BecomingV
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Marc2b
The translation of the masculine nod is: I am relatively certain that I could kick your ass and I know that you are equally certain that you could kick my ass but I'm peaceable and if you're peaceable then we'll just agree to disagree about who could kick who's ass and just keep walking.
When the approaching walker is female a whole different psychology ensues but I’ll have to talk about that later.
I grew up in Philly where cultural diversity and friendliness were a way of life. At 18, I worked in a job that made me a roadie, so I lived in most major cities in the U.S, for a few weeks at a time, and within 3 years, I'd seen enough to know that Philly was different. Philadelphians talk to each other... in line at stores, waiting at a crosswalk... everywhere. It's odd, and cause for concern, when someone doesn't. And, people will ask, "How are you doing?" or "Having a rough one?" I'm not saying that people in other places don't care, too, rather, Philadelphians initiate the contact. That's, the norm.
A few years later, I lived in Ireland. There, "the nod" is present, but it isn't masculine or feminine and it isn't like an American nod. I had to deconstruct to describe the Irish nod here. The chin dips, then with exuberance (as if outlining a smile shape with the chin), tilts up in the direction of the other person. I kind of wonder if it's a gesture of tipping a hat, sans the hat! They wonder when a person doesn't nod. Also, even while driving, raising one (nice) finger while keeping the hand on the steering wheel is common practice. In the U.S., people treat on-coming cars as things, uninhabited things.
In the Amazon, the tribal folk greet one another at full attention, shoulders squared, eyes in direct, prolonged contact with the stranger. There is no animus, no challenge and seemingly, no expectation of any sort. People... are not an automatic challenge to survival and are not treated as a threat, nor as a "blessing." It's a neutral, open and fully attentive response.
So, Philly, the U.S, Ireland and the Amazonian tribes... each have a different response to strangers. When reading the musings about the inner monologue expressed in the OP, I thought it was more about the power struggle and fears that one man experiences while walking. Also, that whole monologue is conscious brain stuff. The primal brain part is when the OP kept walking and didn't flee or fight.
The nature predator/prey example may have some merit, but I buy food in stores, so this may limit my ability to get emotionally engaged with animals getting food their way. I feel more affinity with wild animals as an athletic competitor. They compete for mating and for resources, based on strength of will to succeed, not on annihilation of the other.
So, I think that how we relate to others depends on who we believe others to be. The OP describes an experience unique to an individual and it is what it is. However, it's not an experience that is widespread, common or natural. Fear of strangers is taught. (I don't mean strangers who are doing something dangerous... just the presence of strangers.)
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RE: Marc's Musings - 
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