You don't think it's rude to pick your nose in public? Heavens. You'd fit right in in most countries in Africa, where it's considered on a level with scratching your head. The men of the Kalanga tribe in Zimbabwe and Botswana grow the nail of the little finger of one hand long, the better to pick with.
Of course I agree about stripped to the waist. It is there to distinguish between discreet and exhibitionist public nursing.
People who talk loudly so I can't read in a waiting room drive me crazy. And when I go to have my car serviced, there is a small waiting room in which there is a large TV set; if I have a chance, I pull the plug out of the wall....
No, the boomboxes are not loud enough to injure hearing in either case. My feeling is that these families enjoy their loud music in the public park, and although I don't like it much, they've got a right to be festive, etc., so I wouldn't think of complaining. But we live on the side of a mountain, a small one, at the top of which, after a 45 minute climb, we used to have lunch and read poetry while enjoying a spectacular view. The last two times we climbed the mountain, there were teenagers there playing their music. I wanted to push them off the edge onto the rocks below.
I agree with you about the other things, too; but it's interesting to think about how recently ago it was considered scandalous for a woman to wear pants or smoke or appear pregnant in the work place. Many restaurants excluded anyone in a wheelchair. I have a friend who just a few years ago was told it depressed the other diners to see a wheelchair. And in the past, I have had many people look at me as though I had done something offensive when I was asked my religion and I replied I was an atheist.
Plus ca change, plus ce n'est pas la meme chose. |
