I was on the Metro this morning, and I was squished into the car – bracing myself by holding on to a pole that had my arm extended. A fellow commuter snared at me “You going to keep holding your arm up there?,” clearly he needed to get off the metro before I did.
This is not a singular occurrence. All to often are commuters hurriedly making their way to work, either on foot or in their car, constantly annoyed by those in their way or not really considering the others. I know that I am guilty. So I wonder, do we just believe that we personally have the most important place to go?
Are you sure you weren’t wearing your “I <3 DC” shirt this morning?
This is absolutely something that every commuter can relate to! I know for me, more than anything else I just get irritated if someone is in the way of my “routine” or moving too slow, which I know is awful. But this is usually related to tourists, not other commuters! I have never been guilty of pushing anyone, or voicing my frustrations… yet. 🙂 I just do the passive “MOVE!” look.
Yikes! Someone hadn’t had his coffee this morning! I agree. Everyone has to get to where they are going, but a little more compassion and friendliness wouldn’t hurt anyone.
On a complaining note, I do hate when I am in a hurry and people (usually tourists who don’t know the system) stand on the left side of the escalator. This really gets me on long escalators. I don’t always have 5 minutes to sit behind someone as we glide downward when I’m trying to get to my train!
But of course, Paul!
In fact, the reason why I cut you off without signalling any of the 6 herky-jerky risky high-speed lane changes I made in order to do just that was because it was absolutely IMPERATIVE that I be sitting waiting at the same red light as you, exactly one car in front of you.
Now, if I can just dislodge my tongue from my cheek, I may be able to talk with my co-workers later today.
But yeah, some folks don’t have enough perspective in their lives, do they? The way I figure it, you can either be on your deathbed, consoled by not having given up (i.e., “wasted”) the 8-10 hours over your lifetime it would have taken up, OR you can be patient and considerate when the opportunity arises.
Maybe we have not evolved to a true commuter’s state of mind. I guess the real question is;
Have any of my fellow awesomites-that-travel noticed a different mindset in the midwest vs east coast vs west coast? Those that ride BART (California) or MARTA (Atlanta) tend to be less self-focused than the DC’ers or New Yorker’s. Just my thoughts.