Psh, I'm surprised many are shocked at Brightside's attitude. I would say the majority of the people I work with think like him (maybe just my field). There's nothing wrong with that, maybe his religious views or lack thereof urge him to ignore the inter-connectedness of human beings? Here is an apt quote for the increasingly desensitized people amongst us: "The daily spectacle of atrocious acts has stifled all feeling of pity in the hearts of men. When every hour we see or hear of an act of dreadful cruelty we lose all feeling of humanity. Crime no longer horrifies us. We smile at the enormities of our youth. We condone passion, when we should understand that the unrestrained emotions of men produce chaos. Once we were a nation of self-control and austerity, and had a reverence for life and justice. This is no longer true. We prefer our politicians, particularly if they swagger with youth and are accomplished jesters and liars. We love entertainment, even in law, even in government. Unless we reform our fate is terrible." - Taylor Caldwell
If it's weighing on your shoulders then you should apologize.. not because what you did was wrong or right.. but because it will ease your conscious... I can tell that you're a man of respect and honor.. talk to him from your heart (about how you didn't mean to come off as rude) and things will work themselves out.. if at the very least, you'll be able to sleep at night and not have to think about it.
I don't get it, whats the big deal? He shared an opinion that you obviously disagreed with and thus shared an opposing one. People are allowed to have differing views on issues, even at the work place. Furthermore you initiated the conversation by asking him how it was in the region. Its not a crime nor does it necessitate an apology for you two to disagree about whether or not to abhor or appreciate the conditions in that region. Now unless you yelled at him or made some "scene" which it doesn't appear to be so, there's nothing to stress about. PEOPLE DISAGREE, HAVE DIFFERING OPINIONS.... deal with it.
I like to believe that the people who act like they are missing the ability to feel empathy are just doing it because they are trying to get more reactions on the Internet, but who knows.
I'd be surprised honestly. UAE and Qatar are well ahead of the game when it comes to this. We'll see I guess. If we're talking about UAE culture, you would basically never resolve it. THe 'prode' factor is too big to ever apologize, or in the other guy's case, if he was from the UAE he would shoot something back. That's besides the point though, I hate culture and don't really act according to a specific culture. Hmm. There's no simple answer to how things are like in the UAE. There are too many cultures and nationalities. If you're asking if it's considered acting out among Emiratis, then yes. Generally the culture is to show total restraint and the moment it's broken, expect for it to heat up. He is a "Westerner" btw. He's British and of Indian origin.
I've kind of put this behind me. I do feel bad about it, but I don't know if I regret it enough to apologize. I think the next time he's in for a meeting I'll just make it a point to act professional and friendly. Who knows, maybe the guy genuinely cares about what's going on and was only commenting on one side of things. Not sure if that warrants evil laughter on his part, but whatever. I think my position is that I don't know the guy personally so I can't judge the guy personally. All I can really say about him is that he's an ass-kisser that loves money.
I realize now that I was making the wrong assumptions on why you asked the question. Because it's a formal business setting, context from culture would be helpful in conflict resolution. I guess the tone was more relaxed to you maybe because you had less risk of losing professional status and the immediate consequences weren't anything major. You had the privilege of turning it into a philosophical question. My take on the question would've revolved around a superior or a peer that you'd have to deal with on a constant basis. What if he did shoot back? Would you mull over your actions more? I find those questions with infinite factors fascinating.
