What do you consider a punch-able offense?

sciencegeek said:
Threatening people's lives on a train, bus or subway car.
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acdevil said:
Talking on speakerphone in public
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It was ironic to me that these were back to back. Because people speaking on speakerphone in public, particularly on a train, bus or subway car, makes me come pretty close to threatening them. Huge pet peeve. I live in NYC and take the subway daily. I have considered buying a few extra sets of headphones to hand out to people who insist on listening to the music on their phones loudly, or who talk on speakerphone.

I also can't stand those who walk on a sidewalk very slowly (or worse yet weave on a sidewalk) with their head buried in their phone. Or do the same while going up the stairs out of a subway station and holding up dozens of people behind them. I guess this is the urban version of people looking at their phones while driving, but is generally less dangerous. Also people who block a whole sidewalk with their dog's leashes (I generally like dogs).

Completely unrelated but just saw it a few times - I hate "vague posters" - those who post things like "boy, was today quite the day" or "I can't believe what just happened" on social media to fish for a response. Just say what happened.

I am in general a neurotic, obsessive rule follower so my list is quite long...
 
CrazyNotCrazie said:
It was ironic to me that these were back to back. Because people speaking on speakerphone in public, particularly on a train, bus or subway car, makes me come pretty close to threatening them. Huge pet peeve. I live in NYC and take the subway daily. I have considered buying a few extra sets of headphones to hand out to people who insist on listening to the music on their phones loudly, or who talk on speakerphone.

I also can't stand those who walk on a sidewalk very slowly (or worse yet weave on a sidewalk) with their head buried in their phone. Or do the same while going up the stairs out of a subway station and holding up dozens of people behind them. I guess this is the urban version of people looking at their phones while driving, but is generally less dangerous. Also people who block a whole sidewalk with their dog's leashes (I generally like dogs).

Completely unrelated but just saw it a few times - I hate "vague posters" - those who post things like "boy, was today quite the day" or "I can't believe what just happened" on social media to fish for a response. Just say what happened.

I am in general a neurotic, obsessive rule follower so my list is quite long...
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I was in NYC recently and had to negotiate the subways. I have some physical issues that make stairs very difficult for me, especially ascending. Some of these subways have a lot of stairs! And most do not have elevators. I can manage them but I have to go slow. I was not on my phone, but I still suffered from obvious frustration from commuters around me, which was stressful for me, and I suppose for them. Just doing the best I could. Thankfully nobody punched me.
 
FosterCoachK82 said:
I was in NYC recently and had to negotiate the subways. I have some physical issues that make stairs very difficult for me, especially ascending. Some of these subways have a lot of stairs! And most do not have elevators. I can manage them but I have to go slow. I was not on my phone, but I still suffered from obvious frustration from commuters around me, which was stressful for me, and I suppose for them. Just doing the best I could. Thankfully nobody punched me.
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Sorry you had that bad experience. Most New Yorkers can differentiate between those who are doing their best but their best is moving slowly, vs. those who are moving slowly because they are being selfish and can't wait 30 seconds to check their phones. We tend to be a lot more patient towards the former group than the latter. There are many jerks here but there are many nice folks too - on a daily basis I see New Yorkers on the subway helping tourists with directions, giving up their seats for those who need them more, etc. On my commute today, despite wanting to sit down, I let an older woman with a cane take an available seat even though I got there first. Others were offering to get up for her (I did not need to take a seat from someone who was already sitting).

That being said, I have had some foot injuries that slowed me down, and I have also traveled at busy times with slow moving little kids. If things are really crowded, I would often hold back a bit so those who are really in a rush (whether their reason for being in a rush is legit or just their own inflated sense of self-importance) can get ahead without me slowing them down. I will only wait so long as I am not going to sit there for hours, but I try.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my fine city. It has its pros and cons, but I like to think the pros outweigh the cons.
 
CrazyNotCrazie said:
Sorry you had that bad experience. Most New Yorkers can differentiate between those who are doing their best but their best is moving slowly, vs. those who are moving slowly because they are being selfish and can't wait 30 seconds to check their phones. We tend to be a lot more patient towards the former group than the latter. There are many jerks here but there are many nice folks too - on a daily basis I see New Yorkers on the subway helping tourists with directions, giving up their seats for those who need them more, etc. On my commute today, despite wanting to sit down, I let an older woman with a cane take an available seat even though I got there first. Others were offering to get up for her (I did not need to take a seat from someone who was already sitting).

That being said, I have had some foot injuries that slowed me down, and I have also traveled at busy times with slow moving little kids. If things are really crowded, I would often hold back a bit so those who are really in a rush (whether their reason for being in a rush is legit or just their own inflated sense of self-importance) can get ahead without me slowing them down. I will only wait so long as I am not going to sit there for hours, but I try.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my fine city. It has its pros and cons, but I like to think the pros outweigh the cons.
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I like NYC a lot, and yes, you do see many people behaving kindly. I can understand people’s frustration with being slowed down. A few years ago I would have felt the same. Probably karma coming back to bite me.
 
Phredd3 said:
Just a gentle correction: "Kid with special needs." The kid comes first. It is the special needs that are secondary.
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I didn’t know this until my wife worked as a development director at a non-profit school for children with autism. I wouldn’t have thought twice until hearing what it meant to parents.
 
But just to bring this back around to the thread topic, yes, pointing at someone for the purpose of emphasizing a difference over which that person has no control is one of two very different things, depending on context:

1. An educational opportunity, or
2. A punchable offense.

I suppose when you think about it, item 2 is really just a subset of item 1, with an emphasis on instructional methods.
 
Phredd3 said:
But just to bring this back around to the thread topic, yes, pointing at someone for the purpose of emphasizing a difference over which that person has no control is one of two very different things, depending on context:

1. An educational opportunity, or
2. A punchable offense.

I suppose when you think about it, item 2 is really just a subset of item 1, with an emphasis on instructional methods.
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I like to think that I was nicer, kinder and more open-minded than most kids of my generation (late 40s). My parents made sure that I was surrounded by an incredibly diverse group of people by all definitions and appreciated this diversity. I always won the mensch awards for nice kid who treated others well.

That being said, looking back on the things we said and did to people who were in any way "different" is pretty horrifying. I definitely was not the ring-leader and I occasionally stood up for others, but I was far from innocent. We still have a really long way to go but I am glad that people today (at least those who I surround myself with) are in general much more sensitive and accepting, and my kids definitely are. There are still way too many exceptions to that rule (trying really hard not to get political), but we are doing better.

As a parent I struggle constantly with wanting my kids to be kind and accepting towards everyone, yet understanding that it is human nature to gravitate towards those you have more in common with. I usually fall back on that they have to be nice to everyone but don't have to be best friends with everyone. But it is really tough.
 
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