In Singapore there is a law relating to chewing gum, I don't know if it is against the law to chew it, spit it on the sidewalk or stick it under a table. But there is a law regarding chewing gum. In America or Australia, I don't think there is any law against chewing gum. But there are certainly different laws set up in certain countries that are very, very different to what you may be used to at home. I think in Germany, you can be naked in the middle of summer in the middle of a park in the middle of some big city. Try that in America or Australia and you would be jailed very quickly.
So definitely there are some very different social norms and laws in other countries that may seem very crazy or bizarre. Now, if it is not against the law, you don't have to join them. I would feel a little uncomfortable in the middle of Germany going naked in the middle of the main park in Berlin. So I don't have to join in, but if that is what they like to do and it is actually not hurting anyone, I don't have to speak against it either. I don't have to do anything. In fact, since I am not German, what good is it for to me to tell Germans what to do in their own country.
If I am back in Australia, or in America and I want to encourage the government there to not talk to the Germans any more because they are going naked, that is fine and dandy, I can bring that up in America as an issue. A big issue right now is how Muslim women dress. The French are trying to ban Muslim women from completely covering their face in public. America is struggling with that issue also. It is a difficult problem.
In the Middle East and some other countries it is the norm for women to be fully covered but it is not the norm for America or France. So the wish for those people to try to ban it in their country, that is their right. To try to ban it in Saudi Arabia makes no sense. So if you visit Saudi Arabia, to speak up against those things, that is ridiculous. That is wrong, that is not something you should do. Even though you feel it is wrong in itself, that is their right as a nation on the planet, to make their own rules.
So, the question here really is whether or not to respect the social norm. You don't have to respect the social norm of any country, in the sense that you agree with it or not, but rather you respect the right of the country to have that social norm. There is a difference. Otherwise you go to Saudi Arabia and you complain about how the women are treated there and where do you end up? You end up in jail. What good is that, there is no benefit in that action. But back in America or Germany or France or Australia, if you want to talk about the fact that Muslim women are not treated well, that is all right, you can bring that voice up and it is an issue around the world. So when you are visiting a country with different social norms, you don't have to respect it in the sense that you like it, but rather respect the right of that country to have those different social norms.