Michael If something is prohibited in America, Americans tend to handle it pragmatically if the prohibition seems pointless to them. This has deep roots, as they are not a nation of order-takers, often using German history as a cautionary example. Double parking? Fine if there's no parking space available. Pedestrian traffic light is red, but no car is coming? People routinely cross anyway. Dogs must be on a leash at the beach? Oh, let the cute little Fifi run free. And smoking marijuana joints is so ubiquitous in San Francisco that one might think it's legal. The rule here is: If it doesn't bother anyone, you can do it.
It is also legally prohibited in California to consume alcoholic beverages on the street. This is generally adhered to, and alcoholic drinks are concealed with a brown paper bag if necessary. However, when the police chief announced on television last year that there would be "zero tolerance" towards alcohol offenders at the Castro Halloween event, it was clear that the ban would be enforced on this occasion.
In illustration 1, you can see the no-smoking sign in a hotel room in San Diego, which indicates that you pollute the room with cigarette smoke, you will indeed be penalized and not just left with a warning. The expression "Totally 100%" reflects such a helpless attempt by a childish mind to be taken seriously that I had to laugh quite a bit when I read it. In fact, the reception of this hotel withheld a deposit from the credit card to enforce this if necessary, as apparently some guests believed it was just a well-intentioned suggestion.
After years of living here, I have also learned interpret silly regulations pragmatically. For example, it's not allowed to carry a six-pack of beer without packaging, but for the hundred meters from the liquor store to our apartment, I don't bother getting a plastic bag, even though our neighborhood is swarming with police officers ("Happy Donuts" shop on the corner). And in the morning, I can only make it to the Yahoo shuttle bus at the intersection of 27th and Valencia in ten minutes if I cross the four-lane Guerrero Street between the traffic lights ("Jaywalking"). We never double park, though; there's no need to participate in every bit of nonsense.
Greetings from the Valley of the Outlaws:
Angelika & Michael