Quote:
Originally Posted by Blue Tyson
Interesting, people in the Northern Hemisphere seem to complain about this a lot. Are public transport users ruder there or something?
I've never had this happen to me.
My response to comments like that from people certainly would not be polite!
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WARNING: Gross simplification follows.
I wouldn't say people in the US are ruder, but there is a tendency to let things "all hang out." I've seen people go up to smokers and lecture them on the evils of smoking. On the subway you'll hear commentary on how the train operator is driving the car, how hot it is, and all about the speaker's last colonoscopy or last night's one-night stand.
I've noticed in the EU, there is far less conversation between strangers in public, and even among acquaintances you won't hear people discussing personal topics.
I used to joke that if a train stalls between stations in NYC, riders will elect a representative to go to the driver's car and find out what's going on, then come back and give us a report. If a train stalls in the UK, there will be dead silence as everyone tries to avoid eye contact with each other.
