Is it rude to pitch a wizardly bane on someone and doom them to a severe fate ? Who know , but that ’s exactly how the old " cease pointing " matter set out . Folks were none too proud of to cogitate that an outstretched finger might be a signal of a whammy [ generator : Patterson ] . If you ’re of the mind that show fingers is a few mumbled words by from turn you into a goofball or something , you ’re plausibly fairly hard-line on the no - pointing normal too .
But not very many of us still pledge to the theme that our champion inSalemare plotting a hellish custody of our bodies . And besides , the impression that pointing was a herald to a magic hex is both Western and recent . We have sex that lots of other cultures – many quite previous – discourage pointing , at the very least . Some are downright offended by it , but what ’s the deal ?
While in many culture pointing at someone is consider a bit rude , it ’s sure enough not always considered an obscenity . ( American culture , for instance , may lour upon it as a head of manners , but it ’s absolutely more acceptable than , say , giving someone the finger . ) And the truth is , we ca n’t say for sure why it ’s rude to charge , just like we ca n’t quite vindicate any arbitrary ( if still show ) regulation of etiquette . It could be that it just come across as fast-growing , which no one likes . But there ’s also the thought that we use pointing to pursue in " joint attention , " a developmental attainment that allow us to share opinions and even activities with others [ source : Patterson ] . make one suppose that our involuntariness to point is actually quite punch-drunk , when it could cater one of our first experiences of community and cooperativeness .
But what to do in those finish that consider betoken with an index number finger untoward ? If you ’re stressed out about the approximation of how to motion your way to , say , the lav in a pointing - is - rude country , no fear . A lot of cultures that glower on pointing have figured out perfectly reasonable and efficient ways of signaling direction . In Uganda , for example , those with an armload of something might be excuse to find that point with your lips is a vulgar practice . In Guinea - Bissau , some communities apply their tongue to point steering [ reservoir : CultureGrams ] .
Just do n’t think that every culture is pleased to see you point with any unornamented dead body part . Thai culture is quite sensitive to feet ; aim with your toes toward a person ( or especially religious statues or people ) or even food is considered extremely disrespectful [ source : Cavanagh ] . Wherever you are , do n’t accept every gesture think of the same thing .
