Monday, March 16, 2015

My Greeting Passersby, Passersby Greeting Me



I go for a walk in my neighborhood, and I greet passersby roughly the same number of times as passersby greet me, with Hello, How you doing?, How's it going?, Alright, Good evening, or That's a big dog!  Roughly speaking the people I greet, and those who greet me, are the same number of men as women.

The difference between my circumstances and that of this video?

I am a man.  My neighborhood is in the suburbs. There are few people here (i.e. neighbors), relative to those in the city.  We're probably all in a limited band as far as socioeconomic status goes: middle class.  It's a mostly White American neighborhood, even though I am not.  Moreover, I don't take umbrage at polite, friendly greetings, and the greetings I either initiate or reciprocate are always polite and friendly.  I would take umbrage, though, at greetings that are otherwise.  (rf. Discussion About '10 Hours Of Walking In NYC As A Woman' Viral Video.)

On a few occasions, there are passersby who look immersed in their activity, such as jogging alone or talking with a friend.  I sense this, so I don't greet them and they don't greet me.  I use the best of my empathic sense when, what and whom to greet.  Moreover, sometimes the passersby are young people, for instance, teenage girls, and I sense that it's best not to greet them, so as not to potentially make them nervous; I keep a calm, friendly demeanor, but make no eye contact and look straight ahead all the way.

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