Do you smile/make eye contact while walking down the street?

[billErobreren]

No! who the hell does that?! I may accidentally make eye contact with strangers but as far as smiling back at them goes....I often forget & only do so when the stranger is an old lady or an attractive woman. and it's usually a snotty looking smirk or grin not a "smile". never learned how to do that properly

[rhiannon]

I always smile and make eye contact with strangers. It's nice to be nice!

Yes to this. I am not the sort for toothy smiles, but I always give a small smile and a "hi"

It's only polite

[Jägerstaffel]

I stare them down with a grimace.

[SwordoftheVistula]

Nope, that is not done here (east coast USA).

Also, we don't talk to random people on public transit. Apparently, in some places, they do.

[Riki]

Do you smile and/or make eye contact while out in public?
None of the options.

I dont smile to niggers only ,but I look them in the eyes.

[BiałaZemsta]

Nope, that is not done here (east coast USA).

Also, we don't talk to random people on public transit. Apparently, in some places, they do.

I am from the East Coast, and it is very normal for strangers to talk to eachother on public transit, or anywhere for that matter. I always smile and acknowledge a stranger when I make eye contact. It is only polite.

[rhiannon]

Nope, that is not done here (east coast USA).

Also, we don't talk to random people on public transit. Apparently, in some places, they do.

Yep...they're grouchy on the east coast, that's for sure But, I love East Coast sarcasm, lol. People out here in WA lack the sarcasm gene, and it really bugs me. Most Washingtonians bug me, actually.

People out here are polite to your face but will stab you in the back....all the while they are smiling at you and telling you everything is just wonderful. I know this because I have found out the hard way.

At least they're more real on the East Coast. It's no wonder I married a New Englander.

[SwordoftheVistula]

I am from the East Coast, and it is very normal for strangers to talk to eachother on public transit, or anywhere for that matter. I always smile and acknowledge a stranger when I make eye contact. It is only polite.

Must be the DC Metro then. I've read in local blogs people moving here from other cities commenting on that it's different for them that nobody talks to eachother on the Metro transit system here.

It may also be that you are first or 2nd generation immigrant from Poland, and more in tune with that culture than 'yankee' culture.

People out here are polite to your face but will stab you in the back....all the while they are smiling at you and telling you everything is just wonderful.

Our waitress today was from Oregon and said that exact same thing, almost word for word, when my friend mentioned she was thinking of moving out there. I guess it must be true lol.

[AussieScott]

Where I live you smile and say hello/G'Day, then it's hard not to have a conversation, everyone knows everyone in a small township.

[Absinthe]

When I was staying in a small town in Switzerland, I immediately realized that strangers smile and greet whenever they bump on each other especially in small, quiet alleys.
It was a town of about 15000 residents and I was told that there are 11 police officers for the whole town and they rarely have to deal with crime anyway.
I was taken by a huge surprise when my friend picked me up from the station, we walked up to his house and he just turned the knob (from the outside) and opened his door.
I was like "don't you lock your doors? "
and he was like "why would I do that? "

I am a naturally happy-go-lucky person, and in a town like that, I would walk around smiling like an idiot and making small talk with everyone

Now let's talk about Athens:

more than half of the people I encounter on the streets are dark foreigners, if I smile to them they will most likely mistake that as a sign of sexual invitation (why would I smile to them anyway?).
Last week I was walking to work and right there in the middle of the sidewalk I bumped into a black man who had taken out the lizard and was draining it in plain view behind a small tree.
Should I smile and make eye contact?
Not a good idea.

As for the locals... riding the bus, waiting in queue or just bumping at random people on the street... the majority of Athenians have always been striking me as quite rude, indiscrete, and unfriendly...
You walk into a bus and everyone seems to give you an angry glance for some reason... or they stare at you from head to heels and they don't even avert their glance when you stare right back at them... I have found it to be a rare occasion to see strangers smiling and saying hello out of the blue here. Even when they do, they usually get the cold treatment from others.

Now don't take me wrong;
I am not saying Greeks as a whole are like that. I think it's because Athens is a VERY stressful city, unfortunate things happen everyday, people are always wound up and uptight and ready to pick a fight without a reason because they probably had taken crap from somebody else before they bump into you.

I am guessing that is true for most big, inhumane and impersonal cities, I don't suppose London or New York is any different, and I think that in such environments, it is best to look down and avoid all contact, when you are walking.