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Stand politely at the back waiting to be noticed at a busy counter in a place where holding your ground is the norm, and you might wait a very long time. Try to nudge your way to the front where orderly, single-file lines are a genuine social contract, and you'll get pointed looks — or worse. Neither approach is wrong on its own; it's just calibrated for a different place. Knowing which mode you're actually in means you spend less energy either being taken advantage of or accidentally causing offense.