Tuesday, May 27, 2014

How Apathetic Are We

Today I was witness to an argument on the bus. Heck, I was sitting NEXT to one of the guys in fact. And yet I minded my own business no matter how heated the argument got, and played with my phone all the while listening to the back and forth.

It was a full double decker bus at rush hour heading out of the city. A local middle-aged woman was crunching on some chips pretty inconsiderately IMHO. The caucasian man beside me grew restless and told her to stop eating or to get off the bus. It didn't sound rude, but she wasn't going to have any of that and immediately launched into a defensive tirade.

Something about her having gastric so she has to eat. The guy argues back saying she should then get off and eat first. Her crunching of chips was disturbing the calm of the upper deck. Back and forth and no one else stepped in until another caucasian got involved. To my disappointment, it was to defend the old lady.

You should be in a taxi if you can't bear this type of noise on a public bus he said. Hmm. You're not supposed to eat on the bus, came the retort. Back and forth and back and forth.

Finally, the man who started the argument in the first place gave up and decided it wasn't worth quarreling with two vehement haters, one protecting another.

All the whole I sat silently along with the rest of the full bus. I guess everyone was having thoughts related to what just happened. I felt that the guy was right in asking the old lady not to eat so loudly on the bus. Yet my instincts told me to mind my own business. I have enough stuff to deal with in my life than to get involved in a stranger's conflict that I knew nothing of the consequences.

Was I apathetic? I guess I was running an endless myriad of responses in my head in case something happened where a response from me was required, but ultimately none was called upon.

Feeling blah.

Haiz.

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