We should, if its justified. I don't know about y'all, but if someone would continuously sprinkle me with kind words and compliments without me deserving them, it'd just feel fake. And that would honestly frustrate me more in the long term.
Right, but that isn't what is being said here. Giving kindness is not all-or-nothing. We can definitely afford to do it more often without going overboard as you describe.
There isn't really that much performative kindness in the United States as far as I can tell among most people that live there.
Apart from aging 50something creepy men demanding that young female employees smile more (and if they don't they may lose their jobs), it's actually coarse and hostile and full of scowling and feral-like stares, especially when driving.
Not to strangers lol, pretty sure it means to friends and family. Of course not being an asshole to strangers is nice, but you don't have to be totally friendly
I'm sorry, sounds stressful. I hope you are taking care of yourself :)
If it makes you feel any better, OP is not saying we should force people to receive hugs. There is no threat here. It's perfectly fine to clearly express your boundaries and expect others to respect them.
Thank you, I understand. It's families that force hugs on the children who are uncomfortable with them. Fortunately, I'm old enough now that that's not an issue anymore. Or at least not much.
Same-ish but not "extremely". Just uncomfortable. If it makes the other person happy I might as well let them. A short bit of uncomfortableness is worth someones smile. 🙂
That's about how I am these days. I've learned to acquiesce and appreciate it making other people happy, for the most part. But I still don't care for it for myself personally.