I'm not sure that a public celebration of murder is quite the same thing as any of those things you have mentioned. Public executions fell out of fashion in Europe some time ago. Surely we are shaped by our culture even if we are made of the same stuff. I understand the appeal of pointing out our similarities but if that isn't an example of a "deep cultural difference" I can't imagine what would be.
Public executions were hugely popular with the proletariat, the process of making them less public then ending them all together has always been driven by ""elite"" moralists. And I say that as someone who'd fall in the latter category.
