Lately I've had occasion to ride a lot of elevators and the subway.
Now I like people, normal people. But some people..I'm tellin ya.
Riding the subway in Toronto at rush hour can only mean one thing...every man and woman for themselves. If you get on at the right stop..you can get a seat for the whole trip..but if you don't you have to stand...and that can be both good and bad.
The other day I got on at the first stop..so I got a good seat (or so I thought) and thought I was all set. It wasn't too crowded yet and I thought I was in for a nice pleasant 30 minute ride downtown to my destination.
Wrong.
Within two stops..a man...a regular enough looking guy..decided to sit between me and another woman...it being a three seat combo corner. Now he had every right to sit there..I'm not denying that. But clearly he was too big for the spot between us..for which a normal sized person would have been fine. He was not obese..but he was chunky. Now if he had made the effort to at least try to fit in the spot I might have cut him some more slack..but he didn't. He plopped himself into that space and just leaned on both of us..and it was very uncomfortable. He then proceeded to fall asleep and basically fall all over me, kind of like what you might see on an airplane.
I'm not judging, but this man was Indian, East Indian of some sort, and I have had this experience before with many of this kind. I'm thinking it's a cultural thing. There is so much crowding in those countries due to over population, that I just think they are used to this sort of situation and deem it acceptable.
However, in this country, which they have chosen to come to for various reasons, many of which have great merit and are legit, it is not acceptable behavior. Those of us who grew up here value our personal space and respect others.
So , if you don't, my advice..go back.
2 comments:
I agree with you on alot of points....
At High School (in the UK), my school was renowned for 'spot the white man'. A couple of years before I was enrolled there, there was an influx of Vietnamese boat people who were given both refuge and asylum in the UK. Powell, a former PM had passed a law in the 1960's to allow an influx of Pakistani and Indian intergration within the Manufacturing Industry to ensure that Labour Costs were kept to a minimum. I went to High School with the 1st Generation of these newcomers. Tennis Courts which were previously renowned for County Championship Matches were strewn with Temporary Classrooms for the teaching of the curriculum in Gujurati or Urdu. Over 28 years later the Country is now afflicted with Political Correctness and petitions to Parliament for Islamic Law..That said I moved away from the UK over 11 years ago. From the outside looking in.. its a mess, its an unsafe blot on the landscape to raise a family; finding myself in 2010 as a UK passport holder with less rights as a UK Citizen than Donald Trump had to his Property Assests when he divorced Ivana..
A friend of mine living in the UK recenty said that the Pakistan Nation had hung their heads in shame recently over the Cricket Team scandal, but due to the flooding an overwhelming majority had drowned whist doing this...
The reality is that each person is different, but ALL cultures differ. If one chooses to live in another country, then one should speak their language, both tongue and body, respect their laws...Afterall...in their own county the worst they can get for disrepcting their own laws is the removal of a hand...in public with a beying crowd...with a delighted beying crowd.. Their laws which are older than the Bible are the ones with which they cannot live with in their own country but demand this right to enforce the law upon Foreign Ground..because it is their 'Human Right' based on their beliefs, .. There is space enough for each and every one of us..if only we would look..
I think it is hilarious that he fell asleep on you. I'm mostly surprised thzt he did not end up sprawled askew on the floor.
Of course, we must be understanding and respectful of diversity especially with the overpopulation issues. Our parents raise us to be polite adults. But, that being said, I must also add that the reverse is true also. Be understanding and respectful of my feelings. My tolerance of your behavior is not a free pass to lay all over me.
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