Since when is it considered non-PC to tell females they should smile more?

The lie here is that these issues are gender issues. They aren't. The message is that all women think alike. They don't.

This is a political issue that breaks along political (not gender) lines. That is why you see liberal men telling women how they should feel, but conservative women are absent from these discussion.

And it is a culturally specific issue. Western women like to think that they speak for all women. They don't.

Just ******* Google the phenomenon. Over 90% of the articles are from women (of varying races and ethnicities). This isn't an issue of white male guilt.

And it's bloody ******* hypocritical that you are now the mouthpiece for conservative women. How do you qualify for this position (other than self-proclamation)? You can hardly be any more disingenuous with your POV.

And it's super bizarrely weird that your implied complaint that the liberal white males are somehow censoring the conservative women and their viewpoints because they haven't replied to this (less than a) day old thread as if ...
1. we have a sizable conservative female population at a2k who are highly active on a daily basis.
2. that there is noteworthy conservative female population at a2k who has any interest in actively participating in a JGoldman thread in the first place.

Your conspiracy theory FAILS at even the most basic of anecdotal evidence level.

1) You are a white man... right?

2) This is the very definition of selection bias. The articles are being written by angry progressive women with the same political slant. The women who don't care aren't writing many articles. Searching on google for women who agree with you doesn't give you the right to speak for women.

I speak only for myself.

I spend time in two cultures. In one, it is expected that I tell women that they look pretty or attractive or good. In the other, commenting on women's appearance is almost taboo. In my real life, I rarely have trouble switching between the two.

What I don't like is this idea (which is particularly American) that it is your problem if I am offended. People get hysterically upset when White people wear hoop earrings, or a man mentions underwear in a public elevator. It gets more than a little ridiculous.

These taboos are culturally specific. They are recent (they didn't exist earlier in our own culture). And sometimes they are ridiculous.

This is the very definition of Max talking bollocks.

Only women who agree with Max are allowed to have an opinion, clearly Jespah can’t speak for women, and Tsar can’t post videos made by women.

More Goebbling from the propaganda boy.

Hi Izzy.

I’ve been to Mexico and seen the way Americans like you treat the locals.

It reminded me of stories I’d heard about the behaviour of the British during the Raj.

It was disgusting.

I hope when you went to Mexico, you had the chance to get out of whatever resort you were staying in to see the real Mexico. It is a rich and diverse culture, and most of it is not ever noticed by tourists.

I don't spend time with Americans when I am in Mexico. I am buying a house in a town most tourists have never heard of.

The comparison of Mexico to the Raj is rather inaccurate (as well as offensive). Mexico is an independent country (and proud of it). Most people appreciate the tourism that America brings, but outside of the tourist areas I am just a foreigner. Mexicans are not subjects of the American empire, nor do they see themselves as such.

What was offensive was the behaviour of your countrymen.

I went all over.

I am curious Izzy. Where did you go? Did you see Chiapas? Did you spend time in Oaxaca?

Have you celebrated las posadas. Have you been able to stay with a Mexican family? Have you been to a wedding? Have you learned to dance Banda?

These are all things I recommend.

The comparison with the Raj is appropriate. The only difference is the Americans shout andele andele instead of paced paced.

I went to Yucatan because I have a thing about cities in jungles and pyramids.

You haven't been to the real Mexico then.

Open your eyes.

You just followed here to argue. I get that. But I have a more important point to make.

When you learn a new culture it means learning the language, spending time with normal people, building relationships and being part of a culture. Experiencing a culture is different than tourism.

There are lots of things that I have been able to experience in Mexico that tourists no nothing about. It is frustrating that my American friends want to talk about beaches and narcos (as if this is what Mexico is about) where I want talk about las posadas and relationships and family life.

There is an interesting that happens when you learn a new culture. Your own beliefs get challenged. There are several things in Mexico that would offend me as an American (because as an American I have been trained to think in a certain way). I have to accept them when I am in Mexico. Of course the reverse is also true.

In Mexico, I know a woman who is affectionately called "gorda" (translated that would be "fatso" in English). This is a fairly common nickname for people who are seen as slightly overweight... and no one takes offense. Most American women would slap you if you called them that.

When you are in Mexico (as a person rather than as a tourist) you have to put aside your own prejudices and accept the culture as it is.

That is the point of this tangent.

Mexico isn’t a three hour flight away.

You’re one of those people who goes to the same place year after year because it means you don’t have to leave your comfort zone.

I prefer going to different places, and I spend time with the locals.

Good Izzy, I am happy for you.

The point I am making is that when you interact with another culture, you are the foreigner. You should accept it for what it is rather than judge it for how you think it should be. Mexican culture is different than American culture. Neither of them is superior.

The only point I am making is about respect for other cultures. If we are in agreement, then good.

You have no respect for any culture other than your own.

Whenever we disagree on a subject you turn it into an assault on British people.

That’s what bigots do, it’s what you do, and I doubt you’d be any different with any other nationality including Mexicans.

So it's NOT okay to tell any FEMALE FRIENDS or ACQUAINTANCES; i.e., people you know that they should smile more?

No it's not okay. And that doesn't just apply to females. You shouldn't be telling anyone to smile more.

You have no idea what's going on in their lives. They might have all sorts of problems and be stressed and worried, or might have even lost someone close to them.

Telling people they should smile more is just plain rude.

So you're saying it's wrong to encourage others to feel better about themselves?

I'm a Christian. My mother is a Christian. She encourages other Christians to feel better about themselves.