In what culture is calling a man Sir considered a insult ?

If this man 'from another culture' went ballistic because of a word, then it matters NOT where he is from...He would be a total bastard in ANY culture. Just avoid him...Ignorance and arrogance always go hand in hand.

That's an old fashioned retort, frequently used years ago when someone calls you "sir" or "mam". I think you are just too young to know about it, or to see the humor in it. The guys was being funny. And that is what gets lost when texting and chat rooms. You can't see his face and you can't hear his speech. He is a mature man and he was being funny. I would have laughed at the expression. It meant that he's not rich, and it can also be said as a funny comeback when you want someone to call you by your first name. He's encourageing friendliness. Calling someone Sir when you don't know their name is still a sign of respect. Be careful when calling a woman Mam, because most women for quite awhile would prefer "Miss". It's about age. I remember the first time I got called Mam, I was in my twenties and it bothered me, even though I didn't show it.

I don't know of any culture where "sir" is considered a curse word. Unless, of course, the word "sir" sounds like another word that is a curse word in his native language. For instance, my husband has a coworker who is originally from another country. She has a very exotic sounding name and sometimes people mispronounce it. Unfortunately, the way they pronounce it translates as "harlot" in her language. She doesn't get all upset about it because she knows she's not in her native country and the people who mispronounce her name don't know what it means. But she does ask that they don't call her that and says it's okay if they just call her by her first initial.

It's also possible that he's making up the "sir" as a curse word as he goes along so that people will treat him preferentially. Another anecdote: When I was in high school, a teacher tried to reprimand a student who was originally from another country. The teacher didn't know her name so he called her "miss." She threw a fit and tried to physically attack him. So she was taken into the office to be processed for a suspension. She began to cry and claimed that she didn't know why was being suspended. She only defended herself. She explained that where she comes from, the word "miss" means the "b-word" She was let off with a warning, because the principal and teachers didn't speak her native language and took her word as the truth, but another girl from her country happened to witness this and kind of looked at me and whispered, "'Miss' isn't even a word in our language. And it's not the 'b-word,' either."

It seems to me that this man in question is rude no matter what country he is from and just wants a good fight. No matter what you do, if he doesn't like what he's being told, he will use his culture and/or language to his advantage. I'm all for respecting and learning about other cultures and languages, but people like him really do need to go back where they came from.

I am not aware of any culture where calling someone Sir is an insult or a curse word. Just call him by his name when you come in contact with him.

I have never even heard of it being an insult. He may just have a personal issue with the word. Kind of like calling a woman "Ms." when you dont know if she is married or not. That can upset a few! Since he is caucasian, he is probably from a european country. My guess is that he might have misunderstood the meaning and thought it was another word. (But that would be assuming that he is not the best with English.)

He most likely thought the guy was saying he was old... I have a friend who was raised in the south, so "sir" and "ma'am" are a part of her regular vocabulary - it's a sign of respect. She moved to the west coast where it's not as common (but most people still recognize it as polite). A customer at the store she was working at tried to get her fired for calling her "ma'am" and it seemed that she felt like she was offended because she thought she was inferring that she's old. She was totally out of line, as is this guy (and luckily my friend's manager stood up for her).

if he's of a different culture and he's surrounded by people who share a similar culture as you, then he should really be the one to adapt. I had a guy laugh at me because i called him sir. he was a customer at my father's business and he laughingly made fun of me. I said, "i'm sorry, what would you prefer for me to call you in order to get your attention? it's only proper to say sir but now i could probably think of other names."

he didn't really like that, but everyone around him picked up on how rude he was being. don't change who you are to adapt to one person who obviously isn't open to other cultures, leading him to get so angry.