I Like People Who Say What They Mean And Mean What They Say

When I 1st moved to England, I quickly learned that this was em<x>bedded in the culture, only they like to call it "understatement". It seemed as if challenging anything that someone believed was seen as a challenge to something fundamental to the worth of that person. It was as if to say that if they had got something wrong, this suggested that their whole perceptive & reasoning apparatus was flawed. In Ireland however, this was not necessarily the case, forthright statements using personal pronouns were the norm, & energetic exchanges were not seen as offensive. Indeed, I have experienced such sessions, after which my opponent would thank me for a very stimulating evening!. I have some friends who honeymooned in Ireland, observing that heated didcussions in pubs didnt seem to bother anyone, whereas over here, the same scene would probably have seen the participants ejected as potential troublemakers.
I suspect that verbosity is about making room for later manoeuvre as much as hoping they may hit on what they think you want to hear,.I agree with you that people are probably afraid of rejection, but also, that they do not have the courage of their convictions, because the education system has undermined the idea of ob<x>jective truth, consequently, most opinions are feelings or reactions rather than tried & reasoned conclusions. Anything contrary to this is labeled "intolerant", ironically so because by definition, we tolerate that with which we disagree.
I like to sum up my own position by saying that being irish means I can get on exceptionally well with people I fundamentally oppose!!!