Can someone tell me exactly what it is about 'personal space' that people do not understand? The other day, I was at a bookstore having my stuff billed when a woman comes up, shoulders me aside and picks up a pen from one of the many on display at the cash counter and proceeds to test it on a scrap of paper. I don't think it ever occurred to her to say "excuse me" or to try not to get in my airspace.
This has long been one of my pet peeves and it makes me want to actually hit people when they shove and push and just generally crowd me when it is not necessary. From people who stand too close in lines to the ones who squeeze into an already crowded lift, squishing you into a corner like a sardine, they are all universally obnoxious.
What really gets me though is that they truly do not realise what they are doing is not acceptable. Our country is a crowded one, lots of people squeezed into everything, from markets to busses, trains, schools and even hospitals. So we are used to elbowing ourselves a space and slipping into it wherever we go. The concept of giving someone their own personal space is rather alien to most of our population and more so if the person crowding you happens to be of the same sex, so it is okay if a woman happens to be pressing up against me in a bus and if I were to show discomfort or object I would be the weird one! As a people, we don't seem to have too many personal boundaries, and those of us who do are doomed to have them crossed every time we step out into a public space.
As a result I have developed my own defence strategies which include such ingenious things as carrying a messenger bag slung diagonal so it can be swivelled in whichever direction I need protection, and a slightly model-like stance in lines, with one foot stuck out in front (suitably clad in closed shoes of course) to ensure anyone backing into me without looking stumbles over it and then has to apologise for stepping on my toes thus making them more careful for the remainder of the queue time. Also in my arsenal are files or books held in the crook of my arm to impale any frontal attacks, one hand on the hip angled as required to give the elbow strategic advantage, switching bags from side to side and last but certainly not least, the perfected glower, guaranteed to wither all but the most thick skinned pusher and shover.
Perhaps I am being overly fussy - but I genuinely do not like being too close to people who I don't know and I think its perfectly reasonable to expect everyone to respect that. So, please, general public, GET BACK!!!!!!
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