Why is it not impolite for Thai people to pick their noses and flick boogers in public?

@Michael: Thanks for your response! I guess I didn't see that other post on yahoo. It was interesting to see all those opinions, especially since it was an Asian-American asking why Asians do this. I also thought it was funny that people accused him of being racist. And many missed his point entirely. He never said other races don't do it, they just don't do it openly in public places as much as Asians do. Of course I have seen Americans do it publicly, but it's not nearly as frequent as I see it in Thailand. My point is that when I see Americans do it, they are usually trying to hide the fact, in Thailand there is apparently no stigma attached. And interesting Wikipedia article. I like Jane Stephenson's comparison of boogers to vaccines. It makes sense; dead, dried germs are found in boogers and if you ingest them, your body can create antibodies from them. But of course I wasn't talking about eating boogers, I was talking about picking and flicking.

Hmmm, it's 7:30, dinner time!

@mgan: That's the most ironic thing I've read all day, or several days for that matter.

@IceCube: Ok, truth be told, I don't actually know if it is considered polite or impolite. I guess I see it so regularly that I assume that it's not considered impolite. And yes, picking the nose does clear the nasal air passage, which is a healthy and natural thing to do. So is going #2 and clearing the anal passage. But I'm sure it wouldn't be polite to wipe the *** and flick that stuff around the room. But you are correct, boogers are probably the least nasty of the bodily wastes. If people are going to flick bodily waste around, I guess I would prefer it to be boogers. It could be worse!