If you slow down and take the time to actually observe humanity,you're going to be really disappointed. From the time I leave my apartment, all the way until I walk back in at night, I'm forced to interact with dozens of people, and observe countless more. And the numbers aren't pretty. In the vast majority of instances, people are driven to act by their insecurity, egoism, and down right selfishness.
Let's just mention this for the hundredth time: let people off the train before you get on. There are two main reasons for this, each independently significant enough to warrant the rule:
1) Even if the order of entry/exist was arbitrary, it still makes sense to follow (example: driving on the right side of the road) and
2) A train has finite space, while the train platform has (relatively speaking) infinite space. If people got on the train first, it would be overcrowded and thus be difficult for the second wave of people exiting.
Thus this is a simple and effective rule. But people choose to ignore it. And the reason they ignore it is because they want a seat. See, people who think they are the "Center of the Universe" (CotU),
it's vitally important that they, themselves, be able to sit down. They are the only ones in said universe who experience fatigue. While the regular rule of "out first, then in" is good in theory, they feel the need to make an exception for themselves.
it's vitally important that they, themselves, be able to sit down. They are the only ones in said universe who experience fatigue. While the regular rule of "out first, then in" is good in theory, they feel the need to make an exception for themselves.
Every time I hear the conductor announce this on the loudspeaker only to have people ignore him, i cringe.
There are two other mini areas of annoyance involving train etiquette that I'd like to address. First, when you're waiting for a train, there are usually two options: sit all the way back on the benches or stand in the front where the train is going to eventually be. It SHOULD be a
question of "comfort now, or comfort later" in that suffering through the standing process should provide you first access to the opening doors. However, in these selfish times, CotUs often choose the "comfort now AND comfort later". They'll sit on the benches until they hear the train, at which point they'll push their way through the crowd of standing people in order to be the first ones
through the doors. It's selfish and unacceptable, and it makes me weep for humanity.
In the opposite scenario, a train about to make its final stop, we have yet another example of selfish behavior. Even though the distribution of bodies is comfortably spread out throughout the train, as it approaches the final stop CotUs start getting up and crowding the door. The process actually begins at the second to last stop, so those last few minutes become painfully uncomfortable as it's artificially crowded. CotUs are so mind-blowingly
selfish that they would rather make everyone uncomfortable just to get a few seconds of a head start on their next leg of the commute. It's a mad dash to the escalator to shave off a little time. I suppose these people think they are the only ones who have to be somewhere at 9 in the morning.
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