We Capitalists do from time to time have to travel too and from the office (except the end of this week for me which is quarter end and when you work for a US corporate you can forget going home to much, anyway, I digress).
Recently certain activities have begun to get to me, they are everyday run of the mill things, but as happens to many people I assume, a slow drip-drip effect can build annoyance within as you take a minor irritation and becomes a full blown irritant and finally reaches the point where you consider unlawful actions to make your point to the offender.
For me, this drip-drip is the growing need to commute with the istare generation. Whereas generally in the recent past men read papers and women read books whilst stuck on our crowded commuter trains, now anyone under 30 (or 40 for those with personality crisis issues) instead travels with just their beloved ipod and mobile phone. Soon these will be the same item no doubt.
What gets to me is not generally actually being on a train or bus with people listening to music, it is quite rare that they volume is so loud as to be annoying. The vacant istare can be a little off-putting, but is of no harm. A personal take of mine is that if you simply listen passively to music rather than read something you are wasting a valuable part of the day's few minutes of solitude; but this is their choice to make.
No, the hazardous part is the exit from any transport and the walking to one's office.
For ensconced in a world of their own, shorn of their aural perception, icommuters merrily push you in the back, nudge you to one side, amble along and step out in front of you. The more traditional commuters, papers downed and concentrating on the small task of exiting a station platform, have no such problems. the i-stare remains the same as they happily trundle along, oblivious of all around them. heaven help too when their oyster card does not work or some other such mishap. the travel from istare back to reality seems to take at least a minute of dumb-faced bewilderment, causing more delay for everyone else. And let's face it , it is not exactly likely that one's train or bus was on time in the first place, is it?
So for any i-starer's reading, enjoy life pleasures as you see fit, but perhaps time to be a little more considerate to others.
sigh. that feels much better....
