This is the rant of an old man, I know this, but I can’t let it go. I feel very strongly about this. Why is everyone so bloody grumpy and anti-social on the bus in Dublin?
Every morning hundreds of thousands of grumpy, moody, little worker ants head to work, college or wherever they’re going and speak to nobody. They just sit there or stand there with there headphones in and ignore all outside influences. I have never known such an anti-social or introverted group of people in my life.
When did the Irish become so anti-social? Are we not the nation that others look to for the “craic” and social events? Did we not win over the planet with niceness? What the hell happened?
Should we look to how we spend our time these days? We go to work/college and then go home. Many of us will be too tired to do anything social in the evenings due the pressure today to perform at work and keep our jobs.
A lot of people will just sit at home and watch TV or play video games. I am one of these people. I love watching TV and playing video games.
However, contrary to popular belief, these activities are not exclusively anti-social. Yes you can play games on your own or online (which, I feel, is still kind of on your own) or you can have a few mates around and play them together. This is far more enjoyable, in my opinion. Mainly because it adds a new type of competition to the activity as well as a form of camaraderie if you are trying to achieve the same goals.
This is not a piece about gaming though, that will come soon. This is a piece about a distinct lack of social etiquette in society today.
Even on a night out these days it’s sometimes hard to spark up a conversation with strangers. People are wary of one another and seem to think that everyone is a threat. If you try to talk to a stranger you get looked at like you’re a freak… Well I do anyway…
Why do we just sit there on the bus or the LUAS and ignore one another? Why not have a chat to pass the time before we get to work?
Honestly, if I hadn’t spoken to strangers I would never have met some of my best friends. I also would never have had my jaw broken, but you take the good with the bad.
Talking to strangers is not a dangerous activity, especially on the bus. It’s just a chat. Make small-talk. Seriously.
I’ve been trying to have a conversation every morning on the 13 bus from my apartment for the past two weeks and not one person had reciprocated. They look at me like I’m some kind of leper or freak. I’ll admit it’s not the social norm and I probably do look like a weirdo trying to steal their brainwaves to communicate with the lizard people who live under the city, but why is that?
Is it so bad to try and have a fecking conversation in the morning? I don’t want to steal your phone, I don’t want to get off with you, I don’t want to start a fight, I don’t want to or mean to hassle you, and I certainly don’t want to steal your brainwaves to speak with my lizardy friends (mine work fine, thanks). I just want some social activity. A chat. Small-talk. A conversation.
I don’t care if its about Xfactor, football, bra sizes, or the recent referendum relating to the Seanad and how the Government were upset with the public’s decision and are telling us (yet again) to “try one more time, and get it right this time”. We did get it right! We voted! Get on with it!
I don’t care what the talk is about just talk to me, or the person next to you. At the very least say good morning.
Don’t be so fecking rude people. It’s not nice.