Where is the Love?

Most of my Danish experiences over the past 10 months have been positive but one that simply continues to boggle my mind is the lack of public courtesy. For the most part I have found the Danes to be extremely kind people, but you would never know that when you are out in public with them.

I talked about this a little in my "Ode to the US of A" post in January, but it continues to be the most pressing question and noticed characteristic of Danish people amongst foreigners and/or the people I see everyday in Danish class. We are a class of approximately 15 people from all corners of the world so our different cultures are discussed on a regular basis.

Why can't the Danes just say "Excuse me" or "Undskyld"? ... is the question asked over and over again. The reason this is asked, is because you will rarely get an acknowledgement that anything ever happened if you get bumped on the street, metro, bus, wherever. You will simply get pushed out of the way with complete disregard.

One theory is that this change in public courtesy happened 50 years ago when the formal use of "you" or "De" was mostly removed from the Danish language which only left the informal "du." Public perspective changed and a flat hierarchy was incorporated. Everyone was equal and treated the same. Instead of treating everyone with respect, which is what happens in most cultures, the Danes decided to do the opposite.

My theory is based around the fact that "hygge" is such a big part of Danish daily lives, that things left unsaid in the name of "keeping it cozy" fester over time. Naturally, those emotions need to come out somehow. Unfortunately, the victims are perfect strangers. Or maybe I'm just over analyzing it. This, quite honestly wouldn't be the first time! After all, they call this Viking country for a reason.