Incivility is an urban thing, prevalent in big cities everywhere, and probably due to their overcrowding. There is the old joke about the Canadian tourists in New York. One of them goes up to a New Yorker to ask for directions: “Could you tell me which way to the Empire State building — or should I just go f— myself?”
As a New Yorker, you learn at an early age that nine out of ten people who approach you on the street with a friendly smile are trying to scam you in one way or another. Hence the default curtness with strangers.
Hehe, I like that. And yes, the cities here in the states are rude, too. I like Evel Knievel’s quote: “To give this country an enema, you should stick the hose in the Holland tunnel and flush out the New Yorkers.”