OneVoice - April 28, 2008
April 28th, 2008 | by Tom |Earlier this week, I got caught between a pair of closing subway car doors. The doors immediately re-opened, so it wasn’t having the doors closed on me that was such a big issue. It was the reason why I got caught between the doors that ticked me off.The people who ride New York City’s L subway line between Union Square and Sixth Avenue have to be among the most inconsiderate in my little slice of the world. Now, when you ride the NYC subways virtually every workday, you will encounter all kinds of inconsiderate behavior - not making seats available for the elderly or for pregnant women, standing in the doorways on both sides of the car doors so that folks can neither exit nor enter the train easily, abusive language, physical violence. I once watched someone standing outside of the train reach inside the train like he was going to tap a friend on the shoulder, and instead grabbed onto one of the crossbars, and pulled himself onto the train, literally forcing people to move without so much as an “excuse me”.
The L train riders take inconsiderate to a whole new level. At Union Square, dozens of people exit the train from the door through which I want to enter. The last half dozen heading for the door appear to be wanting to exit the train, and instead they stop at the door’s threshold, positioning themselves as close to the door as possible so that they can be the first off the train at the next stop. Not only do those of us trying to enter the train extend the courtesy of waiting to board thinking these people are actually exiting, we are also then forced to push our way through these people to get onto the train before the doors close. This is exactly what I faced the other day when I wound up caught between the closing doors.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination when it comes to being considerate. I’m sure my computer bag takes up more space than necessary, and I’m the most impatient person when it comes to making sure I don’t miss my train home at night (if you don’t believe me, ask the person who stopped at the bottom of the stairs at Grand Central Wednesday night and blocked the path for everyone trying to get up the stairs.). At the same time, I know it takes very little effort to hold the door for someone, or make room for someone else to get on the train, or get the hell out of the way so that someone can get on or off the subway.
Perhaps they just all need a reminder of what being considerate means - either that, or I need to carry a big stick with me that I can use to push people out of my way. It wouldn’t be very considerate, but it would be effective.
Tags: OneVoice
