July 27, 2010

Please do it at home! (家でやろう!)









I’m not a conservative person (at least, I don’t think I am) but some of the things I see people doing lead me to think that either people’s values are changing for the worse, or that I’m getting old and conservative. What prompts me to write such things? Well, my daily subway train journey has prompted me to write this: loud music from headphones, sitting improperly (taking up too much space), applying make-up, eating and drinking, throw garbage on the platforms, talking loudly, and putting their belongings on the seats next to them..., didn't we ALL learn these things when we were in kindergarten and elementary school? Where are peoples' Manners? Public Decency? and Respect for Those Around You???

Japanese are famous for their manners (マナー). Even big cities in Japan like Tokyo and Osaka have less crime and more general politeness than other large metropolises in the world. There is crime and there are rude people in Japan…but considerably less than in cities overseas.

The high level of politeness in Japan means that the bad manners that one most commonly encounters are things like smoking or eating while walking, putting make-up on while riding the train, music turned up too loud on headphones, not giving up a seat on a train or a bus to the elderly, and using cell-phones near the silver seats (seats for pregnant women, elderly and the disabled) on the train where they’re supposed to be turned off. So, from 2008, Tokyo Metro Subway company started a series of good manners posters shown above.

I don't know if posting posters alone will help (probably not), but I do wish New York City MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) will do something, or at least have some posters like these to remind people to improve their basic manners. I even think the MTA should hire people monitoring our behavior, and by doing so, we can keep the trains, platforms and train stations nice and clean. They do so in Taiwan, they don't even let you chew gum in the stations, and you can see their trains and stations are still very nice and clean after so many years of service.

9 comments:

  1. I agree that the MTA should put up these posters around NYC. So much of these behaviors make my commute from place to place even less enjoyable then it already is. Especially people who take up space when they sit and those who play music on their headphones too loud.

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  2. I totally feel you for this too. Commuting should be pleasant as we are all on board on it. It's time for everyone to look around and be considerate. And i guess having these posters around, do help to a certain extent.

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  3. As I'm from the city in Japan originally and have been living in the UK for over ten years, I deeply understand what you mean. Here in the UK, I think we have the same problem to some extent. Luckily I don't use the public transport that often as I live in a country side, but I do see people who care less others, which makes me feel sad than angry these days.

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  4. 2 worst things I ever saw on the NYC subway: a pile of human feces on a seat, and a woman clipping her toenails. Yep, manners, PLEASE! XO!

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  5. I really like this... And Shari.. OH MY GOD... We wouldnt have this type of rudeness in Ireland.. although there is the usual bad manners.. jeepers.. toenail clippings!! it took a year before i would do that infront of my bf!!

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  6. I think there was a guy who made posters that looked like the MTA's service change posters but were about good manners and then hung them in stations all around the subway system. I also think the MTA removed them all as soon as they heard about them, which is a shame, as they might have made people think twice about how they act on mass transit! I commuted on the Long Island Railroad for many years and saw everything from fingernail clipping to digging earwax out with a finger and then looking at it (done by a woman, no less)!

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  7. this is was so enlightening (and entertaining) to read! We don't have subway way out here in the west, but people are still quite rude on our public transportation and I loved your thoughts on this. happy i found your blog!

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  8. Manners seemed to have vanished. Sad. These posters are fantastic, but will they help? Who knows. Hope they do! This was a fabulous post!
    Have a lovely day. Oh, I adore my washi tape!!
    janis

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  9. These posters are brilliant, and I totally agree. I have lived in major cities all over the world, and it makes me happy I am a rural girl now
    :)

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