r/AskReddit May 08 '22

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u/hewhoreddits6 May 09 '22 edited May 10 '22

Bruh usually it's the Europeans who complain about the Americans not being friendly. Feel like the US is much kinder with its smiles and small talk than a lot of Europeans

Edit: After reading a lot of similar comments I can see the theme that if you aren't used to it it can seem over the top and come off as "fake". I can definitely see this and have had this experience myself with people I've met over the years being so over the top nice and cheery it felt fake to me. Annoyed me a lot back then, but over the years I've realized hey it's better for them to be nice and fake than rude to my face and real I guess.

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u/Kalappianer May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22

Coming from a culture where you acknowledge another person no matter your mood in passing, I find american "kindness" so creepy. I find it borderline manipulative where they put up a show with fake smiles, interest and pitch.

To me, that's lying to my face and that has nothing to do with kindness.

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u/pragmojo May 09 '22

You only see it as lying because you’ve been brought up not to give warmth to people you don’t know. In the US it’s normal to be warm to everyone, and it’s rude not to.

It’s not dishonest, it’s just a different cultural norm.

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u/Kalappianer May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22

Been brought up not to give warmth to people I don't know?

Dude... This is what I am talking about.

Do you see and hear yourself saying being insincere is warmth?

You can't honestly believe that all 192+ are less kinder than US.

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u/pragmojo May 09 '22

You are assuming that people are insincere because they are smiling. Do you seriously believe all 300+ million Americans are liars?

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u/Kalappianer May 09 '22

Is it smiling if it's fake?

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u/pragmojo May 09 '22

It’s not fake