In the video, Colin Daniels, chief executive of the Warrington Chambers of Commerce talks about the need of enforcing 'Kissing ' and ' Non Kissing' zones at the railway station. It seems that the station has become 'increasingly busy' after the introduction of Pendolino trains from London to Glasgow and Super voyager trains between Bringham and Scotland. In order to avoid traffic congestion and ensure smooth flow of commuters, the necessary action has been taken as kissing in station holds up a lot of commuters by distracting them. However, the public hasn't accepted this proposal with open arms as they find the whole issue silly. Some reactions from the public are, 'IT IS RIDICULOUS' and 'KISS WHERE YOU WANT TO'.For more information click on the link.
I am not amazed by the reactions of the public as kissing in public places is quite common in the western countries and a part of their culture. It is very natural for them to react in this way.Here are pictures of some eminent personalities kissing in public.
Nicolas Sarkozy (French President) with his girlfriend Carla in left.
Sarah and Gordon Brown ( Britain Prime minister) in the right
On the contrary, here is a picture of Richard Gere(Hollywood Actor) and Shilpa Shetty(Bollywood Actress) that created a huge controversy in India.
At the AIDS awareness programme.
In Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Japan and The Middle east public display of affection is considered to be obscene or a taboo. Let me cite some instances to emphasize my point.
1.A drunken Italian tourist has been fined more than $3,000 (£1,566) for hugging and kissing a woman in public in the United Arab Emirates.
2.Police arrested the couple - a 28-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman - for kissing near a station in India.
3.The average western couple travelling in Indonesia could be looking at jail-time if they kiss each other in public
This brings me to the concepts learned this week.Culture plays a vital role in Communication. Due to culture differences, people find it difficult to adapt themselves in new places. A person from India might get a Culture shock,"the anxiety that results from losing all of our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse"(Thinking Through Communication-Sarah Trenholm) in Canada if she sees people openly kissing on streets as he/she isn't exposed to it. Again people are governed with stereotypes and prejudices. Example of a stereotype would be, if we have decided that all the people in the West kiss openly in the streets just to seek attention, we stop judging people objectively. Prejudices are a type of stereotypes where we form negative opinions about others. For example in Western countries, kissing your loved ones openly on streets ,while greeting them or seeing them off is considered pretty normal ,but in Asain countires , it is still considered as an obscene and an attention seeking act. So we should take care about different types of culture and subculture while communicating.
Now,coming back to the ban, the officials have adopted a collectivist approach where they give imporatance to the community's peace and harmony rather than individual preferences.So do you think the the authorities have done the right thing by introducing this ban?I personally feel ,after giving liberty to the people from the very beginning and restricting them later is not justified.Do let me know your views. I am sure it will differ.
Yes culture really makes a huge differences in perception. People act differently as they are not brought up in the same manner. In western country kissing may mean a way of saying hi. So i can understand how long they need to kiss their lover to make a real different... lol
ReplyDeleteEg: 1 person to get out of a car takes 20secs when a kissing couple appear it slow down the trafic to 1min which means 40secs more 100car will mean 4000sec more...no wonder they ban kissing lol
Kissing is something common in the west and the european countries.Its a gesture of being happy.In India,even young couples holding hands is taken to be disrespectful to the culture here.The way most of us have been brought up,we all would be apprehensive of kissing somebody,in pubic that is.Anyways,kissing is just another way of showing somebody special that you are.
ReplyDeleteLetting a fool kiss you may be stupid,
Letting a kiss fool you is certainly one.
Its indeed a culture shock to see such obscene scenes.. I think the ban is justified, as it avoids a lot of embarassment to fellow commuters..I have personally seen such scenes while enroute to the TEMPLE one day..when going to a place of worship, its indeed distracting and disturbing...well ..well..its only banned in public places! who is gonna stop them elsewhere.. ;) LOL
ReplyDeleteKiss is used as a metaphor for affection, respect, greeting, farewell, good luck, romantic affection .Most commonly an expression of affection.Between people of close acquaintance, a reciprocal kiss often is offered as a greeting or farewell.Individual and societal views on the public display of affection vary significantly. Such displays may sometimes be considered to be in bad taste, while,as mentioned, in some jurisdictions such displays may even be criminal. Depending on the social values and context, extreme forms of public displays of intimacy may be considered indecent exposure.
ReplyDeleteHolding hands or kissing in public(in countries such as India) are commonly considered to be objectionable forms of public displays of affection. But what is considered objectionable depends on the context.I , personally agree with sruta tht in countries such as UK where previously such acts were unobjectionable, imposing a ban at this stage doesn't sound good.Moreover the couples out there will have to loiter here and there just to get a kiss just as we people here do..
oo i just came across you blog and got to say that nice effort......keep writing....
ReplyDeleteI, personally, was quite shocked when I heard about the news of the ban on kissing in UK stations. When countries where kissing is a part of their culture can take such harsh & baseless steps, it would be foolhardy 2 expect an open & comfortable approach from a conservative country like India. Its high time we start moving with the times though..after all, India is the land of KAMASUTRA..
ReplyDeleteAll I can say "Get a Room"!!! And I agree with the banning and I am sure something critical must have definitely happened for them to release this order against an action which is part and partial to their culture!
ReplyDeleteHowever, regardless of the way you have been brought up, when it comes to 'public' limit, then we all should keep up to the rule. If it's a friendly hug or a kiss on forehead I wouldn't go against at all.
Public places are not our private property for kissing or anything further more sensual! People with all sorts of mind sets, cultures, traditions, beliefs are moving around and why do you want to passionately kiss someone in such a place???
If we can guard ourselves front of parents, lecturers ...etc..why can't we just guard it till you go to your own place?
Well globe is getting too hot, people are wearing less clothes and being clearly out with natural actions...When it has gone bit too far, now GB wants to ban it..hmm... well it's better late than NEVER!
Thank you all for the insightful comments. It is interesting to receive contrasting views on one topic.
ReplyDeleteAshirwad and Anupam agree with my viewpoint. kissing in public has been a part of the Western culture since the very beginning. So introducing the ban now doesn't really make sense to me. Sukanya and Dilolo, I really respect your opinions. I know it is very annoying and embarrassing to see people openly kissing in public. But in this context, people have been used to this unlike we back in India. so from their point of view, the ban is juat another silly act. Yvonne, you seem to be pretty amused by the article. Yes, it is quite funny that kissing is banned.I wonder why did the British government realise this so late???????
Finally thanks Sangharsh for the encouragement!
Is this 21st century?? or are we guys still waiting for Christ to be born??!!
ReplyDeleteIf two people kiss,why should be the third person be offended?When two people consent and kiss,its because they love and respect each other.No third party should be interested in it.I am totally against the ban....yeah...the government can like arrange campaigns and all asking people to avoid kissing in places where there are too many people around,but banning it is really a bad decision.
Thank you again Ashirwad for you comment.It seems that you are a bit agitated by the ban and the opposing comments.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that people shoud mind their own business and not interfere with others. As far as the ban is concerned, it is not justified in this context because it is a part of the Western culture unlike the Asian countries. I guess the government had no other choice but to introduce the ban as the situation went out of control.I must say that the comments on this topic have been very controversial!!!!!!
I think it is really very lame of London to have banned kissing in the railway stations....Why should others bother if two people kiss each other??????Secondly, as known, it is a part of their culture and I don't think it makes any sense to ban kissing at this point of time.....
ReplyDeleteThank you Sushy for the comments....
ReplyDeleteI agree that we generally tend to stereotype that most of the people in the west unnecessarily kiss each other on street. Even if they people say goodbye or a hello through a kiss then we misinterpret it and tend to get distracted.Hence the London government must have taken this harsh step to avoid traffic congestion in the stations.Haha.
It is inevitable, as we become more interconnected and rely on globalisation for sustainability, for influences which are relatively radical to enter into existing cultures and perceptions. We are what we repeatedly do,hence culture is and will always be fluid. A ban is apt if it protects society from brews of controversy, however, if the ban itself begins to welcome controversy due to a change in the public's attitudes, then some reconsideration is sorely needed.
ReplyDelete