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TwitThisFear of Crime
Our other two tests produced less heartening worldwide results. Just over half of people held doors open for us and only one third helped pick up our papers. Many in the latter category said they were too busy or couldn't be bothered to stop, but a significant minority was more scared of crime -- or being seen as a criminal -- than rude. "I've heard that pickpockets use tricks like that," said a 50-year-old woman in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic. "One drops something, you help them pick it up and their accomplice robs you while you're not looking."So did the world pass our courtesy test? Overall our 35 cities showed it 55 percent of the time. "Common courtesy is the oil that keeps society running," says one social values expert. If so, our check of the level of the world's courtesy suggested that, in most places, there's plenty of oil in the engine, but some cities could use a top-up. Some of our researchers were disappointed by the treatment they received from their compatriots. Our French reporters were so upset with the lack of help with dropped papers in Paris that they considered abandoning the test altogether. But elsewhere our researchers were pleasantly surprised. "It was great to find that the vast majority of our subjects not only passed the test," says Salvador García of Mexico City, "but said they think we are part of a culture of kindness despite our daily problems."
An example of this kindness was shown in the same city by pastry shop worker Rodolfo Mateo Santiago, 21. He thanked our researcher for her purchase of a bottle of water and revealed that he had inherited his belief in courtesy from his grandmother, who had told him: "The most beautiful thing you can give another human being is a genuine smile. Live your life by this motto and you will see wonderful results."
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