Walking down the street yesterday in the mid-day sunshine, Marash Girl smiled at a stranger. The stranger, true to Newton Corner form, did not return the smile. It got Marash Girl to wondering. When humans smile to be friendly, they bare their teeth. When animals snarl to warn off the approach of would be enemies, they bare their teeth. Is that why the stranger didn't return the smile? Did s/he think that Marash Girl was attempting to ward off an enemy rather than befriend a stranger?
Sorry MG, but i think the explanation is geographical, not anthropological. NE'ers
ReplyDeleteview smiling as intrusive, Californians willingly smile in response, and southerners default to the smile no matter the context.