City Etiquette

Living in a city is difficult. The more congested the city, the more difficult it is. That's why it's important to remember that what you do affects those around you. While I'm convinced that many of the problems are caused simply because people don't think, there remains a substantial body of discourteous behavior that stems from the all too common sense of entitlement that so many of are afflicted with.

I loathe entitlement. And I loathe people who act entitled.

Too strong? Perhaps. But I don't care. It's true. What's more, I take great pleasure in thwarting the machinations of the entitled who are seemingly always trying to get over on the less assertive.

Here's a classic example:

"Subway Sprawl"

There are "ass-contours", for lack of a better word, molded into the seats of subway trains. The idea is obviously one ass, one seat. No one likes to be squashed in by one's neighbors, so the entitled among us like to sprawl themselves casually over two or three seats, thus detering newcomers from sitting down. Common methods include "the leg spread", "the handbag on the seat", "the recliner", "the cheek straddler" and "the intimidating stare".

Oh, I could go on forever, but I won't. I'll elaborate more in future posts.