Created: 18 Dec 2006
On the tube home this evening, a young guy was playing music, loudly, from his mobile phone. His phone was about as good as reproducing music as my AM radio with depleted batteries during a thunderstorm. This bothers me more than the lack of consideration for the dozen or so people in the carriage.
After a similar experience, I vowed that I would not tolerate this behaviour again, so I started to pluck up the courage to ask him to stop. Then I worked out that there were only a few minutes of journey time left and decided, on balance, it was not worth the slim risk of an altercation. At this point a smartly dressed young woman asked him to turn it down and he complied, wearing a big smirk on his face, as if he’d just been asked on a date.
An old truism about the English is that we don’t like confrontation. The example that I’ve heard given, is that if a couple were making love noisily on the train, there might some clearing of throats and a few raised newspapers, but nobody would ask them to stop. If they were to then light a post coital cigarette, the error of their ways would be explained immediately. Perhaps because there’s a sign that clearly says “No Smoking” in all carriages, but there isn’t one that says “No Shagging” or “No Being a Tosser With Your Mobile.”