[rdouble]

Even Scandinavian Americans act like this.

It's not politeness it's a culturally ingrained pathological aversion to interacting with strangers.

[abrowne]

Even non-Scandinavian Minnesotans act like this ;-)

[rdouble]

Good point. Although my friends from St. Paul with Irish backgrounds are significantly more outgoing and have much larger social circles.

[Dewie]

The average American is probably more outgoing than the average Scandinavian. So American culture is probably more outgoing. So being reserved and not "interfering" is more likely to be looked upon as a "pathology" than as "politeness" in this cultural context. In the same vain, an average American might be more likely to be looked upon as being "loud and obnoxious" than "open and friendly" by Scandinavians.

...and then we are back to the point that _delirium brought up about cultures varying by regions.