People who don't speak

I often encounter "people who don't talk."People who pass by me without saying a word when I bump into them while I am walking.When I am shopping at the supermarket, people silently cross the street in front of me while I am looking at the products.People who walk past me without saying a word when I give them the right of way.
Of course, when I buy something at the cash register, there is no such thing as a conversation with the clerk.They are full of "people who don't talk".

What about myself?
I came from Hokkaido(the north country island of Japan) and have lived in Tokyo for a long time.Maybe I was one of those "people who don't talk" as well.

What surprised me when I lived in the U.S. was that there were so many people who talked.When I was taking a walk in the neighborhood, almost everyone I passed greeted me without fail.Some people called out to me, others made eye contact and smiled.At first I was surprised and panicked, wondering if I knew someone, but I soon got used to it and began to reply back.When I gave way, they thanked each other. When they entered a store, they greeted the staff first.Even when paying at the cash register, there are greetings and chit-chat.Even the customs officials at the airport have talked to me about The Pixies while going through immigration.It doesn't matter if you know them or not; when you meet someone, communication begins.

I think this is not just because they are friendly people, but because it is important to give each other a sign that I am not a mysterious and dangerous person, and because American society is a society where such communication is very important.

Whatever the reason, there was nothing wrong with always exchanging a few words with someone. I never felt that it was troublesome. It was not overly sticky, but rather refreshing.

The first strange feeling I had upon returning to Japan was the almost complete absence of such communication. I had spent most of my life in Japan, but after living in the U.S. for only two years and then returning, I began to feel a strong sense of discomfort with "people who don't talk. Experience is important.For a while after returning to Japan, I used to greet people in stores without thinking.When I passed someone on the street, I would get nervous if I didn't say hello.If I didn't, I didn't feel comfortable. But that too has decreased considerably.That is understandable. I hardly ever heard back or responded.Human behavior is created by the environment. If no one responds, you stop speaking, and you become a non-speaking society.Fortunately, the memories and sensations of experience do not disappear.I think it is a good thing that I can feel discomfort in this way.

Why don't they speak? Why don't they say anything?
Do they look at others in the outside world as if they are not human beings but something else?There must be some survival strategy that makes it easier, safer, or more beneficial to do so. However, such people also speak clearly as if they have changed in the group to which they belong. This is also a survival strategy.When they choose the best way to survive, they settle on a style in which they do not talk at all with strangers in the outside world, but talk a lot in the group to which they belong. It is frightening that this is a rational survival strategy. It is quite a distortion.It is probably the basic way of things in Japan that it is more rational and correct to conform to the tacit understanding of one's surroundings rather than to one's own will to behave in this way.This may sound a bit clichéd, but it reminds me once again of the power of peer pressure.

I have always been distressed by such peer pressure, and have survived by attempting to escape from it and to rebel in some small way.It is truly maddening to live in a world that demands silence outside and excessive intimacy within organizations in accordance with their unspoken rules.A world where communication is based on words, symbols, and letters, without any physicality, seems to me to be a sham. I don't expect everyone to suddenly become happy and friendly and communicate with full of physicality.I just think that the village of Japan could do something about it.

The demand for silence and distance for the sake of Covid, and the increasing reinforcement of this style, has resulted in a communication full of words, symbols, and letters.What will become of this country and this society in the future?It is very interesting to look at this, including how I, who am definitely in the minority, will live my life.