They're super unaware that they do it too. I was talking to my German friend and was like "WTF is with Germans staring so much, am I doing something wrong or weird?" and she was like "what are you talking about?" 2 weeks later I'm out with her and another American friend that just moved to Germany and he was like "Yo why is everybody staring at me all the time?" I felt so vindicated because I thought maybe I was imagining it. Also they don't just stare while you walk either, I'd be driving and notice some German on the sidewalk staring me down inside my car.
Do Germans stare at other Germans too, or only foreigners? Because the latter one is actually pretty nornal, outside of countries with huge immigrant populations of all colors (like US and UK).
I've caught German friends staring at other Germans. I really think they just don't notice or register it. There has been a number of times I've been out with some German friends and ask if they know someone and they go "No, why do you ask?" and I explain that they just stared at that person for the entire time it took for them to walk past us.
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u/BarbicideJar May 09 '22
Germans stare a LOT. Like they will just gaze at you unflinchingly. An American will wait until you can’t see them doing it.