in NYC. No social stratification there; harmony abides among all races and creeds.

Sorry to call your hypothesis poppycock, but... well, that's how it falls upon my ears. Sir.

I grew up in Central Texas, but I have traveled the country and a few other corners of the world, and no place I have found surpasses the American South for genuine friendliness and civility (on the whole). Colombians have a comparable warmth and graciousness, but for sure they have their own counterparts to yessir, yessum and the like. (My Colombian dad is quick to greet a friend or colleague as "Distinguido".)

My wife, who isn't even a Southerner but has been a naturalized Texan for years, thought that folks in Seattle were unfriendly for a long time after we arrived there. I had to observe to her that they were fundamentally OK but completely unwilling to act outwardly friendly with strangers or even with casual acquaintances. And Pacific Northwesterners are downright cuddly compared to urban Northeasterners.

Perhaps the lower divorce rate among folks from the Northeast has to do with it the relative ease of exceeding low expectations?

that you're finding a spurious correlation between divorce rates and politeness rankings. You could probably also find a correlation between political beliefs, religious beliefs, etc. and that stat. as well which would vary across the states.

It does make sense that high levels of politeness come out of times/places with more rigid social hierarchies, so what we see now is largely the artifact of that. But at the same time, I'm not sure that it works in the reverse manner--that more comfort and equality leads to less politeness over time. Perhaps less of the "formal" politeness.

is actually that equality and flexible belief actually helps people to find one another, get along, work through conflicts. Fixed belief and the need for things to be absolute creates an inability to fully understand yourself or others, to accurately select a mate apart from social expectation, to work through conflict with significant others,etc. The problems can really become insurmountable for women who get the low end of the totem pole.

The anger that goes with fixed belief can also be extremely debilitating on families. Without flexibility the whole thing is driven to breakdown and divorce.

As a progressive I am highly committed to the ideal of equality of all and that includes women, children and racial minorities. I often find it is the men, elderly and whites who are so adamant about the benefits of politeness - because lo and behold it is so often directed at THEM.

As far as being nice to one another, who doesn't like that. I do think I am more heavily talking about formal politeness. As far as places like Seattle, what is happening in cities like that is that it is more settled. People live there a long time and so friendships are long and deep, unlike the more mobile parts of the country where people are constantly getting to know new people. Minneapolis is like that, with a greater overlay of 'friendliness' However, the saying in Minneapolis is people are friendly but it is difficult to be their friend if you are new to the community. All this plays on politeness.

...on a recent list of percentage of income given to charity by state, Massachusets came in last place. Dead last.

Mississippi came in first. Across the board, red, southern states outperformed so called blue or liberal states.

This disdain Bart offers works both ways and is not an admirable trait. You want a job? Get the fuck outahere. (Said. Not said--We're baling out the banks. No time (or money) for you poor working class mothafuckas.)

In the south, politeness is offered both up and down social ladders. Personally I don't like being called sir: I certainly don't require it of anybody. But it is nice when someone acknowledges your presence. We wave, say hi, thank you, and hold the door for others.

Furthermore, we stand in lines and wait our turn. I've lived in places where that wasn't the case. Henceforth, I choose not to live in those places.

I remember being appalled when 100+ inmates from Camp Hill Pennsylvania were shipped to a federal prison in Texarkana, Texas where I resided. Racism among them was far greater than it is in the south.

I once asked a black man (fellow inmate) what time it was. He looked around nervously and then whispered, "Don't you know you're not supposed to talk to me? You're going to get me in trouble."

Do what?

I did inhale.

religiousity. Giving is higher in the ratio you outline because of church giving - and it is generally better and easier to track because churches are required to do so. Not that church giving is bad, far from it. A lot of church giving though simply goes into the coffers of the local church and provides the amenities immediately enjoyed by the church member.

Giving to organizations that are of no immediate benefit to yourself is equal across the state lines. The only variable is church affiliation.

this a fact or you just spoutin???because I disagree - KVET just did their annual radiothon for the childrens hospital-- Austin broke the record they set last year ( as they do about every year) every other radiothon held for same thing (was 7-8) held in NY, Mn etc raised less than last yr-- we held another benefit show for an organization that rehomes racehorses-- did better than last yr-- in Texa sif its a good cause and ya have a buck (even if not really spare) we'll help em out -

one demographers and statiticians would be wise to consider.

^{"All men's gains are the fruit of venturing."}

-Herodotus

ABC's 20-20 performed a test--placing ringers in front of retail stores in upscale high income areas of San Franciso, and in front of predominately poor Wal-Mart type stores in the South.

By gross, by numbers of contributers, and certainly as a percentage of income, poor southerners gave more--not by just a little either--significantly more.

Perhaps religion has something to do with it. If so, then I'd say religion is a positive factor.

Hitchikers routinely tell me how hard it is to get a ride and to stay out of jail in the Northeast as well.

From what I've seen, the richer the neighborhood, the less likely people are to empathize with the poor and disadvantaged, and that includes the rich neighborhoods in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin.

I did inhale.

The leading theory as to why the poor give more in the scenario pointed out here is that they anticipate that they themselves will need to be on the receiving end. The poor persons economic condition is precarious, they give when they can to build up chits that can be cashed in when they need. It becomes a habitual behavior for them. The rich financial condition is more stable without any anticipated need to give in such circumstances.

Also the rich don't randomly give to ringers where there are no receipts for the tax benefits. All the studies being discussed I also believe talk about giving as a percentage of income, and the poor give far more. However, in absolute dollar terms rich giving is much much higher than giving by the poor.

Think of it, two men, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, have given $75 billion dollars over the past five years. That is $250 for every man woman and child in America, or 1% of per capita wage in America.

As far as hitchhiking goes, I would never pick up a hithhiker. But it is also an interesting point. The poor are also much more likely to put themselves in a dangerous position to help someone else than the rich are. Even in situations such as hitchhiking or letting strangers in their home. They suffer a higher proportion of being criminal victims from these individuals as a result. We can speculate as to why that is, but also because they themselves feel they will also be in trouble one day.

The poor better understand that they too will need help, or perhaps have recently received help from someone else. I guess you could call it a belief in karma or of the precept that you reap what you sow.

My experience has taught me that evil people get rich; those with principles and a hard work ethic get fucked. (Hoyt Axton--work your fingers to the bone what do you get? Bony fingers.)

But about every 80 years or so, an event comes along that wastes the entire system.

When that happens, the poor are better equipped to survive.

As Mike Ruppert asks, would you rather fall from the penthouse to the sidewalk, or from the sidewalk to the curb?

On the other hand, being kind has instantaneous rewards.

I did inhale.

well said don

Massachusetts has long been ranked as the second stingiest state in the nation according to the Generosity Index, a widely used list that ranks all 50 states according to how much local residents give to charity, published by the Catalogue for Philanthropy. But that charge is debunked as a "myth" in a new report commissioned by the Boston Foundation, which for the first time subjects the Index to scrutiny by nationally recognized sociologist and philanthropy expert Paul G. Schervish, Ph.D., the Director of the Boston College Center on Wealth and Philanthropy.

The Report, entitled Geography and Generosity: Boston and Beyond, was released November 8, at a forum at the Boston Foundation. Dr. Schervish presented a summary of his findings, dismissing the claim that Massachusetts is one the least generous states in the nation and suggesting a more rigorous way to calculate the level of giving in a particular state. He also called for a different way to understand the idea of generosity—not as a narrowly competitive status on the single incremental list, but as a complex attitude that factors in significant differences between states and regions in the country.

"Dr. Schervish has achieved something truly remarkable with this study," said Paul S. Grogan, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation. "He has put our understanding of philanthropy onto a foundation of fact rather than hunch. And he confirms what many have suspected: the residents of Massachusetts give generously and well to causes and ideas that matter to them. In fact, this report invites us to change our understanding of ourselves."

more

The referenced report: pdf [Which I'm embarrassed to say I haven't yet read - guess I know what I'll be doing this afternoon...]

[Comment: For those who want to understand the study and the issue in a little more detail, this critique is well worth taking on board. I've met Paul and attended various conference presentations he's given - he knows his stuff. The short form is that something as complex as the notion of generosity is pretty hard to measure effectively. Note - I didn't write the hed. ~ JPD]

“The absence of any US-Iran bilateral channel...may have the perverse effect of reinforcing Iranian interest in progressing in the nuclear realm so that the US will be forced to take it seriously and engage it directly." ~ Richard Haass

Southern Europe is considered "warm and friendly" compared to the North

That's what the thieves say about themselves between stabbing each others with knifes.

What we think as actions of politeness are based on fiction anyway. Here was made an empirical study how people actually express politeness at cashier. About 600 encounters were recorded and analyzed.

There where I come from speaking bullshit with strangers is politeness. But the topics are strictly controlled.
Politeness is very little about saying phrases like 'Sir', which in my culture meant: "I hate you bastard but I have to do this business with you anyway. Don't expect me to say you 'hello' tomorrow".

It really depends on what I'm used to. SP wrote that people in Turkey are polite. FUCK THEY ARE NOT!

And why tourists suck explains somebody from Washington DC.

_{--Sell Texas to China!}

That is the easy part. The difficult part arrives when I realize that everybody else in the table have ordered something which looks magically better. That happens always when I do not know the menu and can't delegate the ordering.

_{--Sell Texas to China!}

The woman is somehow strange too.

She is like a teenager girl out of her social class pretending to pick a date?

_{--Sell Texas to China!}