Unfortunate, dumb, it is still a fact.

Just like it’s a fact you can’t buy a drink in some places if you don’t have dollars (they won’t take yen or pesos), it is a fact among human culture that you can’t make people believe you respect them, without expending effort.

One would think that to take and give nothing, would be sufficient to earn the label of “peaceful”, but the reality of human culture is to be seen as a peaceful neighbor you must leave little token gifts on your neighbor’s border. We have to pay tribute to one another, to keep each other from adopting a hostile stance.

This tribute is paid in the form of expending effort. Again, the neckties. You put on a tie, or any other elaborate ritualistic clothing, to fit in with everyone else who did that, and it’s that specific thing because it proves effort. Proves that the tribute envelope is not empty.

When you encounter a cultural requirement that doesn’t make sense, check to see if it could be a proof-of-effort thing. Sometimes that’s why people wan the thing.

And yes, it sucks. As you say, “stupid”. But it’s a fact. And understanding it allows you — only if you want — to make relations with your neighbors smoother by making the right moves in their protocols.