I just had to comment on something I read earlier on this thread regarding eating with a fork and knife and being 'civilized'.
People from different parts of the world and different cultures have different eating etiquettes. What's considered 'civilized' for some, may be considered 'uncivilized' for others, and vice versa. People are different, cultures are different, and just because someone doesn't eat in that 'fork and knife style', does not mean they are uncivilized. Chinese people eat with chopsticks. I know I would look completely uncivilized eating with chopsticks, because I don't know how to use them...but they look perfectly civilized when they eat like that. In some cultures, eating food with your left hand is completely unacceptable. Whether you are right-handed or left-handed, the right hand is used for eating, and the left hand used for washing yourself after using the toilet.For some nations, this has to be very strange, but for others, it is the 'civilized' thing to do. I don't think any of us have the right to condemn others as uncivilized just because they may eat differently. Different cultures teach different things. In the end, all parents do their best to teach their kids what they feel to be proper table manners. I was taught the proper eating etiquette from early childhood, and a major part of what I was taught was 'NEVER eat with the left hand'. I was also taught 'NO washing with the right hand after using the restroom'.
In certain cultures, it is considered uncivilized to use the toilet and only wipe yourself using toilet paper. You have to WASH yourself thoroughly using water, and then 'dry' with the toilet paper. My point is...cultures are different, and none of us have the right to say which one is more civilized than the other, just because of what we're used to. Now...of course grabbing a bunch of food in your hand and stuffing it into your mouth would be uncivilized by all means, but what I'm saying is.....if someone is just using a fork, or a spoon, or using both fork and knife, or eating with chopsticks, or eating neatly using the thumb and two adjacent fingers as is the custom in certain cultures, all of these ways are neat if done with the proper etiquette, and it should not be considered uncivilized. There are civilized ways of eating and uncivilized ways of eating, but differences in culture should not be considered uncivilized. Every culture has its own important 'proper' way of eating, and that is what they teach their kids.
I crack up when I go to Indian/Pakistani restaurants and see the typical American enjoying a meal. They're eating in the most proper way they know, but when eating the foods they're eating, the proper knives/forks way doesn't work, and looks completely odd. Naan (a type of bread for those who are not familiar with it) is not meant to be eaten like french bread...Its supposed to be 'dipped' in the curry the person's eating with it...and when its eaten in any other way, it looks funny. That's what I mean...What's civilized for some is completely wrong when you're eating the foods of another culture...though personally, I wouldn't consider it wrong. Its what they were taught and what they're comfortable with. Its just a teenie bit cute and funny to see someone eating naan like french bread, and eating the curry with a spoon like soup.I love diversity, and love different cultures. Its what makes us all unique and interesting...he he he.
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