Cads on the subway

[Paisley]

"Are any of you gents smithies? Or are any of you otherwise trained in the metallurgic arts?"

- Ullyses Everett McGill [from O Brother Where Art Thou]

lol I love that movie!

 

[Miss Neecerie]

...Ah yes, Carlisle Blues, I would expect nothing less from you. Next I suppose you'll honor us with a photo of a man giving birth. "Vive La Difference".

Actually, how would you know what to expect from anyone here?

Accurately assessing such things takes a bit longer, then this meagre discussion has allowed.

It is -always- a good idea to get the lay of the land, so to speak, when joining a new group of folks, rather then jumping right in with the judging and being ever so slightly rude.

 

[reetpleat]

My fiancé is a firefighter - the test is standard for everyone, and if you can't do it, you're out.
I'm a pretty small person, and I know female soldiers much smaller than me that could throw their burly male counterparts across a parade square without breaking a sweat. Ladies do tend to be smaller than men naturally - but its not set in stone, no matter who you are. Neither does it mean that some tasks are better left to men...

Lest someone bring up woman police officers in this regard, it is worth noting that physical condition and strength are not the most important things in a police person's job. While important, of course.

Many police situations can be handled as well by a woman, and some situations are better served by a more "female" approach to the situation.

 

[reetpleat]

They have those here, too. They call them Stork Parking. And while I'm expecting our first little one early next year, I just can't see myself using them. I'm very able to walk from a normal parking spot and leave it for someone who truly cannot walk that far.

I wonder why they don't have overweight people parking spots too. if you are carrying around fifty extra pounds, does it matter if you are pregnant or just overweight? I suppose you could say that one has a moral superiority, but I don't see it that way.

Now don't get me started about people with babies in the car using the car pool lane.

 

[reetpleat]

I had always heard the sidewalk thing was to protect the ladies from bedroom pots being emptied out second story windows into the gutter below. I imagine such a custom might also have had much to do with the compulsory wearing of hats by gentlemen.

I have heard it used to be inside, then became outside as chamber pot hazzard gave way to carriage and car hazzard.

 

[Feraud]

I am not taking the contents of a chamber pot to the head for anyone. Symbolically or not..

 

[Paisley]

It is -always- a good idea to get the lay of the land, so to speak, when joining a new group of folks, rather then jumping right in with the judging and being ever so slightly rude.

I think this is especially true at the FL. While we all love the styles of the Golden Era, people here have a wide variety of lifestyles and observe different traditions (or not)--just like people from the Golden Era.

 

[Tomasso]

Actually, how would you know what to expect from anyone here?

Accurately assessing such things takes a bit longer, then this meagre discussion has allowed.

It is -always- a good idea to get the lay of the land, so to speak, when joining a new group of folks.......

There is the possibility that she has been monitoring FL and perusing the archives for some time before joining. Not an entirely uncommon occurrence.

......rather then jumping right in with the judging and being ever so slightly rude.

Agreed; I must have waited at least 100 posts.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

I find I get two reactions when offering my seat when I am traversing the London Underground; one is of gratitude the other is that I get the impression they are causing a bother by taking someone else's seat. I find the solution is just to get up.
Even today it's a shallow fellow who will race a lady to a seat.

Mrs. B says that she has seen some ladies wear special badges to inform fellow passengers that they are pregnant on the tube so that hopefully someone will offer them a seat.

The whole case is exemplified by the fact that my neighbour, when living in Greater London, had his leg in a cast for two weeks and used to commute on the Metropolitan Line everyday. It was about a 20 minute trip each way and ,of those two weeks, he got a seat on two occasions when travelling in. He resorted on sitting on the floor with his broken leg! :eusa_doh:

Slight side-topic.
I know a chap who was travelling one the East Coast of the US and was bemused by the reaction of pleasant astonishment he got when holding the door open for a lady and allowing her to exit before he entered.
Perhaps this is something I take for granted.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Actually, how would you know what to expect from anyone here?

Accurately assessing such things takes a bit longer, then this meagre discussion has allowed.

It is -always- a good idea to get the lay of the land, so to speak, when joining a new group of folks, rather then jumping right in with the judging and being ever so slightly rude.

What a wonderful way to say relax, have a cup of decaf...let some sun shine in and show some respect.

So true....it takes time. In my experience here I have found my fellow posters to be positive, thoughtful individuals who simply wish to share their experience, knowledge and perspectives.

Further, mere monitoring of the Fedora Lounge does not give one the advantage of enjoying and appreciating a fellow poster's style and true significance of the the post. However when, albeit rare, there is a blatant, unwarranted attack on a fellow poster's breeding(see OP). I ask myself, "What Would Cary Granite Do?" before responding.

 

[Elaina]

Whoa there Carlisle! You mention dirty words in there...Decaf!!

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Whoa there Carlisle! You mention dirty words in there...Decaf!!

For some, who will remain anonymous, it is medicinal..lol lol

 

[Elaina]

Ah. My doctor gripes at me about it too. I tell him I can only give up one vice at a time, and caffeine is not the vice for today. lol

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Ah. My doctor gripes at me about it too. I tell him I can only give up one vice at a time, and caffeine is not the vice for today. lol

I just had a cup of espresso...it is more about social grace and the "ill bred".

 

[Elaina]

Obviously I need more caffeine today, I should have picked up on that.:eusa_doh:

 

[NicknNora]

Any why is that?
Are all the well bred types taking the chauffeur driven limousines to work.

Other than the movies(which are make believe), what facts do you have that NYC subway riders in the past were any more polite or rude than today?

I always loved Popeye and I see I still do! :eusa_clap

 

[NicknNora]

I'd like to see, at least once in my life, a young and able-bodied woman give up her seat to a young but not so able-bodied (read: exhausted) man.

.

Hey Marc, I've actually done that before when the man had lots of packages. I will also give up my seat for the elderly, pregnant women, etc.

I think good manners should be practiced by everyone not just men. I hold the door for the person behind me whether it's a man or a woman. I also think that if good manners in others is important to you that you must first develop your own and not be so haughty as to demand that others treat you as something special when you aren't willing to offer the same courtesies to them..

 

[NicknNora]

I don't know what upper body strength has to do with riding a train, unless you are hauling yourself into a boxcar or helping your fellow hobos to do so.

lol lol lol

 

[Mrs Bentley]

I think good manners should be practiced by everyone not just men. I hold the door for the person behind me whether it's a man or a woman. I also think that if good manners in others is important to you that you must first develop your own and not be so haughty as to demand that others treat you as something special when you aren't willing to offer the same courtesies to them..

I definitely agree with this. I'm lucky in that my London Underground journey is only two lines and only a couple of stops on each, so I often stand all the time anyway, as I'm quite able to. I have had seats offered to me by gentlemen, though, and I always get the feeling that those occasions brighten the days of both parties; they all result in shared smiles, which are a breath of fresh air on the the Tube.

Mrs. B says that she has seen some ladies wear special badges to inform fellow passengers that they are pregnant on the tube so that hopefully someone will offer them a seat.

I have, indeed. I think they're a good idea, since some men I have spoken to seem to be scared of offering a seat in fear of accidentally (wrongly) assuming that a lady is pregnant and being reprimanded as a result (as if that's the only acceptable reason to offer a seat!).

 

[C-dot]

Other than the movies(which are make believe), what facts do you have that NYC subway riders in the past were any more polite or rude than today?

I think I know what klind65 is trying to say:

People who ride the subway are not generally ill-bred, but public transportation is just that - public. When something is accessible to everyone, you get all types of people, and that includes the dregs of humanity.

Consider retail clientele. When working at a grocery store, I served everyone from upper class twits to homeless drunkards - but if I worked at Cartier, my range of customers would be drastically narrowed!

And lets face it - we've all come across weirdos on public transportation!