Formalities (greeting)

Is it absolutely necessary to greet someone in person and in writing?
What, if any, are the practical benefits of a traditional greeting?
And who should be the first one to say a greeting to someone?
Etiquettes spring from the fallacious opinions and philosophies of a society.

It is a misguided belief that people benefit from receiving a greeting.
Why do most people take offence when others do not greet them?
People are affected somehow by the things that they were taught.
Some teachings are not worthwhile because they are based on feelings.

Sometimes a person starts a conversation with you without greeting you.
And if someone does not greet you or say something to you,
It is not fair to say that the person is ignoring you or the person is impolite.
Do not be quick to misjudge a person who does not greet you as you expect.

Some people feel that a visitor should be the first one to say a greeting.
Others assert that when you go to a place and see someone,
You should greet the person before the person greets you.
This is nonsense; anybody can initiate a greeting in any situation.

There are no hard and fast rules about greetings or any other etiquette.
People willingly greet others when they are in the mood to do it.
Bear in mind that not everyone expresses a sincere greeting.
The following two accounts of insincere greeting are true to life.

“Good morning, give us your money and jewels and nobody will get hurt.”
One of two gunmen who held up the passengers on a bus said those words.
Would you say the hardened criminals were well-mannered men?
Did the angry and frightened passengers appreciate the greeting?

The boss came in the workshop and dutifully greeted a male employee.
The man returned the greeting and then he cursed the boss behind his back.
Anyone could tell that neither of them greeted the other from the heart.
It is better not to greet under any circumstances than to greet insincerely.

If a person comes into your presence and does not wish to greet you,
He or she is not legally bound to wave to you or speak to you.
There is no evidence that people can gain anything from a greeting,
Yet societies regard the ones who question formalities as weird persons.

In the past, Jamaican children were punished for not greeting an adult.
The parents and guardians who did this were guilty of child abuse.
When you tell a hungry person hi, good evening, howdy, and so on,
The greeting will certainly not give the person a bellyful or a better feeling.

Contrary to formalities, it is not absolutely necessary to greet persons.
People can choose whether to say a greeting to others or not.
Nobody is obligated to satisfy people’s feelings by greeting them,
So we should not make it appear to be mandatory to greet one another.