Thursday, July 16, 2009

Observation: Holding the Door

I am 20 feet behind the girl. She is walking through the door. She makes no effort to hold the door. She lets it fall back, leaves it for me to push.

It is something that I do very intentionally, every time I walk through a door. I am trying to change the world. I am trying to get people to let go of this silly, stressful habit-- if somebody is behind you in any way, shape, or form, you must hold the door. Complete foolishness.
Somehow I am pissed off by her nonchalance, by her care-free "why should I give a damn about you having to push open a door". It is an instinctive reaction. I have successfully been programmed.

I don't like to run to get to the door when somebody stops and holds it, with easily 20 seconds before I would get there, if I didn't have to worry about them standing there, holding the door. Somehow we've created an environment where walking through doors (a common activity, and one that only slightly interrupts mindless motion with minutely sentient activity) has become, much like conversation with an unwelcome proselytizer, who has interrupted an otherwise meaningful stream of existance with abstract awkwardness, like an invitation to dance, silently with them, and I am trying to remember the correct moves so it's not too awkward-- but I am dancing in my doorway, trying to be polite and locate the magic words to make them go away.

And I am running when I could be walking, because this asshole thinks if she doesn't hold the door it will instantly categorize her as a bad person. We are paranoid, superstitious idiots.

And yet this girl pisses me off, just shoving the door aside and letting it swing back, like a large flat weapon, like there's not people walking here, about to get there. It's probably just that time of the month. Where have manners gone in this day and age?

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