zlacker

The only "mean" culture I'm aware of in modern America is the modern corporate culture in California. They're polite, but uninterested in the well-being of others. If you talk to someone while riding public transit in Southern California? "Stop talking to me.", "I have pepper spray."

And in New York? New Yorkers are direct and sometimes rude, but every New Yorker I asked for directions stopped everything they were doing to help me. This is a far cry for behaviour compared to southern California.

The Midwest? Stranger still - there's an enormous emphasis on manners (and they will never let you leave their home hungry), but if you're out of a job? Homeless? Good luck.

America is very strange...