Photo by Flickr user John “K”
“If you want to, go for it.”
That’s how the guy standing in front of me on a packed 21 replied when a woman politely tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Would you mind moving down?”
When I say packed, I mean you-can-barely-see-a-patch-of-floor packed. The sheets of rain drove more commuters than usual to seek solace on the 21 Monday night. But this guy didn’t seem to care. It must have been something about that stretch of bar he was holding, about five seats back from the front door. The preppy-looking twentysomething was holding it like he meant it, looking straight ahead and not caring that people were forced to flood around him, like water being diverted by a rock in the middle of a stream. For a painfully long 30-minute ride, he stood there with legs solidly planted, not moving an inch even as more and more people piled on.
I can understand not wanting to give up a seat or a spot near the back door. But his particular position offered no obvious advantages over a spot, say, three feet to the right. Am I wrong in finding his lack of common Muni courtesy unacceptable?
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Don’t get me started! Nothin’ burns my biscuits more than people who ignore that they’re blocking the aisle. Grrr…. Inconsiderate punks, all of them. Yes, I mean you too, middle-aged woman in the business suit with the iPod. You’re strong enough to climb the corporate ladder, and you’re strong enough to move to the back of the frikkin bus.
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And what’s the deal with people who stand right at the back door but refuse to move at stops? I understand why you’d want to stand by the door & get some fresh air, but either get out of the way or get the fuck off. I basically had to shoulder some kid into the pole in because he wouldn’t budge at my stop.
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DanB Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Does it seem like this behavior has multiplied in the past few months? I’ve always had to deal with the occasional person who refused to budge from the exit (and don’t even get me started on the F) but lately it’s been an almost twice a week thing, regardless of the line.
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Yes, you are right.
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This is all part of the lack of care people in the City now seem to have for each other in certain situations. If someone fell or hurt themselves on MUNI, people would come to help them. But there’s also a sense of entitlement with some folks on public transit where they claim their space and everyone else be damned. I’ve actually had people physically push me out of their way when exiting underground trains when I wasn’t moving as fast as they are. I also notice that people generally run or walk very fast everywhere downtown especially and that becomes more exaggerated on public transit. It’s the rat race made manifest.
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Ah yes, that’s one of my biggest pet peeves on the bus. Today, saw two “full” Fulton buses pass by and there was SO MUCH ROOM in the back of the buses…but, I’m sure there were people who weren’t budging from their spots like the fellow above. Sigh.
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I like to be polite and say ‘excuse me’ everytime I inconvenience people by their moving to let me pass. I say the same thing the same way just prior to when they don’t and I push right on through anyway causing them to almost bowl over in some cases. I do the same thing each time regardless and I really want the first to happen but if not, ah well, I did my best. I’m just not gonna let some weird possessiveness over public space stop me from movin through it. Obstructing the free passage of someone in public space is illegal.
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I’ve noticed this problem even more on the F-Market versus the other lines. The tourists tend to stand within the first 3/4 of the car, while the rear is completely open for standing. I explained in my blog that it’s like I could lay on the floor of the trolley. It’s like the tourists have some kung fu death grip on the handrail and fear falling off or missing their stop.
http://www.akit.org/2009/08/tourists-in-san-francisco-why-dont-you.html
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DanB Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Yup. A couple of times when I’ve gotten really exasperated with it, I’ve yelled out “You’re all going to Pier 39, you’re NOT going to miss your stop. Trust me.” and it seems to help a little, but not much. But most of the time it activates their “crazy person is saying things out loud on public transit, ack!” sensors and at the very least they shrink back when I walk through the car.
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