Why do Americans always say they are "doing great" 24/7 everyday, all the time?

[Winston]

Here's an interesting point:

If someone always says that "everything is great" then you can't really trust their opinion because it has no meaning and isn't credible. So if they tell you that a new restaurant or movie is "great" then you can't trust their opinion, because to them, everything is great (even if it isn't). However, if someone who is usually negative about everything tells you that something is great, such as a new restaurant or movie, then his/her opinion is more significant, because if a negative person thinks something great, then it carries more weight and must really be. Why don't fake positive people realize that?

That's why people who try to always be positive and politically correct in order to be liked, are not credible and their opinions carry no weight. Just like if someone loves everyone, and then that person loves you too, that love has no meaning. Likewise, if someone hates everyone because they're a misanthrope, and then that person hates you too, you won't take it personally since he/she hates everyone else too.

That's something to keep in mind if you decide to become politically correct and only say positive things about everything, in order to join the mainstream. This politically correct movement of saying that "everything is always great" started in the 1990's and is super fake and superficial. I don't get the appeal of it, but most people seem to comply and conform to it. I don't get why.

I saw this happen in Hong Kong too. At a hostel there, a Spanish woman told me that "Hong Kong people are so friendly" because one older woman treated her to food and showed her around. However, this didn't take into account that the number of RUDE UNFRIENDLY people in Hong Kong greatly OUTNUMBER the number of friendly people. So technically, most people were not friendly in HK. But that's how politically correct types operate. If they meet one friendly person out of 100 unfriendly cold people, they will say that people in the WHOLE country are friendly! WTF? Go figure. Bizarre logic. But that's how they think. They prefer to "focus on the positive and ignore the negative" as they say. So they are selective of what they focus on and will admit it. However, isn't that ignoring reality? I mean if HK has more rude people than friendly people, why can't one be honest about that?

The Danish managers of the hostel were the same way. Any negative thing you said, no matter how true, made them look uncomfortable. If you said that the museums in Europe are far better than in Asia (which everyone knows is true) that still makes them uncomfortable because it's a negative comparison, which is taboo. Around most people, you gotta be positive and superficial, and not talk about anything deep or negative in the slightest. Otherwise it makes them awkward. Very weird. How did the mainstream get to be like this?!

Also, when I told the Danish hostel managers that most young people in HK didn't speak good English, only rudimentary English, and could not understand me, they countered me by saying that they met many young people in HK who spoke very fluent English and never had a problem communicating. Yeah right. Bullshit. I talked to a lot of random people and that's not what I experienced.

Yet the law of political correctness says that you are not allowed to say anything negative, no matter how true, and most people obey this. Why? Why are mainstream people so weird? Why don't mainstream people LOVE TRUTH, like philosophers do?

[Winston]

I have another interesting question. Why is it that on Monday morning in America, at all workplaces when people ask each other "How was your weekend", everyone ALWAYS replies "It was great" or "It was good"? How can everyone have a "great weekend" 100 percent of the time, every weekend without fail? lol. Why doesn't anyone ever say that their weekend sucked or was boring? lol. Are you not allowed to be honest in "the land of the free"? If so, how can it be "the land of the free" then? lol.

Also, if everyone's answer is always that their "weekend was great" then what's the point of even asking? You might as well ask, "Does 2+2=4?" lol. It just makes no sense. What is the point of pretending to be 'doing great" and "having a great weekend" 100 percent of the time, and having to lie half the time to conform to this social rule? Isn't it kind of stupid if you think about it? It's as if honesty is not allowed in America, which makes me feel awkward and uncomfortable. Yet everyone seems to be ok with it and no one complains except me (and many foreigners too, but they do not dare voice it openly).

Furthermore, why does no one question this except me? This fake positivity social rule that requires you to lie half the time in America, is an obvious defect in American culture. Yet no one dares to point it out, because it's taboo to criticize American culture. Everyone assumes culture is unassailable and perfect. Even the "freethinkers" that listen to Coast to Coast AM, David Icke and Alex Jones, do not dare criticize such lies in American culture, as if they were unassailable (though they will freely talk about UFO's and government conspiracies). It's very weird and hive minded. It's like I'm the only true freethinker there is, since I am able to point out many obvious flaws and falsities and fakeness in American culture, whereas other supposed freethinkers cannot.

[Winston]

To be fair, most other countries basically do the same thing. It's just America is a big country and a blatant example as such. But any society claiming to be the best should not fear those who dissent, for that shows the proclamation is false.

What are you referring to? In other countries, you do not have to always pretend to be doing great, or say that everything is great. You are allowed to be more honest. Ask foreigners in other countries and you will see.

Also, people in other countries do not wave their flag around the way Americans do, as if patriotism is a religion. They can be patriotic without flaunting it.

I just mean many other countries proclaim their greatness regardless of what the truth is. I think this is more a problem with big countries though, although I'm sure every country is somewhat guilty of it at least. The U.S. and China are the two worst I think for flag-waving. In China, you can't really talk about things that aren't going great, or otherwise admit that things may not be going so well. So for example, I don't think there are any comedians there who can talk about how life sucks. But I think these two countries are probably the two worst examples in the world.

Not really @Ghost. I've asked people in China and they say that they are not pressured to say that they are always "doing great" when someone asks them "How are you doing?" In Asia and in Europe one is not required to pretend to always be doing great when someone asks them how they are. I've talked to many foreigners about this and they have told me that. So yes, this seems to be an American thing. Other countries allow you to be honest and say that you are not doing so great. But America requires you to lie. I'm not saying that everyone should listen to my problems, but I shouldn't have to say "doing great" everyday. I should be allowed to give a negative response and not have to explain it. You can in other nations, so why not the US? It's weird and makes no sense and feels so awkward when you see everyone doing that all the time, as though it were a social rule you weren't allowed to break.

[Contrarian Expatriate]

This fake American optimism is not only present in Monday morning chats about the weekend; we can see also see this fakery with:

-So how is married life? Great!

-So how was your vacation? Great!

-So how was is your new job? Great!

-So how is your health? Great!

-So how are your investments doing? Great!

And so on and so forth. Most of us know that nothing is so completely "great" and each of the above areas has postive aspects and negative aspects. Americans are the most mentally unwell people in the world and I think that self-delusion about maintaining such "great" lives contributes to that unwellness.



Take Facebook for example. Everyone chooses their most happy and awe-inspiring photos for their profiles, yet psychologists point to the fact that Facebook is contributing to depression among people who are falling victim to "out-greating" each other. Personally, I think people who post their happy pics are masking misery and the people who view these happy pics are growing in misery.

This is the American way!

[E Irizarry R&B Singer]

This fake American optimism is not only present in Monday morning chats about the weekend; we can see also see this fakery with:

-So how is married life? Great!

-So how was your vacation? Great!

-So how was is your new job? Great!

-So how is your health? Great!

-So how are your investments doing? Great!

And so on and so forth. Most of us know that nothing is so completely "great" and each of the above areas has postive aspects and negative aspects. Americans are the most mentally unwell people in the world and I think that self-delusion about maintaining such "great" lives contributes to that unwellness.



Take Facebook for example. Everyone chooses their most happy and awe-inspiring photos for their profiles, yet psychologists point to the fact that Facebook is contributing to depression among people who are falling victim to "out-greating" each other. Personally, I think people who post their happy pics are masking misery and the people who view these happy pics are growing in misery.

This is the American way!

This is one of the reasons why Ice Cube is one of my favorite rappers of all time: he only smiled when things were funny or joyous - never when - things were bad, sad, stupid, or hurtful.

[Contrarian Expatriate]

This is one of the reasons why Ice Cube is one of my favorite rappers of all time: he only smiled when things were funny or joyous - never when - things were bad, sad, stupid, or hurtful.

I think much of black culture rejects the fake optimism of the America mainstream.

I was once in Podgorica, Montenegro some years back and a young man excitedly came up to me in a way that I always find off-putting. When he sensed that I was not so comfortable with his overbearing greeting, he said, "I'm sorry for disturbing you, but we love black American people here." I asked him why and expected the worst, but he replied, "Because you are all so real, and genuine unlike white Americans who we see as very fake."

While I don't necessarily agree with his assessment, the fact that there is this PERCEPTION out there internationally was very interesting to note.

My personal view is that most Americans are faking it much of the time, but from different cultural reference points. Blacks tend to fake what they have in terms of signaling flashy lifestyles while living in poverty, or signaling being blacker than thou while behaving in the marketplace according to "The white man's ice is colder" mentality.

So American fakery is all around; it just manifests itself differently among different ethnic groups.

[E Irizarry R&B Singer]

This is one of the reasons why Ice Cube is one of my favorite rappers of all time: he only smiled when things were funny or joyous - never when - things were bad, sad, stupid, or hurtful.

I think much of black culture rejects the fake optimism of the America mainstream.

I was once in Podgorica, Montenegro some years back and a young man excitedly came up to me in a way that I always find off-putting. When he sensed that I was not so comfortable with his overbearing greeting, he said, "I'm sorry for disturbing you, but we love black American people here." I asked him why and expected the worst, but he replied, "Because you are all so real, and genuine unlike white Americans who we see as very fake."

While I don't necessarily agree with his assessment, the fact that there is this PERCEPTION out there internationally was very interesting to note.

My personal view is that most Americans are faking it much of the time, but from different cultural reference points. Blacks tend to fake what they have in terms of signaling flashy lifestyles while living in poverty, or signaling being blacker than thou while behaving in the marketplace according to "The white man's ice is colder" mentality.

So American fakery is all around; it just manifests itself differently among different ethnic groups.

This mirrors my sentiments. I thank you for the unintentional confirmation.

[WorldTraveler]

'Cus they're living the American Dream, that's why their life is Great!

Winston, don't you wish you could be one of them? Don't you know it's the same all over the world. Why would anybody want to travel. I hear this my friends all the time!

99% of the people are not Truth Seekers like you. I refer to the %1 as "Realist." Very few people are "Realist." They're the ones that will tell you when their life sucks.

[Mercury]

There is something I can't understand or logically explain. Why is it that in America, you always have to say that "everything is great" and that you're always "doing great" or "feeling great", even when it's not true? It's dishonest and illogical. Yet the social pressure to say that is always there.

How come no one complains about it or questions this social norm? It's very weird. Why should I say that something is great if it's not? Why should I say that I'm feeling great if I don't?

It doesn't make sense. It's as if you are forced to lie. I'm surprised that more people don't question this. Only foreigners do, because in other countries, you do not have to always pretend to be "doing/feeling great". You are allowed to be more honest. It's primarily in America that you have to say that all the time.

When you think about it, it doesn't make sense. Why is something "great" without a reason? It's like you say "great" in America just for the sake of it. There's no logic to it. Why do so few people notice this or question it?

Also, even if I really am "feeling great", why do I have to say it to everyone, including complete strangers, as if I were spreading some type of religion or cult (cult of American optimism)? lol.

Why can't I just enjoy "feeling great" without telling everyone about it or drawing attention to it? If I have to tell everyone about it, doesn't that sort of discredit it? (Kind of like how the guys who brag about always getting laid usually aren't, whereas the guys who are getting laid a lot don't have to talk about it? lol) I mean, why do I need to let complete strangers know that I'm "feeling great"? Do I need their validation or something? lol

Besides, what does "great" mean anyway? It's very vague and non-specific. It would be more meaningful if you said one of the following:

- I feel happy today.
- I feel healthy and energized today.
- I feel loved and cared for.
- I feel appreciative of my life today.
- I am enjoying the weather today.
- I'm happily in love.
- My business is doing good and making a good profit.
Etc.

But "great" doesn't mean much. It's like a fake word used to project fake optimism for no reason. Ever notice that? It's one of the most meaningless words that Americans commonly use.

So look at the big picture here. In America, life FEELS empty, meaningless and depressing. People look unhappy, disgruntled, anxious, and grouchy, and are just grudgingly trying to get through life. Yet everyone puts up an act and says that they are "great" and that everything is "great". So you have all these FAKE people saying that everything is "great" for no reason!!!!!!

Is that bizarre and Twilight Zone-like or what? lol. It's like people are in a trance, uttering meaningless things for no reason without thinking about it. Weird huh?

Btw, have you noticed that the most sensitive people are the ones who sense the emptiness and meaningless of life in America the most? Insensitive people don't seem to feel it as much.

Because it's considered punishable by institutionalization to say that you are doing not-so-good. In America, if people know that you are down, their default instinct is to put you immediately in the mental insane asylum (for instance, the Warren G. Madden institution in Chicago's west suburb of Maywood), lock you up like a mental psychopath; yes, even like a serial killer, put you on drugs, and put you out of sight and out of mind for an indefinite period of time. In America, any sign of weakness or that you are doing not-so-good is grounds for imprisonment, 24 hour supervision, restraint beds, locked behind steel doors, fences with barbed wire or razor ribbon tops, basically an environment equal to a supermax prison. And a sentence that needs no judge, no jury, and can start at as short as 3 days, but expand to as long as 55 years, even life. To say that you are doing not-so-good in America is the equivilant of saying that you've committed even armed robbery or that you even escaped from Pelican Bay State Prison and was involved in something like a scene out of John Bunnell's TV program "World's Wildest Police Videos."

[Wolfeye]

I think it's because they don't want to hurt the people asking. Like it's making them feel bad or something like that. That or they're worried they'll come off weak & lose esteem from them.

[jamesbond]

From our youth we are programmed to say we are doing "great" when someone asks us how we are doing. We continue this behavior for the rest of our lives.

[dancilley]

I was going through the checkout at Whole Foods the other day, and the cashier (a tall, skinny, half-Asian male) asked me, "How's it goin' man?" He said it in a very routine way, and he did it fast and somewhat slurred his words. So, I felt that he didn't really personally care how I was actually doing.

So, I just uttered, "Yuh." And nodded somewhat.

Most of the time, if someone asks how I'm doing, I say, "Alright." But nothing more.

I do this a lot because, when people ask me how I'm doing, and I tell them the truth, it hurts when they don't acknowledge the importance, or passion regarding what I am telling them. They don't care to talk further about what I just said to them. They don't care about what matters to me. They don't care about me. It feels bad.

Or, if I tell them the truth about how I am doing, they respond with something very ignorant, uneducated, and/or judgmental; which then prompts me to respond in a dumbed-down way, so that they don't become offended if I say, "It's not that simple." If you attempt to engage in a debate, or at least an explanation of how you are doing, they almost always will not have the patience to listen to you explain your circumstances. Sometime soon after you start talking, they will judge you negatively, make fun of you, laugh at you, or interrupt; all of which are highly unpleasant...so, it's not worth opening up to people. It's only worth it if you predict the person will actually care about you, and fully listen to you, if you open up to them.

The main thing is, most people don't care to actually understand how you are. They seem to have addictions to beliefs about how the world is, which cause them to react in a certain way (a negative reaction) when you explain how you are doing. They judge you very fast, before getting to know more about you.

I believe people's addictions cause them to become less patient, less loving, more sociopathic, interruptive, etc. I believe the stimulation from drugs, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and even processed foods, animal products, MSG, etc., makes a person less peaceful, less caring, less interested in you, etc.

The poorer a person is, the fewer sources of stimulation they have, the nicer they are.

Women are very unappreciative in the U.S.A. because they have access to so many men online. That's just how it is. Prostitution is illegal, and there are so many overweight women, so the good looking women are extremely in demand.

The key seems to be to go to a place where the women are poor and have few options, so that when you provide her your resources, you are outstanding, and she has no desire to seek a better life from a different man. You have to be the best man in her reality.

The woman has to have a conscientious mind, so that she commits to the principles and rules you set, and lives by them. For me, ideally, this would mean that the woman would live in my house, have sex with me, cook and clean, and produce and raise as many babies as possible. That's what I would want. If the woman shows any signs of dating other men, that is adverse. If she talks about other men, that is adverse.

She should have an understanding that pleasure can lead to tolerance and addiction. She should realize that more money will not lead to a better life, after a certain amount. She needs to recognize when she is living a good, proper life, and be wise enough to know that pursuing pleasure in ways that may compromise the emotional or financial security of her relationship or family is too risky. She needs to respect herself and the people she has in her life.

For example, she must not cheat on you due to her having a desire for another man. She must show respect for you by being in your home, 24/7, or with you, when you go out. She must desire you so strongly, that she acts respectfully at all times. If she respects you, she will not talk about other men. If she respects you, she will dress as well as she can, or how you want her to. If she respects you, she will do what you want, if what you want is reasonable and right and health-promoting, etc.

As another example, she should not demand to purchase expensive clothing, food, jewelry, etc. when she knows that you do not value those things.

She must adhere to a set of principles that you both discussed before getting together physically. If she adheres to those principles unwaveringly throughout the years, she is a good woman. If her preferences change, and she does not have the conscientiousness to continue to live by the principles, then she is a bad woman.

So, I hope that every man has the discipline to get to know a woman extremely well before he engages physically with her. If you are young, maybe you will have fun experiencing different women sexually without getting to know them, and you will enjoy living fast, and making mistakes. But at this point in my life, I am done with having casual sex with women.

I suggest to get to know a woman extremely well before you do anything physical with her. You need to eliminate the women who are mentally unfit for a committed, long-term (hopefully life-long) relationship.

You need to eliminate the women who are immature. You need to eliminate the women who have negative beliefs and/or attitudes about sex. You need to find a woman who enjoys cooking and cleaning. You need to find a woman who loves kids. She must treat everyone with respect. She must not disrespect anyone. I suggest putting them through a probationary period where they must go through the motions of being a wife/mother, except without the sex. They must live with you in your house for a period of time, and prove to you they are up to your standard.

If they think your probationary period "test thing" is ridiculous, then they are immature.

If they break the rules you have set, they are not serious enough. They must have a passion, a hunger, to be a good woman.

They will lose this desire if they are exposed to drugs, alcohol, weed, drug-like foods, caffeine, the Internet, TV, movies, magazines, other valuable men, etc. The more stimulation they have access to, the less they will appreciate you.

If you are living in a dating economy where you must work and provide a certain amount of material wealth which requires 40 hours of work per week (or otherwise, a lot of work), then she should provide an equivalent amount of value, in how she behaves, how she uses language, how she treats you and others, etc.

If you live in a dating economy where you work hard, and you are a great person, but you cannot attract good women, then that dating economy is imbalanced and is not a good place to be (for example, the U.S.A.). Therefore, you must find better dating economies, in order to live a better life.

I think the truth is, in order to have a great relationship, you must sacrifice other sources of pleasure. I believe that if you have few things to do for fun, you will stay committed to your significant other. It seems that people in rural areas who do not have technology stay married for life, as a stereotype. But today, with all the opportunities for simulation around us, people are not serious about commitment.

The reason why a committed relationship is what you should be serious about creating for yourself (and this could be monogamous or polygynous) is because of the extreme, heavenly amount of pleasure that can be experienced only though it, and not merely a casual encounter. I am not exaggerating at all.

What I am saying is, when you have sex with someone who you have gotten to know thoroughly and you trust the person fully, something chemical and spiritual happens that is overwhelming. You "make love." There is a difference between mere sex...and the big Making Love.

Many times I capitalize Making Love, because it is what everyone should strive to achieve and experience. It is the most therapeutic, highest amount of pleasure you can achieve in life, without damaging your body. It is literally a spiritual experience; it is out-of-this-world. You feel as though you and the woman left your bodies, combined souls, and are now one soul in heaven. I am not making this up. I experienced this myself.

I have had sex with 12 women in my life, but I only experienced Making Love with one of them. She was a virgin when I first had sex with her, so I think her mind was pure. I know it was. She had experimented sexually with another man somewhat, but not intercourse. So, she was very pure.

I know how it feels to get to know a woman very well, and then have sex with her. It feels amazing. It feels like a gift that is all yours, that someone who you love gave to you, and wants to feel the joy you feel.

You can only Make Love if you are in a peaceful, quiet location where there are no perceived potential threats or distractions. You must tune out everything around you and only focus on the woman and vice versa. This is not that easy to arrange for yourself, because, to live in a location where there are no people around, no roommates, no one hearing you, no vehicles outside, etc. is kind of difficult. So, I believe it is pretty rare that any two people Make Love. I have not seen many people on the Internet or in person talk about Making Love. So, I believe this is very rare. But, it is what healthy, happy people are supposed to aim for.

So, I believe that the way that Making Love exists, is due to the two people being completely focused on each other and not distracted by anything. If they are craving to check their phones, or craving to drink alcohol, or craving food, that will prevent Making Love from happening. The girl who I Made Love with did not have a smartphone, and did not drink alcohol or smoke, and only had one friend. She was serious about me and would have married me if I wanted to marry her. The girl friend she had was jealous of her being with me, and that was detrimental. But this was the only friend she had.

So, when you are having sex with this woman who you've gotten to know extremely well (I got to know this woman over a period of 5 months before I saw her in person), and if you are in a peaceful, quiet, comfortable environment with zero distractions, you should be able to comfortably express the pleasure you feel for the woman. The pleasure of the physical contact with the woman, but also the pleasure of the love that you feel for her. And then, when she reacts in a pleasant way to your expressions, and you believe that she is responding positively and is 100% accepting you for who you are and is not offended or annoyed in the slightest, that is when the massive, spiritual, heavenly, out-of-this-world transformation happens.

If you sense that the woman loves you unconditionally and is fully dedicated to you for life, then you will experience this. You feel as though you are God, literally. You feel that you are in a dark space, like outer space or something, and you are a gigantic ball of warm, benevolent light, blasting infinite pleasure throughout all space and time, to every person, and everything. It is incredible.

And this is not when you are orgasming. It is when you may just be slowly thrusting inside the woman. It is more emotional than physical. Like I said above, it happens when you believe that the woman is accepting you unconditionally, or, at least accepts you 100% for who you are, and you feel that if you continue to be that same person, for the rest of your life, then she will love you with all her heart and soul and passion, for as long as you both shall live. It's when you trust the woman 100%, and feel that she trusts you. It's when you feel how people are supposed to feel when they get married, how they commit to each other, in holy matrimony.

If everyone were educated about Making Love, then people would be much happier and better. People have been programmed by the corporations to ignore unprofitable activities, behaviors, lifestyles, etc. and pursue whatever will make the corporations richer, at the expense of the health of The People. They don't want you to Make Love, because if you do, you will be extremely satiated and peaceful and content, and have no desire for luxury items, new cars, addictive substances, smart phones, gadgets, etc. They want to program you to become a consumer of what they sell. The shows, movies, etc. have characters who live a life that they want you to imitate. They want you to be dissatisfied with your life so that they can sell you a solution. They want to make it seem that the world is dangerous, women are masculine, etc. so that you cannot develop trust with anyone, and just give up relating with people, and become a buyer of what they sell in order to fulfill your needs.

What you need though, is sex mainly. For any woman, or any person, to associate the world "creep" or "predator" or "stalker" or "pervert" with sex, dating, approaching women, etc. has definitely been programmed by the media to think that way. Sex is not bad. Seeking sex from a person is not bad. Talking about sex is not bad. But people have been programmed to think that sex is somehow bad, because the media have indoctrinated them over a lifetime.

We must become aware of the healing powers of sex and Making Love, and having a family. The family paradigm, of a woman staying home and a man working, by default, must be adopted by society as normal, and the way that people are supposed to live.

Women must become aware of the ecstasy of childbirth. The truth is that childbirth is similar to the experience of Making Love. If the woman eats the proper diet, and the woman relaxes and has confidence she can give birth successfully, and she is in a peaceful, relaxing environment, then she will deliver the baby without pain...and in many cases, with orgasmic pleasure, and ecstasy.

You cannot Make Love by eating potato chips. You cannot Make Love by eating chocolate. The commercials try to sell food as "heavenly" or "blissful"...but this is nothing compared to the true, heavenly ecstasy that Making Love is. The power of Making Love is so strong, you feel as though you are one giant source of pure love that has the capacity to deliver pure love, benevolence, goodwill, luck, etc. to every single living thing in the universe. You are pure love. You are perfect pleasure.

I want to create an in-person neighborhood that is a gated community, where we live the principles of a great life. Imagine, if each man had his own house with acres of land surrounding it, and he could grow fruits and vegetables, all that his family could eat. His family consists of one or more women, who are fully conscientious, who are devoted to him. He Makes Love every single night, so he is always in a state of heavenly emotion. He produces as many babies as that naturally are created as a result of him expressing his emotions of desire, faith, love, sex, enthusiasm, etc. He gets to love fully, uninhibited. He gets to be who he wants to be, all the time. He gets to be happy all the time.

And our neighborhood becomes a microcosm for the whole world, how the world should be. We are an example of how to live. We show people how to live the best life possible. We do what causes the best results possible. We have no addictions, which means we can choose how to act and behave in order to produce the results we want. And we do. We are the best people in the world. We live the best life possible. And people see how we live, and then copy us. And then the world becomes healthier and happier, and everyone becomes peaceful and cooperative. This is how we will save the world.

[Winston]

I asked my east coast friends and fans of HA about this topic. They told me that in New York, people do not require you to say that you're "doing great" when asked "how are you doing?" And that it's more of a west coast thing to always say that you are doing great. They told me in New York you don't need to give a fake positive response like that, but they do expect you to make some humor out of it if you want to give a negative response, so that you at least sound funny if you are down. I guess it's true that East Coasters are less fake. But that doesn't mean they are nice. NY has tons of cold assholes and pricks they told me.

[Winston]

Update:

I think I've figured out why no one complains openly about always having to say they're doing great everyday in America, and thus having to lie half the time. Even the alternative media and those who call themselves freethinkers and truthers do not point this out. But immigrants and travelers from abroad do complain about this. But it never makes it online for some reason.

The reasons are:

People have a herd mentality and copy others. As Mark Twain said, most people's opinions are not their own, they are copied from others. So this means that people will not complain about something unless others are. So for example people feel free to complain about politics, economics, food, weather, government policy, etc because other people complain about those things and so it's socially acceptable to complain about them. But they cannot complain about things that are politically incorrect because that is taboo and other people are not doing it. So people do not feel authorized to complain about them. Like they cannot complain about gender equality or racial equality or multiculturalism, because those are taboo to challenge.

Likewise, it is taboo to complain about people and culture. You are supposed to act like people and cultures are all fine. It's only politics, government and economics that are bad. So they develop a blind spot to criticizing American culture, even though there's a lot to criticize. So people copy others, like famous truthers like Alex Jones, and only criticize whatever he criticizes.

And of course, since no one is openly criticizing the fakeness of American culture or the social disconnection and the toxic environment, etc, not even in the alternative media, then no one else dares to do it. Because people essentially COPY other people. But of course, those in this forum who copy me or each other here, will complain about such things. You gotta remember that most people COPY other people and do not have original thoughts or original complaints of their own. That includes us too. Since we are HAers, we copy each other's complaints too, but we are a small group, not the mainstream.

I think this explains why obvious flaws in American culture are not pointed out or criticized any publicly in any media, not even alternative media or truther sites and podcasts. And not even on websites or blogs, besides this one of course.

What do you all think? Does that make sense?

[jamesbond]

My psychology teacher in college actually talked about this saying it's ingrained in us from our youth to always answer "great" when someone asks us how we are doing. Outside the USA this phenomenon does not exist.