r/Norway • u/[deleted] • 6d ago

Working in Norway Etiquette? Common courtesy?

This may offend people and get down voted. It is what it is. Do Norwegians not learn common courtesy or street etiquette when they are kids? For real. So sick of this. Always stopping and standing in the middle of an aisle or sidewalk to talk, fix a bag, etc. Don't care about the people behind you. When they're walking down a sidewalk, they just walk in the middle, on the wrong side, walk 2 or 3 abreast, not caring about people walking towards you. Don't let other people off public transport before you push your way on. The last straw was tonight when I was at Meny, and a lady didn't even let me finish my order before she was pushing her way into my self checkout. I go to grab my receipt with my barcode to get out, she looks at me and goes "Ja". You guys don't give a shit about anyone but yourself, for real. This needs to be said

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u/PeStLevel 6d ago

Silly question. We are talking about Norway. However, Norway is the fourth country I live in and I have travelled widely, but when it comes to this Norwegians are absolutt "best i verden" at lacking common decency. Upvote for OP.

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u/Snorress 6d ago

yeah, thats bs. does not sound like you have travelled anywhere tbh.

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u/PeStLevel 6d ago

Well, you won't be able to check and nothing I write here will convince you, but it is interesting you feel defensive about this. I have another question: Why do most Norwegians feel personally attacked when someone criticises their country/culture? What is the defensiveness about? Implicit guilt? An inferiority complex? Having been brainwashed by propaganda so much that anything contradicting it is just breaking your set of beliefs?

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u/Superb-Astronaut-371 6d ago

Imagine having a different perception of the country you grew up in, huh?

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u/PeStLevel 6d ago

I don't know what you mean. Plenty places in the world people will agree with visitors/immigrants on what is good or bad about the place. I speak fluent Norwegian and have many well-educated Norwegian friends, but for some reason they really don't like to hear what is not okay here. There are many good things here, but why is it so hard to hear that some things are not up to par?

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u/-Parptarf- 6d ago

I’m Norwegian and I don’t mind. But it’s kinda hilarious that you say we are the worst in the world at this.

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u/PeStLevel 6d ago

Countries that are better at this: England, Ireland, Germany, China, Iran, Morocco, Poland, the Baltic states, Turkey, Serbia, Slovakia, Czechia, Russia, Austria, Slovenia, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, US, Ukraine, Belgium, Scotland, Wales... (the list goes on).

Countries equally shitty at this: the Netherlands and Danmark (from the top of my head).

So maybe you are right, and it is actually a tie.

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u/Tilladarling 6d ago

Morocco? The country where they will grope any prepubescent girl or above and sexually harass you for the grave sin of walking while female? Yeah, you’re not a woman, are you. I’ve yet to meet any western woman traveling without a male chaperone having a good time out among Moroccans. Still feel those groping fingers trying to push my thighs apart in a queue. I was 11.

Just my «qualitative» impression

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u/PeStLevel 6d ago

Ah, good point. Absolutely agree that gender will influence your experience. Morocco was great, but I am a man (and I speak French as a 4th language and I also know some basic Arabic). Your experience sounds awful and I am sorry you had to go through that.

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u/Riztrain 6d ago

I have been to over half of those countries, both rural and big city, and the fact you're saying those places are more polite in public tells me you're full of Shit and have never been there.

(the list goes on).

Well if you're already going to lie you should definetly just complete the list lol.

Every country in the UK will stop way more in the middle of an already much more narrow sidewalk and have a chat, fix bag, or just liter in general unless they feel like leaning up against something.

They're not doing it out of rudeness, but because they have just as much right to that space as you do. Again; nobody owes you their space just because you find it annoying to walk around them.

The south American countries you listed are laughable...

China even more so...

Got Poland right, and 'some' Baltic countries.

I mean, I don't even know why I'm telling you because you're obviously clueless 🤣

Go off peanut king, tell me the other 50 countries you frequent! Do they also kneel when you pass them on the street?

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u/PeStLevel 6d ago

Upvote for making me laugh

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u/WaitForVacation 6d ago

wow, how was this study conducted? I'm sure there were some clear criteria and was measured on a meaningful size of the population in all the above countries.

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u/PeStLevel 6d ago

Nah, as I stated, it is based on my experiences. Not a study, but if it was, it would be qualitative and not quantitative.

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u/-Parptarf- 6d ago

You’re the expert, I guess.

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u/PeStLevel 6d ago

Just sharing my insights. Funny you say it doesn't bother you, but all the same you seem defensive in your passive aggressiveness.

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u/-Parptarf- 6d ago

It really doesn’t. Hell, I agree with OP. But saying were the worst in the world, following it up with a list of countries you’ve visited, kinda comes across as arrogant.

I have the exact opposite experience with England and Denmark than you, for example. Been to both countries 20+ times, but I don’t go around saying either is the best or the worst, if you know what I mean.

But yeah, this is an issue here that annoy the hell out if me too, for sure.

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u/Kind_of_random 5d ago

Ha!
Well, at least you made me laugh.

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u/Superb-Astronaut-371 3d ago

So but your logic. Afghanistan, India, Africa, Brazil, China and most of the Middle East are purely extremely accommodating, and in those countries, it just works to live free as any person? Hardly.

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u/thatscandinavianguy 6d ago

Thanks for having this already checked out, we need your research more in the field. Go out there and bring in more anecdotal data man.

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u/BradleyEchoes 5d ago

We are told that «det er typisk norsk å være god», every time some statistic says Norway is the best it gets a lot of media coverage, and of course there’s an inferiority complex at play. Any time any foreigner or foreign news media are talking about Norway it gets media coverage:

A perfect example of what you’re saying is the Finnish «influencer» Sanna Sarromaa - I think she really loves riling up Norwegians, but for the most part she has good points when she writes about problems in Norway - however she will always receive a lot of criticism from us Norwegians no matter how on point she is

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u/Superb-Astronaut-371 3d ago

But it is okay here. Saying it isn’t is either nit-picking arguments or idealizing a nation to nearly impossible standards.