A fellow commuter who was equally as unimpressed with her decided to voice his opinion and called her a fool. She then turned around and told him that if he didn't shut up, she would punch him in his mouth. He challenged her to try and was cut off mid response as her little fist made it's way to his lips. Bruce Lee grabbed her fist and twisted her arm round, shoving her so hard into the door that it actually opened. For obvious reasons, she wasn't too grateful for this despite the fact that she was now able to alight at the exact spot that she had just tried to get out at. As she turned around to fight back (managing to grab his hat only), he pushed her off the bus shouting 'I thought you wanted to get off'. The bus driver eventually figured out something was going on and went to the doors as she was already walking off after throwing Jean Claude van Damme's winter hat through the closing doors of the bus. When he found out what had happened, he shook his head at the departing girl only.
As annoying as this girl was, I didn't condone the use of violence to get rid of her (and with so many witnesses!). He completely ruined the point he had been trying to make by causing the matter to escalate to such levels. She already looked like an idiot since she hadn't been able to get off the bus anyway. Although she threatened him and threw the first 'punch', she was clearly in high school and this man must have been in his late 40s. It will never look right to put your hands on someone who is clearly unfairly matched for a fight, even when they go looking for it. It was so awkward afterwards (especially as the bus drove past her) that I was almost tempted to use the emergency release button just so I could get off the bus sooner.
Some people who know me would probably accuse me of having bad manners. I wholeheartedly disagree. I have great manners but I am selective about when and where I employ them. One of the things that really does stay with me is to respect your elders. Even at this age, I can't imagine responding to an elder (or anyone of any age for that matter) in the way that girl did. But then I am very English in the sense that if I had been closer to her, I probably would have apologised on the door's behalf for it not opening. In a land where people apologise for other people's actions (I lose count of how many times I've said sorry for allowing my foot to get underneath someone else's shoe), it always shocks me when an altercation occurs. I don't know why, because I seem to witness them on a weekly basis but I have noticed that these incidents always involve public transport and the town of Croydon.
People always say that good manners cost nothing. But I find they can be pretty expensive, particularly when in a restaurant. For example, good manners would dictate that you tip the wait staff even though they left you without food or a beverage for the better part of an hour. And then gave you the bill when you didn't ask for it, letting you know that although your tip is welcome, your presence no longer is. Or when you go for a group meal and people insist on splitting the bill equally (even though not one drop from the four bottles of wine crossed your lips) so somehow you are left paying £25 for a salad. Because the alternative is to be the ONE person who pays for exactly what they ate whilst the other 7 split the rest of the bill like actual reasonable human beings.
When I was thinking about what the call this blog post, I considered the title 'Excuse my French' but then realised just how rude that phrase is to French people. Unless, of course, you are actually referring to your grasp of the French language. It got me to thinking that there are so many things that we see and do on a daily basis that would be considered bad manners, but we just seem to accept.
Every morning on my journey into work, I find myself being pushed back onto the train when trying to get off, by impatient people on the platform who decide not to wait for the train to clear. They get so worried that the train will pull off without them (and apparently with most people still stuck in between doors since they didn't get to disembark properly) that they create a situation where no one is quite on or off the train, simultaneously causing a delay that they were trying to avoid.
I have had many conversations with the scalp of a companion as they choose to use their phone to text or check Facebook/Instagram/Twitter instead of talking/listening to their company. In fact, I am only really sure that they know am I present when I get a notification letting me know that I was checked in on Facebook.
I am guilty of this one myself, but honking the horn at the car in front that didn't move within one second of the light turning green. Even though I get agitated when someone does it to me. I also get so angry if I don't get thanked for giving way to another car, that I usually don't do it again for at least another year in protest. Usually bombing it down the road so fast (to avoid having to be the car that stops) that I often don't have the time to thank the driver who gave way to me.
I have been noticing fewer offers of seats to pregnant women, disabled individuals or the elderly. I am clearly not the only one, as other people have taken to asking commuters to give up their seats for someone else falling within the aforementioned categories. This is usually met with a sigh, reluctance and movement so slow that the individual is so obviously hoping that we will reach the next stop by the time they pack up and their coveted seat may no longer require the sacrifice.
I'm not sure what happened to people or when, but we seem to be losing our civility. I have stopped thinking twice about the homeless man I step over on my way into the shops to buy myself more crap. And if a stranger is polite to me, I either assume they're chatting me up or trying to lull me into a false sense of security before they rob me. Maybe we should all start to take more care to mind our manners from now on...If only to avoid a beating from a complete stranger.