On the question of people

A few days ago a dear friend told me that he considered Indians the most awful people on earth. We lie, we con and we cheat and we have no consideration for other people. There wasn't much i could say to refute him. It was obviously a generalisation, but I have seen enough exhibition of such behaviour to not be able to refute it.

But then i read this book about the Rwandan genocide( which in and of itself is another post) and a chap whom the author interviews says exactly the same thing about his own people. Which led me to conclude - human nature??

But then again, in my limited travels in the West, i was struck by the notable absence of security guards and/or cameras anywhere. I could have easily picked up much stuff and walked out the door with no one the wiser. People were helpful and if you asked them for directions they would generally point you the right way.

So people from under developed countries? Is it that if you look behind you, and see the gaping maw of poverty and homelessness and hunger, you automatically claw at anything to keep you from the abyss. Become the kind of person who would lie and con and cheat? But that would naturally lead to the conclusion that rich people do not conduct any of these nefarious activities. And we all know that isnt true....

A question for the ages no doubt.