Riders I meet
 

On Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:42:29 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

I've never known anyone to take offense from an unsolicited greeting.

I'm taking offense to being told it's rude not to respond.

In the past, I've gotten them from people who decided they wanted to
befriend me. In fact, my first girlfriend in college was a girl that
just walked up to me and said "Hi." I suppose I could have said "Hey,
you're nice looking, but you're rude; don't bother me." But I'm kind
of glad I didn't!

I'm open to someone who wants real interaction - help, a question,
meeting me. But if the interaction is just getting a rote response
from me and then heading on their way, I don't see the point.

Riders I meet
 

John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:

Frank Krygowski wrote:

I've never known anyone to take offense from an unsolicited greeting.

I'm taking offense to being told it's rude not to respond.

You're from NYC, right? Taking umbrage is the traditional pastime
there, is it not?

Here in Central Texas it's customary to greet folks you encounter, and
reply when greeted. But we won't hold it against you if you don't;
we'll just assume you're a Yankee.

Chalo

Riders I meet
 

On Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:15:09 -0700 (PDT), Chalo
wrote:

John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:

Frank Krygowski wrote:

I've never known anyone to take offense from an unsolicited greeting.

I'm taking offense to being told it's rude not to respond.

You're from NYC, right?
Yes.

Taking umbrage is the traditional pastime
there, is it not?

Considering this thread was started by someone take umbrage at other
people's behaviour I find your comment strange.

Riders I meet
 

Chalo wrote:
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
Frank Krygowski wrote:
I've never known anyone to take offense from an unsolicited greeting.
I'm taking offense to being told it's rude not to respond.

You're from NYC, right? Taking umbrage is the traditional pastime
there, is it not?

Here in Central Texas it's customary to greet folks you encounter, and
reply when greeted. But we won't hold it against you if you don't;
we'll just assume you're a Yankee.

Chalo

While, John's being his typical butt-hurt self, he's on point. When I
get to the west side of the Broadway Bridge in Portland, OR at around
8am everyday, there's 10 - 20 cyclists queued up at the light with me.
No sense in greeting all of them or any of the other now countless
cyclists that ride by me going the other direction.

When I'm waiting at a light on Interstate Ave and someone pulls up next
to me, sure I'll say something, nod, whatever. Fact of the matter is
that there are too many cyclists in PDX and NYC (if John is to believed,
which I feel he is) for us to acknowledge each one individually.

In Atlanta on the other hand, snubber -- people who don't wave back --
are openly called out on a public message board. But then again, in
Atlanta, three cyclists at Edgewood Ave and Boulevard at the same time
was quite the sight to behold.

--
Paul M. Hobson
..:change the f to ph to reply:.

Riders I meet
 

On Mar 16, 10:15*pm, Chalo wrote:
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:

Frank Krygowski wrote:

I've never known anyone to take offense from an unsolicited greeting.

I'm taking offense to being told it's rude not to respond.

You're from NYC, right? *Taking umbrage is the traditional pastime
there, is it not?

Here in Central Texas it's customary to greet folks you encounter, and
reply when greeted. *But we won't hold it against you if you don't;
we'll just assume you're a Yankee.

Chalo

Yeah, cordiality is at the extreme end of the nice scale. I was
driving in Austin once and kept making all kinds of mistakes since I
was lost, the people behind me were being extremely polite and patient
to the point of being irritating. I felt that I needed to be curse but
nobody would do so. I needed some balance. I didn't want to be in NYC,
where I would have been shot and run over. I wanted to have been in El
Paso were I would have been flipped off and cursed just a few times.

The most irritatingly polite experience was in Atlanta. My wife and I
were walking and asking for directions. People would give us
indications in the most incredibly cordial way possible but they would
err in distance by ridiculous amounts. Two blocks down could easily
mean 10 blocks.

When I was checking out of my hotel, I needed to get a receipt. For
some reason they couldn't print a receipt with the total cost of the
room, even though they pretty much had to destroy an entire rain
forest in their attempt to produce the document. However, they were
being so polite and friendly about it that there was nothing that I
could say.

I always feel that there needs to be a balance of politeness and
rudeness to keep the right aesthetic tension.

Riders I meet
 

On Tue, 17 Mar 2009 07:59:55 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

Yeah, cordiality is at the extreme end of the nice scale. I was
driving in Austin once and kept making all kinds of mistakes since I
was lost, the people behind me were being extremely polite and patient
to the point of being irritating. I felt that I needed to be curse but
nobody would do so. I needed some balance. I didn't want to be in NYC,
where I would have been shot and run over.

By population, where do you think someone is more likely to be shot --
NYC or Texas?

Riders I meet
 

In article
,
Chalo wrote:

John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:

Frank Krygowski wrote:

I've never known anyone to take offense from an unsolicited greeting.

I'm taking offense to being told it's rude not to respond.

You're from NYC, right? Taking umbrage is the traditional pastime
there, is it not?

Here in Central Texas it's customary to greet folks you encounter, and
reply when greeted. But we won't hold it against you if you don't;
we'll just assume you're a Yankee.

Your comments would have weight if you had lived and
flourished in New York City. Rather than speaking from
knowledge you, repeat folk tales.

--
Michael Press

Riders I meet
 

Michael Press wrote:

*Chalo wrote:

John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:

Frank Krygowski wrote:

I've never known anyone to take offense from an unsolicited greeting..

I'm taking offense to being told it's rude not to respond.

You're from NYC, right? *Taking umbrage is the traditional pastime
there, is it not?

Here in Central Texas it's customary to greet folks you encounter, and
reply when greeted. *But we won't hold it against you if you don't;
we'll just assume you're a Yankee.

Your comments would have weight if you had lived and
flourished in New York City. Rather than speaking from
knowledge you, repeat folk tales.

I have visited there many times since the 1980s. And each time I have
wondered, "whatsamatta wit dese people?!" They're brusque to the
point of rudeness even when they're being nice by local standards.
And they drive like they're on a cocktail of methamphetamine and
pepper spray.

To judge by the inhabitants of Manhattan, what it takes to flourish
there is thick skin and hypercriticality. So, thanks, but I'll be
happy to flourish in a proudly weird and overtly friendly place
instead.

Y'all probably wouldn't like it here, though. It's really hot.

Chalo

Riders I meet
 

On Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:31:08 -0700 (PDT), Chalo
wrote:

I have visited there many times since the 1980s. And each time I have
wondered, "whatsamatta wit dese people?!" They're brusque to the
point of rudeness even when they're being nice by local standards.
And they drive like they're on a cocktail of methamphetamine and
pepper spray.

To judge by the inhabitants of Manhattan, what it takes to flourish
there is thick skin and hypercriticality. So, thanks, but I'll be
happy to flourish in a proudly weird and overtly friendly place
instead.

I've been in rural places where things happen so slowly. Waiting on a
line and the person dealing with the line is taking his/her time with
each person, stating some vague pleasantries and thus wasting time.
That is so rude.

So thanks, I'll be happy to flourish in a place that respects people's
time and doesn't waste it with rote comments.

Riders I meet
 

On Mar 17, 4:07*pm, John Forrest Tomlinson
wrote:
On Tue, 17 Mar 2009 07:59:55 -0700 (PDT), "

wrote:
Yeah, cordiality is at the extreme end of the nice scale. I was
driving in Austin once and kept making all kinds of mistakes since I
was lost, the people behind me were being extremely polite and patient
to the point of being irritating. I felt that I needed to be curse but
nobody would do so. I needed some balance. I didn't want to be in NYC,
where I would have been shot and run over.

By population, where do you think someone is more likely to be shot --
NYC or Texas?

Don't know. Most people think that El Paso is really dangerous. It is
the second safest large city in the country after San Jose. Granted,
we ain't really Texans, nor we are Mexicans. But, with the love of
guns in Texas and all the gun shows, probably there is a greater
chance of being shot by another civilian in Texas. I wonder what the
chances are of getting shot by cops are. In El Paso they are pretty
bad. Between the border patrol, the sheriff's department and the
police department, we don't stand a chance.

Now, if you step across the Rio Grande into Juarez, you can get shot
by civilians, cops, the military, kidnappers, children, old ladies,
cyclists, dogs, cats and birds.