Top 5 Annoyances on the Metro (or subway, or Tube, or whatever)
OK, so as long as I've been riding some sort of subway system on a regular basis (the past 3 years I've lived in DC), I've been compiling a list in my head of all the things that many people do to annoy the living hell out of everyone else while riding the Metro. I was once again reminded of this as I was commuting in today, and now that I have this wonderfully cathartic way to spill out these annoyances, I'm going to share them with you (don't you feel lucky?):
- Tourists. Yes, I know DC is a tourist destination and they are an unfortunate inevitability; however, that doesn't make them any less annoying. You're probably thinking how horrible I am right now, that these poor people just don't know any better; but you can't be possibly thinking that when you're stuck in a train full of loud, obnoxious tourists in matching "Kapowski Family Reunion '07" t-shirts yelling across the car at each other at every station "Is this where we get off?". C'mon, you know I'm right...don't deny your true feelings.
- Standing on the left instead of the right. This goes back to something tourists do because they don't know the sacred escalator rule; but there are residents who do this too. You know who you are. People are trying to get to their bus/shuttle/train/office - that's how this rule came to be. Just move, for crying out loud. And for all you tourists, there's a saying that goes "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." It's not hard to look at what everyone else is doing and do the same. Ignorance is no longer an excuse.
- Blocking the train doors. They are not like elevator doors. Just because you stick your arm, or leg, or torso, or child in between the doors does not mean they will automatically open. Those things will clamp down on you like a shark's jaws on...well anything, really. Plus, if you try to push them open, you can actually break them. And then the train is put out of commission, and everyone has to get off, which causes delays to the trains behind, which pisses people off...the chain reaction continues. You don't want to be the person who caused all of that, do you?
- Blocking people from getting on/off. This is where people and/or things are situated in front of the door in such a way as to practically prevent people from getting on or off the train. This is what I experienced this morning. Now, what was blocking the door was a wheelchair - an empty one. Stay with me here...I have nothing against disabled individuals, and they have the same rights as everyone else to ride the Metro; however, just because you're in a wheelchair does not mean you can leave it sitting empty in the middle of the doorway on a crowded train. The owner of said wheelchair was sitting in a seat next to it. Meanwhile, people were having a hell of a time (me included) trying to step around that wheelchair to get in and out of the train. It was, quite simply, a hazard at that point. The person could've sat in the chair and maneuvered it around when people needed to get in and out. Instead, he sat there reading his paper and glancing over at his wheelchair every now and then when people started having trouble. That's just rude.
- Leaning against the vertical rail. Speaking of rude, I can't stand when people lean their entire bodies against the vertical rail and block others from hanging on to it. It's one thing if you're the only one standing and no one else needs to use it; but when rails to hang on to start to become a valuable commodity to the increasing throngs of riders that are getting on, GET OFF OF THE RAIL. I'm short - I don't want to stand on my tiptoes to try and reach the overhead rail. You're not the only one on the train.
So, if you find any of this offensive, then you're probably the one causing the trouble. Either that or you just don't want to admit I'm right.
I feel so much better now.
[where: 20006]
