I think you make good points in general, but wouldn’t that sort of behavior just make it stronger? Isn’t it a pernicious myth, directed at those who receive anal sex, that they will end up with such problems?
Good point. I know two people who have been picked from their backpacks, and stopped one from happening on an escalator. Woman had no idea this dude was right behind her and unzipping her pack.
Vinyl, I think I love you.
Okay, seriously, the MBTA is not stupid. Boston had the first mass transit system in the US, so suck on that. Oh, and our homeless people don’t shit on the escalators and our sidewalks aren’t plastered in bird shit.
I don’t know, I’ve seen some pretty freaky pictures out there…
20 years, man. Any day now I will become the crazy lady on the T.
I don’t make a habit of farting in public (lest a stupid nitwit like you think otherwise). But I have accidentally had gas escape from my ass before. Even if I’m the only person in the world this has ever happened to, it is rude for YOU to call me rude over something I didn’t intend to do, that is relatively harmless, and that I already felt irrational embarrassed/shame over.
It’s been a few years now, but I used to ride the Tube in London daily on my way to work. And I did feel that it was full of inconsiderate fuckers who failed to understand that I am the most important person on this metropolitan railway system.
As examples:
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Londoners seem quite considerate about farting, because I never noticed this as a problem. I suppose they saw me coming and thought “Wow! It’s Paul! I’d better not fart!” I left a trail of people doubled up with intestinal pain but hey, at least I didn’t have to smell something mildly unpleasant for a few moments. To be fair, the deep level lines on the Tube smell like ass anyway.
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Some of them had children, and, as opposed to placing said children in a handy safe deposit box before entering the transit area, had the temerity to take their kids with them! Now, I know they really didn’t need to have those kids on my train at rush hour, because I could read their minds, so what were they playing at? I mean, any old idiot who’s never tried it can carry two writhing toddlers, a bag full of diapers and a folded-up stroller onto a subway train while surrounded by self-entitled commuters who think the entire system exists for their benefit and theirs alone.
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and 7) Bad food, farts, tobacco. Jesus fuck! Don’t you live in a city? Do you walk down the streets of Boston (is it?) thinking “Mmm, I love the smell of diesel fumesl! At least I’m not in the subway where I might have to smell a Big Mac!”
The babies are a very small part of the overall size of an SUV stroller. It appears that women use them so that they have someplace to put their coffee, purses, purchases, coats and kitchen sinks. People who use them in crowded situations are just rude.
The OP is not yelling at people on the T (do people really use “MBTA” now? Huh.); s/he is coming here to rant off steam about (for the most part) frankly inconsiderate people.
If s/he were rushing up to people screaming “Stop farting! Stop farting”, I would agree that is unreasonable. But I still remember that person in the pink coat that would get on at Fields Corner and empty out half the car, even at rush hour, and that was about a quarter of a century ago. A bit of personal cleanliness is not a bad thing.
My word, I got old.
This is another thing I’ve learned on the Dope - US Americans are (by-and-large) quite uptight about farting (I was going to say “anal” about it, but decided that fruit was hanging too low). You have to go into another room to fart, you can’t fart around other people, you can’t fart anywhere in public - I’d explode if I lived in the US!
So where should they place their babies and purchases?
When I was in London, I found I could normally fit most of my purchases up my ass, but sadly it was just too much of a squeeze to insert the baby there as well. Hence the stroller.
Allowing people to pay cash **on **the subway is, indeed, stupid. Is that actually how things work in Boston?
I’m amazed that no one has mentioned my two pet peeves:
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blocking the doors so passengers can’t get on or off the train quickly because the jerks are standing in the doorway
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passengers on the platform will rush onto the train before letting passengers disembark
I use the MBTA and I agree with most of the OP’s points. And yes, at above ground stops, if you’re paying in cash you should be the last person to board. You’re holding everyone up - why is it so hard to understand?
Babies must be really big in London. Here they fit just fine up the ass, nestled next to the groceries.
It’s called having consideration. If you are going to have so much stuff that it requires the use of a four wheel vehicle that is four or more feet wide and tall, you should go the next step and use a car, not public transportation. Then you can use an umbrella stroller for the baby.
I found that their shoulders were too wide. Otherwise, no problem - a week’s worth of groceries, a coffee and a load of babygrows could easily fit up there, but two very small toddlers? That caused a problem.
In Boston it’s only on above ground stops on the Green Line (oldest ‘subway’ in America). Because the stops are above ground, and are literally on street corners, the MBTA has decided to accept cash as buying a ticket isn’t always convenient. Building full blown stations with turnstiles just isn’t practical in these areas. Thank God this is only on the Green Line and not until you get out of Boston proper.
Oh wait, I remember your schtick now. Took me a few moments.
Like I am the only one in this thread to have complained about rude parents and SUV strollers? Nice try on finding an excuse for being inconsiderate.