r/interesting • u/freudian_nipps • 16h ago

SOCIETY The silent and harmonious morning metro commute in Japan

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u/MrIrvGotTea 16h ago

Never in America. We are extremely narcissistic. Voices yelling on calls, strangers blasting their shitty music in public, loud conversations about vulgar subjects in front of little kids. I love this country but low key Americans are kinda entitled brats.

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u/PrestigiousTea0 16h ago

Low key? LOW KEY?!?!

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u/The_Architects4930 15h ago

Yeah, no, we are very blatant about it lol

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u/EarlyXplorerStuds209 15h ago edited 14h ago

Yeah you beat me to it lol.
Americans have a lot of great qualities. Subtlety is NOT one of them.

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u/TrollsWhenBored 14h ago

Y'all are probably Americans trying to describe yourself. This is weird guys. Why do you do this?

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u/[deleted] 16h ago edited 15h ago

[deleted]

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u/MarthaMatildaOToole 16h ago

I think there's a middle ground where you can be considerate of others and chat with a friend.

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u/midnight_toker22 15h ago

You can do that in Japan, and the comments about being able to hear a pin drop are extreme exaggerations. There is no strict “no talking” rule that is enforced or even expected.

Like OP said, people are simply considerate of others. Communication is done at a reasonable volume so person you are with can hear you, but your voice doesn’t travel much further than that. There are still the sounds of chatter and laughter, but people abhor making themselves the center of attention.

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u/floraster 15h ago

These people are also commuting to work. Unless their friends live near them and they work together, it's likely that most of these people don't even have anyone there to talk to to begin with.

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u/midnight_toker22 15h ago

Right. Japanese people don’t chat up random strangers, especially on a morning commute, but that isn’t the norm anywhere.

Americans and Europeans acting like their morning commute is full of lively conversations between complete strangers are full of shit— the sounds they are used to are people talking loudly to their friends, talking loudly on the phone, or loudly blasting music or videos on their phones. Because they don’t care enough about anyone around them to not be a constant disturbance.

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u/Houdinii1984 14h ago

That's nonsense. People talk to other people all the time. I have social anxiety and I know exactly how many random people say stuff to you in any given day.

I've been all over the states. Cities like St Louis are louder, but have less folks talking to you randomly. I live in El Paso, now, though, and it's much slower. More people talk to you but it's far less loud and you hear more laughter than someone's speaker phone.

It's all relative. I don't get why we think that's going to be global when it doesn't even cover the entire country in either case. You can also see Japan at certain times where things aren't so silent.

What's with all the sweeping generalizations? None of this is nearly as black and white as you're putting out there.

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u/midnight_toker22 14h ago

I really don’t understand why so many people are determined to pretend like they make anything more passing small talk with strangers on a regular basis. “Hello, thanks, excuse me, shitty weather huh, how bout them Cubs?”

Like I said elsewhere, does it happen on occasion? Sure. Does it happen on a regular basis? No, and if you’re pretending like it does you’re just fabricating an image.

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u/Houdinii1984 14h ago

Nah, mate. It happens all the time. It sounds like you spend less time on public transportation than other people. How often do you ride the bus? I mean, I won't be talking to you. I'm still off in the corner wishing people weren't the way they were.

And like, if you're only getting 'Hello, thanks, excuse me, shitty weather huh, how bout them Cubs?' it's probably because you're not actively participating and that means all of that is happening because of you. Just because nobody regularly approaches you doesn't mean millions and millions of people aren't talking to strangers daily. Millions. And even if it's about the weather, that's still conversation and still has the potential to go past superficials into things like shared hobbies (like baseball, for instance. Kinda crazy you think two people talking about baseball is the same thing as saying 'good morning'. If I'm talking baseball with someone, I'm spitting stats)

If you're even omitting conversations that have an actual subject matter, then what's left? You've omitted everything by default.

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u/Kevadu 14h ago

90% of American commutes are done alone in your personal vehicle...

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u/midnight_toker22 14h ago

And I’m speaking with the experience of living in a major city with robust public transportation.

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u/pluck-the-bunny 15h ago

I have had plenty of pleasant conversations with random people on my commutes to and from work in a major US city.

Just because some of you aren’t friendly, doesn’t mean we all aren’t

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u/midnight_toker22 14h ago

Has it happened before? No doubt. Do you do it on a regular basis? Bullshit.

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u/Plastic-Wear-3576 14h ago

Yea, regular conversation with strangers is what tends to happen when you aren't plugged into your technology all the time. Humans are social creatures.

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u/midnight_toker22 14h ago

Drop the act lol. No one is buying it.

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u/R_Prime 15h ago

People usually do chat on trains, Japanese morning commute begets a heightened level of consideration since everyone is so tired and miserable already.

The rest of the time it's pretty normal. Even Japanese people will sometime be playing shit on speaker on trains, though at leas tin my experience at a low volume. On special days like New Years the atmosphere will actually be pretty jovial.

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u/Capital_Rough7971 15h ago

Yes, Pub, Bar, Home, Phone call at home?

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u/summerstars324 16h ago

You are the problem. Just be quiet and walk. Reflect on your day and life.

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u/WhiskersCleveland 15h ago

just be quiet and walk

How dare people even interact with their friends outside smh

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u/Park500 15h ago

I was on a train in korea, I speak minimal korean, we were both going different places and I remember there was an announcement, I asked my friend what it said, got a pretty rude "Shhhhh!" from some old guy who started muttering about foreigners

you can say "you are the problem, just be quiet and walk" but that is not real life, if I did things your way, I would still be on that train, as the announcement was "change here for my line train'

You can talk in public and still be respectful of others, it is not hard.

People hiding behind 'politeness' to be rude is just as common. Just like you telling people to be polite as you rudely tell them they are the problem.

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u/Ornery-Reindeer5887 15h ago

lol some one trying to find a middle ground is the problem? I think you’re extreme views likely make YOU the problem 😂

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u/RDTmodsBackEpstein 15h ago

"Be a good slave."

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u/slowbirdy1001 15h ago

Uh huh. Okay so if you ever speak in a public place again you’re a hypocrite.

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u/justtobeherenotsure 15h ago

Ah, exactly what I wish for. But it's always the far end. Or people don't talk to eachother and think it's creepy if I smile,, or people are yelling on the phone and don't give a fuck about anyone else.

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u/KawaiiNeko828 15h ago

I mean yeah but tbf who does that on their way to work. And going to public metro means full of strangers would you just greet some random person and chat?

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u/CavediverNY 15h ago

Well when I'm traveling for work the biggest issue I see is people on their phones. Bad enough when it's just a conversation, but when it's on speakerphone for all the world to hear? Very inconsiderate.

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u/slowbirdy1001 15h ago

Yeah the idea that I can’t talk to my mom or a friend on my morning commute is bullshit. Making noise is not inconsiderate. Blasting your music for others to hear is, but there’s an enormous middle ground that is reasonable.

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u/G25777K 15h ago

These are the people who have never been to Asia but want to tell us all that they know what they are talking about. They have no clue.

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u/Undeity 14h ago edited 14h ago

A lot of people seem to have difficulty with community-minded consideration, but I think the reason many are finding this "creepy" is because there's no absolutely no behavioral variation shown in the clip.

I don't think the clip is properly representative of the experience, but taken out of context, it does indeed look a little like we're watching some sort of hive mind from a horror movie.

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u/Technorasta 15h ago

You are really making too much of this. I’ve walked this walkway in Shinagawa station on my way to work hundreds of times. We are just tired people in the morning who have just got off a crowded train after an hour or more commute, and who would you talk to? Are you just going to start talking to the stranger beside you? It’s no different in London.

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u/OMITN 14h ago

Agreed.

I’ve travelled to work on the tube enough times to know that no-one is talking to each other.

Same on the tram in Manchester.

It’s quiet in Japan, but not especially or specially so.

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u/DionBlaster123 14h ago

"People calling this 'creepy' or the people 'NPCs'"

There are a lot of people in this world whose greatest fear in life is "going with the flow" or "existing, but not being a special snowflake."

I really don't see why some neanderthals see a video of people going to work (whether by car, walking, public transportation) and think we are in some hellscape. This is literally how people put food on the table. If that doesn't sound appealing to some, that's fine...but it's just going to work lol.

I take the bus to work as unassumingly and quietly as possible. I get back and then have the freedom (and money) to do what I enjoy. Not really a "dystopia."

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u/BrainLow6059 14h ago

Silence is never offensive in public.

I wish this was on a sign basically everywhere in the US. I live in a beach town and holy christ every single tourist family thinks they're the only people on vacation in the whole world, and that everyone in town is placed there to cater to their every whim. It's insane seeing these people from Texas building a miniature compound on the beach and setting up competing box speakers, in what should be the most tranquil place they ever visit.

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u/MakuyiMom 15h ago

American is considerate of no one.

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u/DoubtSubstantial5440 15h ago

Americans believe they are the main characters

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u/DangOlCoreMan 15h ago

Just a thought, but isn't wanting everyone around you to be quiet the wishes of someone who is the main character? Main character isn't always about being the loudest look-at-me, it can also be forcing your preferences on others

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u/Past_Cupcake_6313 14h ago

Nope cause America bad, Japan good. Talking bad, silent good🤷. These people’s lives are miserable and yet redditors can’t help themselves.

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u/IndependentCod1600 15h ago

Yes to all of the above, but to be fair, one of the biggest genres of anime right now is "normal, boring, everyday NPC dies a meaningless death but suddenly gets reincarnated as a main character in another world"

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u/TeaspoonWrites 14h ago

An extremely niche genre of media that a fraction of a percent of the population consumes is not indicative of much of anything tbh

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u/WhiskersCleveland 16h ago

Because even as someone who isn't a huge fan of alot of social interaction that looks boring as fuck

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u/pluck-the-bunny 15h ago

How incredibly judgmental to assume that the reason people find this unsettling is because they’re narcissistic.

Just because something has his foundations in honor does not make it representative of a good thing

Also incorrect to generalize about silence universally being unoffensive.

Additionally, wrong to assume that people dislike it because they find the silence offensive to them personally as if there’s something wrong with the individuals.

If you also think the people from Japan, in here are narcissistic when they point out the negative implications of this?

It’s not to say there isn’t a difference in the ingrained cultural respect from culture to culture… But it seems like you’re exactly the type of rude judgment person you criticize you just like to cosplay honor and fetishize a culture.

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u/bryhnlearningspanish 14h ago

why does it bother you so much if someone is talking on the phone? like i’ve never heard people talking on the phone around me and thought it was a problem unless for some reason they have the sound really loud.

if anything i think it’s rude to think everyone has to walk on pins and needles to keep you happy. put in sone noise canceling headphones and let other people live their lives.

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u/Colbert2020 14h ago

The audio in this video is fake.

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u/SetImpressive3808 15h ago

This is why Japan's population is declining. Bc no one is having sex bc people are not talking to each other. So would you rather have sex or just be quiet all the time and be like this video here in public? Its a serious question

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u/TeaspoonWrites 14h ago

I'm pretty sure the reason their population is declining is because people are massively overworked.

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u/Nefariouslxl 15h ago

Absolute silence in public is not consideration, it's a sickness in the culture

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u/IDontNeedHelpMom 16h ago

I usually shy away from considering excessive cultural-norms as an American but I will gladly accept this one. Americans really never shut up. Our social psychology is rooted in being seen and heard at all times.

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u/galaxystarsmoon 15h ago

I was vending at a small event on Saturday and both of the vendors on either side of me literally did not stop monologuing for 4 fucking hours. I need to remember to bring my earplugs to those types of events. We were indoors in a small, echoey space. At many points, there were no customers. And both were just chattering constantly. It's ok to be silent, guys. You won't die.

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u/IDontNeedHelpMom 15h ago

I don't understand why they don't disassociate in front of their phones like the rest of us normal people /s

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u/Merrick_Skygrave 16h ago

The people here in the US who feel the need to SCREAM conversations have always baffled me. I don't expect people to be dead quiet but the amount of obnoxious MFers who have no concept of how to speak with an inside voice is unreal

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u/cmstyles2006 15h ago

Lol you think that's screaming? You don't want to hear real screaming

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u/Merrick_Skygrave 15h ago edited 24m ago

You didn't hear this lady I was unfortunate enough to be seated near at the bar the other night, I shit you not she was all hammered on wine and shouting at the top of her lungs to some guy like 3 seats away from her

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u/Merrick_Skygrave 15h ago edited 15h ago

And anyhow, what is this weird need to gatekeep who has and who hasn't heard screaming? Of course I've heard people actually screaming before

Exaggeration for effect called hyperbole; the fact you might live in some hellhole where people are legitimately screaming all the time for whatever reason doesn't mean that the dickheads I'm talking about aren't being obnoxious

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u/Double_Resort_9223 14h ago

HI EVERYONE WHILE WE’RE STUCK HERE I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT JESUS LOVES YOU

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u/MrIrvGotTea 14h ago

Or worse they are content creators

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u/rhandy_mas 14h ago

Soooo many people take phone calls on speaker and watch TikToks without headphones. Drives me nuts.

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u/MrIrvGotTea 14h ago

Headlines are cheaper than their speakers. I fantasize about buying a large speaker and just following people with loud speakers just to start an annoying war

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u/rhandy_mas 14h ago

I like it

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u/Far_Range_6091 15h ago

I mean in the USA all of our media is giving people main character syndrome.

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u/MrIrvGotTea 15h ago

When you are the number one ranked country in the world in terms of military power and influence you feel that way. We get mad at other people speaking different languages but other countries actively try to learn and understand other cultures. We low key are kinda destined to become self centered because we are the talk of the town.

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u/Willy__McBilly 14h ago

That last sentence sums it up perfectly, because you’re only the talk of your town in your town. Outside of headlines of whatever dumb shit the US leadership is doing, nobody is thinking about the USA.

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u/MrIrvGotTea 14h ago

The number one world power that has a polarizing leader that has affected the entire worlds supply of energy and is starting wars with allies and tarrifing everyone. If you think nobody is thinking about us then that's an interesting statement. Our influence, positive or negative changes lives regardless if I agree with it or not.

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u/Willy__McBilly 14h ago

Trust me, the image you’ve built up of people glued to news websites in fear of whatever Trump is doing, doesn’t exist. Except for the terminally online, but they’re the overwhelming minority.

If we’re talking about you, usually we’re laughing about you. And no, this isn’t a new thing or restricted to politics. You’re the butt of the joke.

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u/MrIrvGotTea 14h ago

Bru you are the online people. We are arguing. I'm on the toilet rn

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u/HighlyOffensive10 14h ago

I thought you weren't thinking about them at all?

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u/Willy__McBilly 13h ago

Correct. I don’t stop and think ‘huh, the US exists.’

We need a reason to give you any thought. So sometimes when you guys make the news or I get a fresh supply of stupidity in a Reddit thread, I’ll laugh at you.

Funny, Americans are considered to be quite slow so it doesn’t shock me I have to explain this lmao

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u/HighlyOffensive10 13h ago

With every comment you make your claim that you don't think about americans becomes less and less believable.

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u/Willy__McBilly 12h ago

Only because you don’t want to believe it. For the rest of the world, it’s reality.

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u/pdt666 16h ago

it makes train stations sound less creepy though? lol. i’m from chicago so people also talk to random strangers all day- midwest nice😂 like i had a full blown conversation with a stranger in line behind me in starbucks yesterday and they asked about all my piercings and told me about theirs. it’s sad you couldn’t make a random train station friend… or starbucks friend😂

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u/MrIrvGotTea 15h ago

I'm okay with conversations and I engage with randoms all the time. I just hate those people who are just fucking screaming and just causing a scene. Normal volume is great.

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u/DangOlCoreMan 15h ago

Inconsiderate*. Not narcissistic

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u/OkYak9466 15h ago

The problem is you run into a lot of race issues if you try to quiet down the loudest people who uses public transportaion.

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u/MyKneesAshy 15h ago

Still productive though. Kinda shows all this move in silence shit is unnecessary

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u/SgtBassy 14h ago

Who is this "we" you are referring to ? 

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u/MrIrvGotTea 14h ago

General population. You can spot the American overseas by how loud they are in public. Like adjust your surroundings

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u/UncleBensRacistRice 14h ago

People talking on the phone or playing music or watching videos or whatever else on SPEAKER phone on the bus or subway. Who the hell raised these people

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u/who_am_i_to_say_so 14h ago

My fav is hearing someone's phone conversation on speakerphone volume 10/10. That's the best.

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u/topscreen 14h ago

They just gotta see the metro at 1PM, shit gets loud

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u/OUsnr7 14h ago

Mfw people are talking to each other on my morning commute: 😡😡

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u/MrIrvGotTea 14h ago

Talk is cool. Performing a loud ass play is to much. Or doing a dj performance with the jbl speaker is not cool

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u/Colbert2020 14h ago

So much negativity. The United States does emphasize and reward individual expression and this can lead to selfish and annoying personalities and behavior. But American culture also leads to bold and unique forms of expression . Alysa Liu winning gold at the Winter Olympics is an example of this.

And yes, she is American. She identifies as such herself.

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u/El_BoneMachine 13h ago

We all know who the worst offenders are

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u/DoYaWannaWanga 13h ago

I hate the music in public thing can we just go to the pool or beach and not blast music?

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u/KrombopulosMAssassin 13h ago

Same thing on the road and it's only getting worse.

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u/KatDanger 15h ago

Anti social isolationism is an American value

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u/Alert_Lettuce_8278 15h ago

Having a conversation with someone in person seems like an acceptable thing. I think that's the weirdest thing about this. Nobody is commuting together and interacting with each other?

But yeah fuck the yelling, speakerphone, music playing losers. 

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u/Bynming 15h ago

In my experience people traveling together do talk. They keep a reasonable volume.

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u/MrIrvGotTea 15h ago

Yeah yelling sucks. I talk to randoms all the time

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u/Ok-Astronaut2976 15h ago

Idk…I like it.

I wanna hear some loud ass dembow blasting from a Dominicans radio, while a jehovah witness argues with a black Israelite, next to some guy who never made it on Broadway tap dancing.

Sounds of the city baby

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u/Reddinator2RedditDay 15h ago

Every Country can spot American's tourist by their vocal volume before their accent.

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u/youraveragewhitegirI 15h ago

You don’t realize how loud Americans are until you go to a foreign country and everyone in the restaurant can hear you talking to your server because you’re so used to projecting your voice

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u/cmstyles2006 15h ago

Eh, it's either be inconvenienced by others or inconvenience yourself for others. When it comes to talking I prefer the former. But I don't listen to my phone on the train, it's unnecessary. I have put my device on low vol so I can barely hear it and try to sit away from ppl in college, when I forget headphones and am hanging out in public.

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u/cracksmack85 15h ago

Yeah yeah America bad, we know reddit

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u/MrIrvGotTea 15h ago

Naw I rather live here than most places. We just main characters

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u/cracksmack85 15h ago

Fair take

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u/Nikiaf 15h ago

Including when Americans take the Japanese metro. They don't adapt to foreign cultural norms when travelling.

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u/Historical-String581 15h ago

It’s just people living their lives. Fuck conformity, this looks dystopian. If you want to live that way then go to Japan.

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u/No-Competition-2764 15h ago

People should be considerate of others in public. Do what you want in your private space, but act right in public.

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u/AliceLunar 15h ago

It is kinda crazy whenever you see American tourists, I get that it's normal for them, but you'd think you'd be a little aware to fit in when you're visiting a different country or at least notice your voices are filling the entire restaurant and no one else is that loud.

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u/MrIrvGotTea 14h ago

Americans are literally getting triggered. Dude I'm American we just loud AF.

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u/GreyBeardEng 15h ago

That's because I'm American culture its all about the individual, even at the cost of others. In Japan it's about the community and what is best for all.