Politically Correct?

I love Asia. There is a refreshing honesty about the people here that can be dubbed at the very least, politically challenged and at the very most downright insulting. It is pretty funny most of the time. For example...The picture above is a not so gentle reminder of what can happen to you if you don't yield to those exiting the train. Or what could happen to you if you run for it, and your lips (?!) get caught in the doors. Ya gotta love the happy Fred Flintstone narrating this whole terrible affair.

When in a public place in America, and one has the need to relieve oneself, one will in general ask for a restroom. Or a bathroom, for the uninformed or very young. Not in Asia. You ask for either of those things and they will look at you as if you are speaking Russian. "Where is the toilet." That's what you say. You can't mess around with that other stuff, especially if the need is urgent. Want white teeth? Buy the toothpaste that boasts the 'whitest, brightest smile.' Not too bad, you say? The picture on the box is a black and white ink drawing of an obviously black man in a fedora - all you can see are eyeballs and bright white teeth. Shiny, both. And speaking of white, apparently the Asian women, who are mostly pretty dang beautiful, by the way, wish to be white. The ads for their makeup say stuff like 'guaranteed white complexion with just a shade of pink!'

Want to donate money to kids? Look for the metal statue of the child with a brace on her leg holding a sign that says "Give to spastic children." Buying cigarettes? All the boxes have the most hideous pictures of pretty horrible cancers. Have a cough? Go to the 'Hacks' isle. Colicky baby? There is a tea available for babies that helps with 'gasses and other intestinal gripes.' When walking in the stairwell one can generally find a sign that says "No urinating." Break THAT rule urine trouble...There are signs with pictures of stuff with that red circle with a line through it that means 'No.' No spitting, no gum, no feeding the monkeys, no parking. The other day I saw the red circle with line but with no picture inside. I decided it just meant - 'No!' - kind of the like the government equivalent of the popular parental warning - 'Don't even think about it.' I considered swiping the sign for my kids, but thought better of it...