alt Hacker News> Which of course is a lot less polite and causes a lot of friction.
Most cultures have this, but it goes mostly unnoticed from the inside because one can read between the lines. "How are you?" can be asked just to be polite, and can cause friction when answered truthfully (rather than just politely, as the cultural dance requires). An Eastern European may not appreciate the insincerity of such a question.
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similarly, in the west, when your boss takes you to HR for an honest and open discussion, it's not really an honest and open discussion. normies know this instinctively. I didn't.
No, most cultures don’t have this, unless you measure by biomass.
Some cultures are better than others, where “better” might mean better at doing stuff (no comment on morally/socially)
A fairly common conversation starter for eastern europeans is "how are you doing?", "it sucks", "yeah it does, doesn't it?". The American style of being all flowers and butterflies can indeed be perceived as lying.
Great example.
I work in a radiology practice and greet patients regularly.
99% of them say the are good/great etc.
It’s quite a striking response when they are limping, bandaged and on crutches.