A number of studies have indicated that societies which are known for exceptionally high levels of hospitality, and generally "polite" behavior, also tend to have exceptionally high levels of violence and murder.
This is apparently seen most prominently in Hunter Gatherer societies; some of which come off as being veritable egalitarian paradises on the surface, but actually hide murder rates several times higher than the US average under the surface.
Cultural Shaping of Violence: Victimization, Escalation, Response
However, it is also seen in the United States itself, and the South in particular.
Insult, Aggression, and the Southern Culture of Honor:
An "Experimental Ethnography"
While there arguably might be a number of different reasons for that (poverty, racial differences related to cultural tensions left over from slavery and segregation, and etca), there is some evidence to suggest that Southern culture itself might play a role.
According to the above study, when Southerners and Northerners were both faced with the prospect of dealing with an aggressive or overtly insulting person under laboratory conditions, the Northerners would simply toss the abuse back, but remain more or less unaffected outside of that. Southerners, however, would try to remain passive for far longer, before ultimately
exploding in violence after reaching a certain breaking point.
This was reflected on a hormonal level as well. Even while remaining outwardly polite, Southern men registered almost double the levels of Testosterone and Cortisol in response to an overt insult than did Northern men.
The roots of that seem to be psychological more than anything else. The more restrictive the social code, the more negative the emotional reaction when one violates that code. Likewise, it is also likely tied to repression. The longer one holds on to a negative emotion, the more explosive it will be when eventually released.
Though... Arguably, the initial inclination towards politeness could also originate with an explicit cultural desire
not to tick people off in the first place, because one knows just how badly such things tend to turn out. :lol:
In any case, it is an interesting phenomena. Honestly, I'm not really sure which approach I prefer.
While it's probably a good thing not having to deal with the kind of culture where you have to worry about being shanked over any imagined insult (think of most mob movies, for example, or anything having to do with the Italian Renaissance) , I'm not really sure if the opposite is desirable either.
Frankly, even with the increased violence, I'd much rather live in a generally pleasant and "honorable" society, where abrasive assholes are put in their place, than one where they are allowed to prance around freely, dumping all over everyone free of consequence.
Maybe that's just me. :shrug:
