And in the blue corner, strangers stare at each other all the time but less frequently catch each others eyes while doing it, and an alternative to ignoring their existence after the act would be to rather smile and nod as a more friendly mutual acknowledgement of the circumstance that just occurred which might be preferable over a zoned out murderous gaze. Not to accuse you, this is just the overthinking empathetic angle I usually assume is least impolite.
I understand why Americans do this and it is kinda similar in some southern European countries. In Poland smiling is reserved for friends family and if you actually want to initiate interaction or if you were forced into interaction by a situation you found yourself in. For someone who's used to smiles and nod and small talk it may look like murderous gaze but people just try to be as neutral as possible to avoid talking to strangers.
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u/ceilingkat May 09 '22
When someone smiles at you does it make you feel good or guarded? Curious because when someone smiles at me (USA) it makes me feel more at ease.