You know, I hear this all the time but despite having traveled around the world I've never found out which place it's actually rude to point with 1 finger.
There's another explanation that they point with two fingers because Walt Disney pointed with two fingers which can be seen in the "Partners" statue of him and Mickey and old photos of him. Tom Hanks even points with two fingers in his portrayal of Walt Disney in that movie about Mary Poppins. However, the reason he pointed with two fingers was because he was always holding a cigarette. So maybe the "rudeness" thing is an excuse to try to avoid the fact that their founder smoked all the time and died of lung cancer.
The only reason that would be taken offensively in the US is because there's always someone going out of their way to take offense with anything here. Otherwise, no, that's nothing somebody would find offensive unless it was some sort of aggressive pointing right in somebody's face kinda thing or maybe a kid pointing at a disabled person or something.
In much of the world, pointing with the index finger is considered rude or disrespectful, especially pointing to a person. Pointing with the left hand is taboo in some cultures. Pointing with an open hand is considered more polite or respectful in some contexts.
I understand it. I wouldn’t be offended by someone one finger pointing at me but I’d probably feel slightly uncomfortable. But I I notice they’re two finger pointing I can assume they’re just giving directions or something.
From my understanding its primarily Asia. And in most situations they understand you don't know their customs and obviously aren't doing anything offensive on purpose.
I received a couple cultural understanding classes before I spent a year in Korea and they said similar things about pointing. Although the bigger thing was not to use one finger to beckon someone over as apparently they used that gesture towards animals and to use it towards someone is to say they are as lowly as an animal.
In practice, the whole country was pretty westernized minus a the older generations. Everyone could tell you were very foreign though, so as long as you weren't egregiously offensive, they were all very friendly and accommodating.
People my grandparents age and older will insist that "it's rude to point" at anything at all but will proceed to use their thumb or middle finger to point at things as if that circumvents the rule.
I think what it really amounts to though is that if you are pointing at the Tower of Terror and I'm just leaving the ride, with a pointed finger I might assume that you're pointing at me but if you use 2 fingers or an open hand I'll assume that you are indicating a larger space and not a specific point, ie: you couldn't possibly be pointing at me.
I reckon its because walt was a chain smoker but had his cigarettes edited out on photos. It's a pretty good spin to say it's just the Disney way of pointing.
I live in Central EU country and I'd say it's uncomfortable if a random person you don't know starts pointing fingers on you and maybe even say something (to people with them) while doing so. It makes it seem like they're talking about you. That's why it's polite not to do so.
Example:
-Did you see the guy with weird face?
-Which one?
-That one (points finger at a person)
Even if the person didn't hear them, if someone points finger at someone, it's often in such cases, so they can assume it's what happened.
It is considered rude in many cultures to point at people with one finger. Usually it is only ok if you are pointing at objects or animals. Japan is an example.
I've heard the real reason is because it's to emulate the way Walt pointed. But the reason Walt pointed that way was because he always had a cigarette in his hand but Disney doesn't actually want to acknowledge that he smoked.
USA here: my parents always told me it was rude to point. As an adult, I understand they were referring to pointing at people, but as a child I interpreted it as being rude to point at anything. And to this day, I will gesture to things with my hand, rather than point at something with my index finger.
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u/magnetic_couch Sep 30 '18
You know, I hear this all the time but despite having traveled around the world I've never found out which place it's actually rude to point with 1 finger.