There are people who give themselves powers in taxis. They want to direct others on where they should sit.
There are people who give themselves powers in taxis. They want to direct others on where they should sit.
What is annoying is that they tell you to go to the back seat while addressing you as "Baby, Sweetie, Lov-love". This patronising attitude can raise the temperature to an alarming level.
I suspect that soon we will have a case of passenger rage because some people think they are entitled to the best seats. They are usually young women who think they deserve special treatment.
I am not blameless. I avoid the back seat as much as the next person. The back seat is a squasher. Some part of your body is bound to lose its blood circulation. You can get cramps and the body heat in summer is unbelievable.
It can happen that your nose is right in someone's armpit for a whole 30 minutes. I wonder what men tell their wives when they come home reeking of three or four different perfumes on their jackets. You have to sit in a special way in the back seat so that you can avoid your neighbours' elbows. A good dig can paralyse your breathing for a while. Or perhaps the back seat excuse is a beautiful dodge for restless tom cats.
These Mashamplanes think they are the only clevers in Johannesburg. They think they can fool others and control them so that they derive maximum comfort at others' expense. I have witnessed several tantrums of late as people struggle to get to work in the company of these people. The other day one of these clevers wanted a gogo with a walking stick to sit at the back. The gogo had lots of plastic bags and would have been comfortable in front.
The young sprouts started complaining about people who allow their elderly relatives to travel unaccompanied in taxis. They told gogo in honeyed tones that she must insist on one of her children accompanying her on her journeys.
They said all this loudly without a shred of respect. They treated her like an imbecile. The gogo was a bit shaky but she was perfectly capable of making her own way home. This behaviour is disrespectful. While the rest of the passengers were embarrassed by this rudeness to an elderly person, no one intervened.
We did not want the loutish ladies to use us as target practice. About 15 passengers were at the mercy of a few opinionated, rude, insensitive women who thought they were our arbiters. South Africans are losing their empathy and respect for others. We no longer practise what is a unique aspect of our culture.
The taxi driver was silent as well. I think that drivers need real training, not only on safety and advanced driving, but also on how to stop rude commuters from terrorising others. I wish these superior beings would run to buy themselves 4x4s.
Book Reviews will return next week.
Taxi drivers should intervene over rude passengers
There are people who give themselves powers in taxis. They want to direct others on where they should sit.
There are people who give themselves powers in taxis. They want to direct others on where they should sit.
What is annoying is that they tell you to go to the back seat while addressing you as "Baby, Sweetie, Lov-love". This patronising attitude can raise the temperature to an alarming level.
I suspect that soon we will have a case of passenger rage because some people think they are entitled to the best seats. They are usually young women who think they deserve special treatment.
I am not blameless. I avoid the back seat as much as the next person. The back seat is a squasher. Some part of your body is bound to lose its blood circulation. You can get cramps and the body heat in summer is unbelievable.
It can happen that your nose is right in someone's armpit for a whole 30 minutes. I wonder what men tell their wives when they come home reeking of three or four different perfumes on their jackets. You have to sit in a special way in the back seat so that you can avoid your neighbours' elbows. A good dig can paralyse your breathing for a while. Or perhaps the back seat excuse is a beautiful dodge for restless tom cats.
These Mashamplanes think they are the only clevers in Johannesburg. They think they can fool others and control them so that they derive maximum comfort at others' expense. I have witnessed several tantrums of late as people struggle to get to work in the company of these people. The other day one of these clevers wanted a gogo with a walking stick to sit at the back. The gogo had lots of plastic bags and would have been comfortable in front.
The young sprouts started complaining about people who allow their elderly relatives to travel unaccompanied in taxis. They told gogo in honeyed tones that she must insist on one of her children accompanying her on her journeys.
They said all this loudly without a shred of respect. They treated her like an imbecile. The gogo was a bit shaky but she was perfectly capable of making her own way home. This behaviour is disrespectful. While the rest of the passengers were embarrassed by this rudeness to an elderly person, no one intervened.
We did not want the loutish ladies to use us as target practice. About 15 passengers were at the mercy of a few opinionated, rude, insensitive women who thought they were our arbiters. South Africans are losing their empathy and respect for others. We no longer practise what is a unique aspect of our culture.
The taxi driver was silent as well. I think that drivers need real training, not only on safety and advanced driving, but also on how to stop rude commuters from terrorising others. I wish these superior beings would run to buy themselves 4x4s.
Book Reviews will return next week.
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