Heya all,
As some of you may know, currently each Friday night I have class at university until 9pm… I have to say it is the worst possible time of the week to have a class… This week I was feeling quite under the weather, so I decided to skip the tutorial and head straight home. As I was waiting at the bus stop I ran into a woman that uses the same bus line as me. I have seen her many times over the last 4 or 5 odd years, however have never said hello.
However while we were both waiting at the bus stop she recognised me and we introduced ourselves and started chatting. One of the main topics we were discussing was how society nowadays is so up tight and on edge, that if you were to say hello to someone on the street, they will generally give you a really strange look.
I like to think that I am a pretty social person, however in recent times I have stopped saying hello to people on the street, or a good morning… as the looks people were giving me were… well, how to say, weird lol. 
As I was chatting with my new found friend she was describing to me that she had just been on a 2 week course, which, as part of the course, was to learn to trust the people around you… She was describing that even in the safe environment they were all in it still took 10 days before they started to let their guards down and get to know eachother. I hate to say it but this seems to be reflected throughout society these days.
So I put out the question to you. Why do you think that this is the case and what do you think that we can do about it? I would love to hear your thoughts, as I would love to know how I can get around this and acknowledge people on the street without them thinking that I want something from them.
Stuart
4 Comments
Interesting post. When I first met my husband and we would go into Atlanta to see a Braves game he always told me not to make eye contact. There are so many gangs around. I noticed when riding the city buses or trains that no one looks at the others. They seem to be in their own world. Some of it is from being afraid I think and not wanting to get involved with weirdos. Sad but true. I was very surprised over there when a young man gave me his seat on a crowded bus.
Heya Dot,
It seems to be happening more and more around the world that I can see. I agree with you that it is very sad. And on the topic of giving up bus seats that is something that rarely happens these days too. I always try to where I can… as for others, much less likely.
Stuart
It’s an interesting topic. I think it really depends on where you are though. For example, in my town Lake O, people say hello when they pass on the street (mostly), but if I go to Portland, which is ten miles north and a lot bigger city, people don’t even look at you when they pass.
Perhaps it has to do with the size of the community and how safe people feel in being social.
~Oswegan
whenever I visit your site I get a message about some fault - something about “Volusion script” - if it isn’t essential I’d get rid of it altogether.