# Are Europeans really unfriendlier than Americans? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 29, 2015, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105 "2015-05-29T11:36:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105/81 "2015-05-30T21:13:20Z")
> [@protoboard](#): > > BTW, I don’t get why I’ve got so much hostility for “bitching” here when the BBQ pit is specifically meant for bitching lol Don’t whine like a bitch, rage like a man. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105/82 "2015-05-30T22:01:12Z")
protoboard, it would have been better for you to put your reply in the other thread. As I said, your posts in that thread are what I was replying to. Please put your reply in the other thread and we can then talk about it. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105/83 "2015-05-30T22:01:31Z")
It’s like the 1st Amendment. You have all the right to bitch you want. But everybody else ALSO has the right to call you out on your BS. It’s truly egalitarian that way. Did you want a “special snowflake” soapbox instead? Nobody ever said you could have one of those. If you want to dish it out, you have to be willing to take it, too. ---
**Author:** ![protoboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105/84 "2015-05-30T22:30:26Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I wouldn’t say “unfriendly,” just more direct and less willing to sugar-coat things. I like that. I prefer it over the passive aggressive, snarky American way of dealing with things. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105/85 "2015-05-30T23:16:04Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I wouldn’t say “unfriendly,” just more direct and less willing to sugar-coat things. While I’m pretty much limited to the English, I wouldn’t say that. Too many different people, and you’ll find pockets of those with “Southern manners” (polite to your face) and pockets of those with “Brooklyn manners” (brutally honest). But even in the south, you’ll find those who are direct and in Brooklyn you’ll find those who will sugar-coat things. If one goes in expecting everyone in any region to behave the same way, one is going to be disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105/86 "2015-05-31T00:19:19Z")
> [@protoboard](#): > > [Seattle Freeze - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Freeze) More evidence that you’re a complete fucking moron—not the Wiki entry itself, but that you cite it. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105/87 "2015-05-31T00:36:31Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > …and European girls have larger and firmer breasts. Except Swedes. They suck big time, I, myself, have always enjoyed the large and firm breasts of Swedish girls. As for Pacific Northwesterners being humorless, I disagree. I find that they are constantly laughing and giggling, due to smoking all the marijuana. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105/88 "2015-05-31T00:36:40Z")
> [@protoboard](#): > > I like that. I prefer it over the passive aggressive, snarky American way of dealing with things. Cripes, what a fucking tool you are. Direct enough for you? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105/89 "2015-05-31T01:10:31Z")
> [@protoboard](#): > > I like that. I prefer it over the passive aggressive, snarky American way of dealing with things. As evidenced by how well you’re handling the criticism leveled at you in your Pit threads. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105/90 "2015-05-31T02:37:23Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Americans are some of the friendliest people I have ever interacted with. Continental Euros are probably the second least friednly, after the undisputed Kings, Gulf and Peninsula Arabs. > [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > I haven’t had too many interections with Gulf Arabs but those in the Levant are extremely generous and outgoing. Omanis are all quite nice, in my experience. Of course, I speak virtually no Arabic so it’s possible they were all calling me a bastard. They’re the world’s worst drivers, though. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105/91 "2015-06-02T17:55:11Z")
Now, I would like to pledge that if I see an American in the next few weeks, I’ll high five them, invite them to drinks and, I’m not promising sexual favours, but I’m not not promising them either. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105/92 "2015-06-02T18:36:58Z")
Screw the Euros, we’ve got everyone beat for unfriendliness. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105/93 "2015-06-02T21:18:44Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Screw the Euros, we’ve got everyone beat for unfriendliness. Don’t be the stereotypical US stupid retard idiot. You guys are so fat you can’t screw anybody, let alone friendly, hot and slim Euros of superior intellect. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105/94 "2015-06-03T15:54:11Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Rather than go to Europe, I suggest the OP calibrate his friendliness meter by spending a couple of weeks in St. John’s, Newfoundland. If he has any issues after that, it’s fairly certain the problem is internal rather than external. I’ve spent many weeks in St. John’s (and many more in other places on the island). I can attest to the accuracy of this statement. I actually found the friendliness a bit unsettling at first. On the other hand, there does seem to be an issue with some Europeans. I work for a company that has offices in continental Europe, as well as the UK, and in the Middle East and Far East. We’ve had to run special seminars for some offices (Middle Eastern offices, Paris and London) to get the people there to behave in a remotely friendly way. They do, after all, work for and get paid by an American company, and we, not unreasonably, expect them to conform to American norms of behavior. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-europeans-really-unfriendlier-than-americans/721105.md?page=4)