People Take This Person’s Story As A Chance To Call Out Guys Who Don’t Use Headphones In Public
If you were asked to choose the ten greatest inventions of humanity ever, what would be included? Wheel, paper, printing press… okay, car, bike, glasses, compass… what else? And what would you say if I rightfully declared that the list of the greatest inventions should also include headphones?
Yes, exactly. An absolutely ingenious thing that allows others not to hear what we are currently doing or passionate about. Yes, and at full volume, as some people do. Okay, you may disagree with me on the usefulness of headphones, but I think the user u/link064, who shared the story we’re about to tell you today, would 100% agree.
The author of the post once traveled by plane and had to deal with connecting flights
Image credits: Victor Freitas (not the actual photo)
The first flight got delayed several hours so the traveler changed their tickets and had around 10 free hours now
Image credits: u/link064
The author desperately wanted to sleep so they found a secluded hallway to take a nap there
Image credits: Ilnur Kalimullin (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/link064
However, no less than after 20 minutes of sleeping, another guy came in and started watching a movie on maximum volume
Image credits: NHP&Co (not the actual photo)
Image credits: u/link064
The author didn’t want to confront the noisy offender so they just went to another part of the hallway and tried to sleep again
Now meet the Original Poster (OP) – they once traveled by plane, and their trip had a connecting flight. And where there are connecting flights, there are almost always inconsistencies in time. The author of the post did not escape this sad situation too; one of the flights got delayed several hours. Accordingly, they had to change tickets for the next flight – and it turned out to be about ten hours later.
Wise people teach us to find a positive side in any trouble – so the OP decided to take advantage of the current situation and take a couple of hours to take a nap right at the airport. And why not, especially since their previous flight got in at around 2am in the OP’s time?
No sooner said than done. The original poster turned to a flight agent for help, and together they found a secluded hallway divided into two sections, with several long benches of seats against both walls. There was no one in this hallway, so the weary traveler fell asleep almost instantly…
The author’s sleep lasted only about twenty minutes – very soon they were awakened by the loud sounds of the film, which, as it turned out, was being watched by some random guy who wandered into the same hallway and chose for his movie screening exactly the bench on which the OP was sleeping. You have probably already imagined the degree of the author’s indignation, and now let’s list together all possible ways this movie-lover could have chosen not to be a jerk:
a. Do not enter the hallway at all.
b. Enter, but watch a movie at minimum volume.
c. Choose any of the available seats for viewing – fortunately, apart from him and the OP, there was no one else in the room.
d. Finally – take advantage of the great invention of the French engineer Ernest Mercadier, known throughout the world under the name “headphones!”
But this dude did none of the four previous points! The original poster woke up, looked around, got up and just went to another part of the empty hallway, where they tried to cope with being miffed, interrupted sleep, and a simple desire to be rude to the offender. To the credit of the latter, he did not follow the OP, but continued to watch the movie in the same place where he sat before. Otherwise, who knows, maybe this original story would have been titled something like: “AITA For Cussing Out The Guy Who Ruined My Sleep In The Airport Twice?”
Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)
Well, the original poster is far from alone in their total rejection of people who don’t use headphones in public. “I don’t expect the whole world to be like Japan, but how is it that people think this is appropriate?” rhetorically wonders Ben Schlappig, an airline, hotel, and loyalty program expert, in his article on One Mile At A Time. “It’s bad enough to do this in public or in a terminal, but it’s even worse to do it on a plane (which is a confined space where you can’t leave) or an airport lounge (which is supposed to be a place to get away from the hustle-and-bustle of the terminal).”
It probably sounds pretty exhausting. And the people in the comments to the original post also fully share the author’s grudge and outrage. Moreover, many people generally write that if they were in the place of the OP, that entitled movie-watcher would not get off so easily! “At what point in our society did we stop talking to other people about s**t like this? Could have just told him you were trying to get some sleep,” one of the commenters reasonably noted.
And it also turned out that in fact there are a huge number of stories about such unceremonious and selfish people – not only at airports, but literally anywhere. At least people in the comments described many similar situations that happened to them, their relatives or acquaintances. By the way, why don’t you also tell your stories if you too have ever suffered from overly noisy and loud people in public?
Apparently people all over the world have often faced various problems with overly loud and noisy people, so they sided with the author very much
And then there are the people who pump the volume up so high that it basically negates the use for headphones. Had such a guy sitting behind me on the bus, music full blast (at least it was somewhat bearable, not sh*tty HipHop). I was annoyed but didn´t say anything, and when I got off the bus and turned around, I was surprised that he actually had headphones on...
Sometimes, when people feel like they have little to no agency or power or leverage within their society or maybe they have limited self-control, they tend to exercise that by impeding or preventing other people from pursuing their behaviors and actions. Sometimes they’ll cross the street and force traffic to stop. Often times they’ll make a scene in a public place. People aren’t generally oblivious to actions like the one described above. In fact, they know they’re controlling the other persons, environment or situation. They’re very aware of what they’re doing even if they have no idea what’s motivating them.
I agree with you. At the same time, personal problems are not an excuse to mistreat others.
I have depression, anxiety, and who knows what else. That doesn't mean I go around and start snapping at people and crying all over. What you're trying to provide is an excuse, and that's not the way to go about it. Not saying that it needs to be eye for an eye, but these people need to be taught where their place is, which isn't above anyone else.
A very kind POV, thank you.
People are rude everywhere you go. Easiest thing is to walk away. Don’t give a rude stranger real estate in your head.
And then there are the people who pump the volume up so high that it basically negates the use for headphones. Had such a guy sitting behind me on the bus, music full blast (at least it was somewhat bearable, not sh*tty HipHop). I was annoyed but didn´t say anything, and when I got off the bus and turned around, I was surprised that he actually had headphones on...
Sometimes, when people feel like they have little to no agency or power or leverage within their society or maybe they have limited self-control, they tend to exercise that by impeding or preventing other people from pursuing their behaviors and actions. Sometimes they’ll cross the street and force traffic to stop. Often times they’ll make a scene in a public place. People aren’t generally oblivious to actions like the one described above. In fact, they know they’re controlling the other persons, environment or situation. They’re very aware of what they’re doing even if they have no idea what’s motivating them.
I agree with you. At the same time, personal problems are not an excuse to mistreat others.
I have depression, anxiety, and who knows what else. That doesn't mean I go around and start snapping at people and crying all over. What you're trying to provide is an excuse, and that's not the way to go about it. Not saying that it needs to be eye for an eye, but these people need to be taught where their place is, which isn't above anyone else.
A very kind POV, thank you.
People are rude everywhere you go. Easiest thing is to walk away. Don’t give a rude stranger real estate in your head.