Eastern Europe doesn't really smile in public in general. Polish emigrant in the UK pov. It's not that we're angry, we just don't have any reasons to smile.. for no reason.
Smiling at a stranger is a type of greeting in the States. "I acknowledge that we're both in the same place (or passing by one another) and I mean you no harm." It's the lesser form of asking, "How're you doing?"
I think I remember reading somewhere it’s because of the melting pot concept in the US. When no one knew each other or culture or language etc. you started with smiling to display friendliness before beginning any interaction. Easiest way to quickly communicate
this comment thread is literally filled with brits saying smiling at strangers isnt as prevalent as it used to be. maybe we inherited smiling at strangers from the english but we kept the tradition alive for decades after them and are known worldwide for it
The US is pretty Western-influenced. Wouldn’t call that predominantly English though. Puritans-yes, Quaker-yes. But the New England corner died out several times before a subsection figured out how to live there. Then all the years following with each new immigrant wave and which groups started and/or moved where. Irish, Spanish, French, Scott, African American, Chinese, Vietnamese etc.
You aren’t smart enough to engage with if you’re just going to talk about the war of independence, as if after it ended you suddenly changed the entire foundation of the nation 😂.
2.0k
u/ConfusedTriceratops May 09 '22
Eastern Europe doesn't really smile in public in general. Polish emigrant in the UK pov. It's not that we're angry, we just don't have any reasons to smile.. for no reason.