Again with the Personal Space Issues, or, Cue that Police Song, or, It Must Be My Animal Magnetism
Setting: Panera Bread
Action: We wait in line to order our food.
Conflict: Lady stands so close behind me that I can smell her nasty cigarette breath (while staring straight ahead), and when she lifts her arm to touch her face, I can see her movement from its reflection in my glasses. There is a spacious lobby behind her. She is wearing a bulky yellow sweatshirt.
Setting: Bus stop on campus
Action: We are waiting for the bus; I am standing toward the edge of the sidewalk, knitting.
Conflict: Two skanks (well, okay, I'm assuming they're skanks, based on everything about them) flank me as if I were some kind of pole or tree, headed toward the bus stop sign, which is at least 10 feet behind me, carrying on a conversation about when the bus is supposed to come. When they started walking directly toward me and talking, I thought briefly that they were actually addressing me, but I've always had problems with delusions of grandeur.
And, for clarification, let me say that by "flanked me," I mean that they were close enough that had they each lifted their arms straight out to the side, they could have grasped each other's elbows and clotheslined me. My bemused wtf expression was lost on them.
Perhaps I'm becoming more sensitive to it, but it's hard to think of the last time I was in public and didn't feel like someone was cursing me for being in their way (which is the same thing as having had the nerve to get in line before they did) or completely ignoring my existence. I'm not saying that I want people to strike up conversations with me (please no) or that I want men to open the door for me (don't get me started on that), but acknowledging that others exist and have a right to about 3 feet of empty space around them seems like a basic adhesive of society.
I've bitched extensively in the past about the key of the interactions between strangers here. If you happen to catch someone's eye, then the protocol is to either glare or consider you with disdain before looking away. You, says everyone, are not fucking worthy.
Next time: I've finally figured out why the cell phones are so freaking obnoxious. (Hint: I don't exist!)
Action: We wait in line to order our food.
Conflict: Lady stands so close behind me that I can smell her nasty cigarette breath (while staring straight ahead), and when she lifts her arm to touch her face, I can see her movement from its reflection in my glasses. There is a spacious lobby behind her. She is wearing a bulky yellow sweatshirt.
Setting: Bus stop on campus
Action: We are waiting for the bus; I am standing toward the edge of the sidewalk, knitting.
Conflict: Two skanks (well, okay, I'm assuming they're skanks, based on everything about them) flank me as if I were some kind of pole or tree, headed toward the bus stop sign, which is at least 10 feet behind me, carrying on a conversation about when the bus is supposed to come. When they started walking directly toward me and talking, I thought briefly that they were actually addressing me, but I've always had problems with delusions of grandeur.
And, for clarification, let me say that by "flanked me," I mean that they were close enough that had they each lifted their arms straight out to the side, they could have grasped each other's elbows and clotheslined me. My bemused wtf expression was lost on them.
Perhaps I'm becoming more sensitive to it, but it's hard to think of the last time I was in public and didn't feel like someone was cursing me for being in their way (which is the same thing as having had the nerve to get in line before they did) or completely ignoring my existence. I'm not saying that I want people to strike up conversations with me (please no) or that I want men to open the door for me (don't get me started on that), but acknowledging that others exist and have a right to about 3 feet of empty space around them seems like a basic adhesive of society.
I've bitched extensively in the past about the key of the interactions between strangers here. If you happen to catch someone's eye, then the protocol is to either glare or consider you with disdain before looking away. You, says everyone, are not fucking worthy.
Next time: I've finally figured out why the cell phones are so freaking obnoxious. (Hint: I don't exist!)
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