It's been a few years since I was forced to visit, but I haven't read anything suggesting that it's any less than far, far worse today.
Well, shoot. I was just reflecting as old people sometimes do that when I was young and seeing the world my best experiences were meeting people on the street and finding they were quite pleased to talk about things. Anywhere: Rome, Berlin, Paris, Istambul, Athens. Nobody was mean, not even the jackbooted gov't thugs; everybody was very pleasant, even in Paris. Granted, the residents of Istambul were somewhat wary because of islamic instability, but friendly, too. Oddly, none of this was in English, but languages are easy on the street if not in class.