Ask HN: How do I stop myself being toxic?

Re:Ask HN: How do I stop myself being toxic? by VeejayRampay on Wednesday June 29, 2016 @07:44AM (#12000960)

Or study the British, they're the world masters at Cadbury-chocolate-covered offensive discussion.

PS: This might read as way too broad a statement or as an attack on British people, rest assured that it's not. I genuinely find the British art of social decorum absolutely fascinating and I think it can have tremendous value. Speaking as a Frenchman, I too often witness the cost of being too hot-blooded and blunt in the social rapport.

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Re:Ask HN: How do I stop myself being toxic? by dijit on Wednesday June 29, 2016 @07:59AM (#12001032)

I am British working in Sweden. xD

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Re:Ask HN: How do I stop myself being toxic? by CannisterFlux on Wednesday June 29, 2016 @08:09AM (#12001086)

Maybe you've been away for too long? :-)

Are your colleagues mostly Swedish or English/other? Do you speak in English or Swedish to them?

I can imagine if you speak English better than your colleagues then you might imperceptibly/unintentionally treat them like people less intelligent than they are due to having an accent. As a British person working in Europe I've seen it happen, non-UK colleagues I know to be very intelligent are treated ... differently... when talking to someone who speaks english natively. Maybe not "toxic", but in a way I wouldn't appreciate.

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Re:Ask HN: How do I stop myself being toxic? by dijit on Wednesday June 29, 2016 @09:00AM (#12001345)

I speak English at work, but I couldn't possibly have a superiority complex, they all speak English better than I do.

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Re:Ask HN: How do I stop myself being toxic? by anon1234321 on Wednesday June 29, 2016 @10:05PM (#12006133)

I think we found the problem. You're a raging capitalist and the Swedes are a bunch of commies.

I'm joking obviously, but maybe you'd fit in better back home. What's toxic in Sweden might be ambitious in Britain. Cultures are different.

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Re:Ask HN: How do I stop myself being toxic? by cmdrfred on Wednesday June 29, 2016 @07:59AM (#12001036)

My fiance is British and you are spot on. Growing up we dealt with issues in the household directly "Hey asshole it's your turn to wash the dishes". Her family has a different more subtle approach that's hard to verbalize.

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