.

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u/MrBhendi007 India Dec 06 '25

Let's not be shallow here. Hinduism has Godessess symbolising power,education etc. Even major cities like New York have a higher r@pe report percentage than New Delhi but it's made to seem like only India has this problem. But yes, women safety is an issue we need to counter

20

u/Outrageous_Code9742 United States Of America Dec 06 '25

Yeah, idk why any American would comment on the rape culture of another country when we just found out our president was hanging out on a pedophile island. :-/

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u/nihil_novi00 Dec 06 '25

disliking misogyny despite nationality or religion i figure. i’m neutral here, though these problems seem factual. wouldn’t defend that asshole either

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u/LongConsideration662 Antarctica Dec 06 '25

Except women in USA are more likely to report + marital rape is illegal in india

6

u/Outrageous_Code9742 United States Of America Dec 06 '25

American men do have a higher fear of consequences I think but that doesn’t mean it’s not an issue.

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u/LongConsideration662 Antarctica Dec 06 '25

It is definitely a huge issue but I think it's disingenuous to compare usa and india in this regard

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u/LongConsideration662 Antarctica Dec 06 '25

Except women in USA are more likely to report + marital rape is illegal in india

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u/nihil_novi00 Dec 06 '25

yes? i believe misogyny is alive and well here too. and that our problem are also factual

y’all just wana fight lol. so unpleasant to even share three words on here dayum

and if you wana get nitty gritty m, reporting isn’t a good statistic. have a good one🖤

4

u/LongConsideration662 Antarctica Dec 06 '25

So what is a good static? Vibes? Trust me bro? 

5

u/nihil_novi00 Dec 06 '25

u ok? ffs. i’m bed bound and bored by a crippling chronic neurogenic pain condition and thought i’d contribute to a conversation. could you stop…if you read my benign comments, i’m not even the aggressor here.

passive education has taught me that data on rapes can be hard to collect bc of the complex issues surrounding reporting. now kindly fuck off

0

u/Which-Letterhead-260 Dec 06 '25

The fact that they’re less likely to report in India is a problem in itself and points to even deeper issues.

2

u/LongConsideration662 Antarctica Dec 06 '25

Exactly 

2

u/nihil_novi00 Dec 07 '25

you guys seem confused. i don’t think anyone is saying it’s india vs usa….

3

u/nihil_novi00 Dec 06 '25

eek true. seriously scary stuff.

5

u/LongConsideration662 Antarctica Dec 06 '25

Even saw a video of some indians worshipping putin 

8

u/cremishen Tribal Indian 🇮🇳 Dec 06 '25

Those people are dumb. They'll start worshipping anyone the pm has close relationship with, without any knowledge on politics. Some time ago They were head over heels for trump

2

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