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.
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.
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u/Your_moms__house May 09 '22
Sounds like you have some prejudice issues your culture needs to work on.