You know i believe you may be right. Mind you we don’t run quite the same risk of getting a gun pulled on us if we insult someone. That might influence how ‘polite’ you feel you need to be around others
A tradition greeting among friends here was often a shout of ‘Alrite Cunt’ accompanied by a big grin and a raised middle finger. I am a west coast Scot however and we are mostly mad bastards around here. I blame the weather, and the close proximity to Ireland 