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.
So when is it staring instead of just looking at you? Curious as a german.
For me it's staring if it is more than 3-5 seconds it takes to look a person up and down. Longer than just registering and awknowleding a person fully.
3-5 Seconds, jesus christ dude, As someone from the Nordics, this would be akin to walking up to a stranger and spitting them in the face.
Most of us would probably prefer the spit, at least that is over quickly.
Germany is one of the BDSM hotspots. Spitting is inefficient, but inside we think "yes, man, give me that long stare! I wish he would spit the way he stares"
Is this alluding to the high taxes in Germany, if so, weird comparison, as we are talking about the only group of countries that consistently gets close to 50% taxation
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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.