When I moved to America I was shocked to learn that "loitering" is a crime. The definition is something like "lingering in one place without purpose or direction."

They literally made EXISTING illegal. In Europe we loiter as a birthright. We hang around train stations, town squares, or on old church steps.

In the US, if you're not marching somewhere, consuming something, or contributing to the engine, you're probably a criminal. If you're not productive, you can be penalized.

It's not just the law, it's the psyche. The American sidewalk is not a gathering place, it's a conveyor belt. A culture so inhospitable to rest that it makes unstructured time illegal, and treats stillness as a threat.

And then people wonder why loneliness feels epidemic, why community feels fragile, why everyone is so tired yet terrified of stopping. Because stopping has been criminalized, and weaponized against the most vulnerable. (especially the most melanated)

In Europe, we just ... be. In America, you better explain yourself and prove your usefulness. Existing without a mission? Suspicious.

It illuminates the core difference:

A culture where being still is life v. A culture where being still is a liability.