Don’t use your Black Friday manners all year round

Maybe I am writing this because I am in a bad mood. Maybe the best time to write a column is when you are experiencing one extreme emotion over another.

I am at an airport right now. Strangely, it’s not the flight that has me grumpy. It’s the inconsideration of people all around me. Maybe it’s because I am in Toronto and people here, well, think they own Canada.

It isn’t about someone saying “excuse me” or anything like that. I am talking about people’s blatant disregard for the others around them.

Undoubtedly you have had a door in the face because the person going through before you didn’t hold it open when you thought they would. That one is common. (I also feel bad for the people who generously hold the door for one person and end up waiting for a parade of walkers to go through.)

At an airport — much like on a subway or a bus — people are transporting things that they feel are more a priority for a seat than you. It is not uncommon to see someone with a bag, be it a purse or shopping bag or carry-on luggage, taking up a seat while others stand and aren’t afforded the same comfort.

How do you look at someone standing and not consider moving your belongings to your lap or the floor so another human being can have a seat?

I am ballsy enough to ask them to move their crap so I can sit. But when did your coffee cup balancing on a slanted chair become more important than a person?

As for getting through a crowd, people are quite handsy (or shoulder-y) nowadays. It’s forceful and aggressive. Then again I think to how people conduct themselves in those Black Friday riot videos so I shouldn’t be shocked by how people act.

I get that you might be in danger of missing your flight so you have to run to the gate but there is no reason to lose control of your motor skills and shoulder check — almost body check — me to get by.

Maybe it is because I am in a bad mood or perhaps I am concerned people aren’t thinking of others as the holidays approach, so take this as a friendly reminder to mind your manners when you are out and about.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I accept that my given data and my IP address is sent to a server in the USA only for the purpose of spam prevention through the Akismet program.More information on Akismet and GDPR.