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March 21, 2005

social conditioning

I know that living in a big city is stressful and that it takes a certain amount of social conditioning to survive. Where else could a perfect stranger place his hand 2 inches from your face for 45 minuets to hold on to ANYTHING and you not say something? So yes, I am going along with my social conditioning when the guy next to me starts talking to himself. Not the "IÕm quietly reminding myself of things on my to do" list; no, the outright Tourettes-style cursing and loud talking. As a good city dweller, I know the drill. Do not make full eye contact and slowly move away until you are just out of arms distance. If you didn't know the drill, learn it. This man now has an invisible bubble around him -- a people-less void on a crowded train -- EXCEPT For one woman dressed nicely for work, who was forced to decide between the joy of getting a seat on the morning train and being just within arms reach of a ranting man. She eventually moved. Good choice. The ranter got off several stops later. And magically, the void was filled.

Being the person that I am, I would like to offer a solution to the problem: a separate car on the train for people who are going to talk to themselves. Yep, they can yap all they want in this car, to each other, the photo of DR. Zizmor, even to their toes. And how do you suppose people get placed in this car? I think itÕs simple. If the majority of people within the invisible boundary decide that you are bothering them, they can opt to have you removed to the noisy car. This would also curb some of the other plain old loud people on the train. Like people yelling on cell phones, people that like to sing or rap to their iPods, rowdy little wanna bees, parents and kids who have no home training,the super friendly guy with the eyes that give you the willies. All can be exiled to the noisy car. I think after a little time with the other people who really cannot avoid being put in the noisy car, the people who can control themselves will.
The subway ride would be a little less fun, but hey, you got to give to get.

Posted by Kwaku at March 21, 2005 4:09 PM

Comments

I could not agree with you more. After a long day at work and 3 hours of classes, is it too much to ask for a peaceful subway ride? Why is it that people who are traveling together feel the need to sit across from each other (when there are plenty of seats together), and then yell their conversation to each other (and everyone else on the train)? What is that all about? I know New York is the mecca of entertainment, but at 10:00 at night I don't want bands playing in the station and taking up platform space. Nor do I care to be entertained by the acrobatic groups that do flips down the aisles of a moving subway cars to the loud hip-hop beat on their boom box. I say put the subway entertainers in the car with the loud noisy people. They can all amuse each other, and I don't have to blow my ear drums trying to drown them out with my iPod.

Posted by: Embrownny at March 23, 2005 9:33 PM

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