A Best Friend? You Must Be Kidding

[Henry Blewer]

I rely on body language. Someone who does not like you becomes more guarded. Facial features tighten. People who like you smile and open up. The torso turns more direct to you. They approach closer than a stranger or someone who does not like you.
Now the insults begin...

[FrankB]

@Ralph: HAHAHA  

[rcallicotte]

Frank is right.  I live amidst the middle class (and some upper middle class) in the U.S. and see what some parents do with their children.  Having friends like Frank describes is what I remember, before today's "organized activities" became vogue (for some). 

Europeans have more centuries (and many debilitating wars) to have learned some things we in the U.S. need to grasp or we will perish - like humility, for example.

To the NWDA crew and other interested parties:

You guys are taking one crazy article and blanketing it across the US.  

No I did not intend to generalize. I'm just saying that it happens to be the case that I'm hearing this from friends in the US, and had one or two surprising encounters of "shallowness" in the US myself. Of course it would be super stupid and unfair to generalize. It could be though that cultures make a difference here in how often it occurs. I know even "just" in the US there are many ways of living.
Sorry if I sounded arrogant previously - not intended.

Regards,
Frank