Escalator ettiquette

Doesn't exist!  As I have said before on this blog, I would like us all to be more considerate. In fact I started this blog because I witness so many incidents of bad manners, inconsiderate behaviour, selfishness, rudeness (so many adjectives and so little time) that I had to write them down so that I could vent and try to understand why and how the bad behaviour of others builds up a deep and overwhelming resentment in me. And it's not just me, nearly every commuter I speak to has similar stories and is just as cranky. A bad combination then. Lots of people who have many resentments sitting, squashed up together on hot, dirty, slow transport.

Today was a good example except that we hadn't even got down to the platform yet. 5 pm, 33 degrees, humidity in the eighties and three people are standing, chatting on the escalator down into Wynyard station. For the uninitiated this escalator is taking us down about two levels, it feels like it's 1/2 a kilometre long, it's made of wood and steel and travels slower than the walking pace of a 95 year old emphysemic on a walking frame and with only 1/2 a lung.

These three are tourists and they are blocking the escalators by standing in a huddle no doubt all engrossed in their little chat about what a nice time they had that day walking around the Harbour City and I'm sure that the first 10 times they were asked to move over it was done in a polite fashion, there was a problem in that none of them spoke or read English (or that's what appeared to be the case) so politely asking them to move aside was fruitless. As more and more of us piled up behind them and as more and more of us became panicky and aware of time moving faster than the escalator, and today would be the only day in the history of city snail that the train came on time, some of the crowd became quite vocal in their displeasure.

The people at the back couldn't see what the hold up was and were yelling obscenities and pushing toward the blockage while those of us in the middle were in danger of being crushed or falling under the feet of those in front as the pushers were stymied by the limited space in which to push through.

In all I guess it takes 1 minute to travel down if you stand still and perhaps 30 seconds at a fast walk but I sympathize with the people trying to go home. They aren't on holidays, they have been at work all day, they probably have to pick up kids, cook dinner and do all the things that us lemmings have to do. Peak hour is stressful, there are 1000's of people exiting the city between 4.30 & 5 pm each weekday and most of them were on that escalator. A lot are on a tight schedule, you can't factor in a hiccup like a leisurely tourist intent on keeping his spot regardless of how much he is pissing off people who just want to get home.

There are signs asking people to keep left every where. If you stand on escalators in any country in the world you will always find a sign asking you to be considerate of those who choose to walk or run and stand to one side. I can only surmise that these three gentlemen were antagonizing commuters intentionally because there was no doubt whatsoever that they were being asked/told to move over. The people trying to get them to move were also using gestures. ( not the rude type either) To make matters worse there was a humid blast of air coming up from below giving promise of worse heat at the bottom. Finally, a man of the same ethnic origins as these three idiots yelled at them in their language and they begrudgingly moved. But they were at the bottom anyway. They then stood to the side grinning at us all as we ran for our trains.

No doubt Sydney will get a roasting by these three when they get back home to their city. How rude we are, racist, intolerant blah blah.

It did seem to me that this was deliberate. Perhaps they were Spoiling for a fight? Trying to slow the world down? Doing a mob study for university? I'm not sure, I was expecting someone to have a go at them as we all spilled off and into the station entrance but everyone was in too much of a hurry.

I reckon this time they were lucky. I'm always of the opinion that if you poke a hornet’s nest with a stick you are going to get badly stung, good thing for them that the people they were antagonizing didn't swarm and beat them into unconsciousness with their own severed limbs. I’d have paid good money to see that!!!!