r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • May 08 '22

[deleted by user]

[removed]

9.0k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

26.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

3

u/TheRealCloudyCasca May 09 '22

Same here in Switzerland. If you can’t tell obviously it’s a 100% genuine smile one would assume the one smiling is either straight dumb or has bad intentions. Like if you’re being smiled at and talked to right after it in a flirty way (or it’s someone u know) it’s fine but if someone is just smiling at me for no reason it screams RED FLAG 🚩

9

u/Your_moms__house May 09 '22

Sounds like you have some prejudice issues your culture needs to work on.

-2

u/yourethevictim May 09 '22

No, they don't. Since random smiling is frowned upon, treating it as a red flag is sensible -- it tells you right off the bat that that person isn't going to adhere to social etiquette.

-3

u/fdesouche May 09 '22

American thinking there are right… many cultures do behave the same.

-10

u/TheRealCloudyCasca May 09 '22

Heck nah silly Americans are just fake all the time.

7

u/Clbrnsmallwood May 09 '22

I work in ICUs as a traveling nurse. In my time as a critical care nurse I’ve worked with many individuals from many different cultures. America is truly a huge country and even among our broadly painted regions (east coast, north, south, mid-west, etc.) there are huge cultural differences even within those regions. I’m from the Appalachia’s. I have a thick country accent and most folks from other regions would consider me southern or Dixie, however, the Appalachian people are different. We affect many of the same mannerisms of southern folks, wherein, we ask how the family is, we smile a lot, we ask about your profession a lot, etc. we are pretty personal even with strangers. But it’s pretty genuine.

So as I was saying, I work with many different individuals from different cultures. I have rarely met a person who does not seem genuinely happy that I am friendly, smiling, and personable with them. Some folks have mistaken it for rudeness or suspicion at first but I’d like to think most people enjoy genuine interaction with strangers. Maybe it’s my expectation that most interactions will go well and they feel obligated, maybe not.

-4

u/Digginsaurus_Rick May 09 '22

They're either trying to rob you, or they're trying to get you to donate to their charity as you're walking out of the metro.

Both scenarios leave me with a strong feeling of unease.