Last month at the train station in St Pancreas International London, an hour before the departure (this is highly unusual but having missed the preceding train I was early for this one) I noticed that there was a line at the gate of Chinese (flags on the luggage) travellers paitiently waiting for the door to open to be the first ones on the train. No one else seemed concerned about the train which was no where near to the station and certainly not ready for boarding. I wondered if the Chinese were worried that if they were not first in line that they would be left...then i thought ....
In a time when the Asian economy is on the rise and Chinese, Indian and Japanese firms are the first in line for opportunities of growth, was this culture which was showing itself in such a simple way... of not only not wanting to miss the train but needing to be the first on the train the key to the puzzle.....?
As the boarding of the train was announced I got up from my seat right near the entrance and slotted myself nicely in near to the front of the line.....hmmmm.....I made it on the train...one can perharps also be well placed for success too.....
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so a bore yuh bore di good good chinese line my girl?
ReplyDeleteits more of a merge because of positioning...;) but isn't that what happens in the world a lot...all about perspective maybe??
ReplyDeleteand u woudda probably do the same ting! nuh true (isn't that true)?
Wow. Very insightful, Stef. It really makes one think.
ReplyDeleteAnd like a true yardie you bore in front of the people. I bet an unlooker was saying..."she must be a jamaican"
ReplyDeleteSo I'm guessing that you think that was bad? and that it would have been better to stand in line for an hour?
ReplyDeleteIs this why some societies operate the way they do?
What have you noticed in your society?
The train door may have been wide enough to accomonate (not like a minibus) three lines some persons board to the right others to the left and others straight ahead. Sometimes persons see lines where they should be and create them...and not follow the crowd. This reminds me of what happened to me at a store in Miami i observed three cash registers, but only two lines, the other cashier appeared to be closed. The lines were long and my impatient self approached the empty cashier to complain,...she smiled at me and said but I am open, suddenly the line behind me filled.
ReplyDeleteBeing at the head of the line can be good gives the first people in line more choices. They can choose where to stand or sit or who they are next to. In life sometime only a few people get to choose from great opportunities because of being in the right place at the right. One can also miss out on many opportunities by staying too far back.
ReplyDeleteIf you are in a race it is to be first not last, ask Usain Bolt. When I did competitive cycling I always tried to start at the front, that way I would be close to any breaks that were made. Steffi, girl you've got the right attitude in this dog eat dog world, and plus you're from Bolt country.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you know. I left for Constant Spring tax office to renew my driver's licence shortly after posting a comment on your blog. A woman inserted herself in front (and slightly to the side) of me in the line. I informed her that there was only one line, not two. Needless to say her response was hostile and she refused to budge. When she got to the head of the line I insisted on my right to be served before her.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was at the half-way point in the second long line to which I was sent, someone passed next to me and said, 'Crosses, see me get through before you!'. I looked up to see the said woman.
In response to Henry's post: there is nothing wrong with being at the head of the line. It does become problematic, though, when you think it's your right and trample on the rights of others to get there.
patsy
was there space for more than one line ? I am sure that there was on the subway, so the situation is different from a line to one cashier, and even so you can always beg a space..., a bligh is better than a bore any day :)
ReplyDeleteyup, once the train was announced about three entrance points opened up which is why merging was possible without infringing on anyones rights.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that it is the wrong attitude to trample on others rights....
Does waiting in line versus merging represent also a culture of patience against impatience?
How important is this in our daily lives...in our country's politics...for relevant economic realities?
I think the behavior of the chinese was a combination of their distrust in services rendered and their expectation that they have to compete in order to gain access to “simple” services in society.
ReplyDeleteDistrust because in poor areas of China, published train and bus schedules may not be reliable. Passengers are never sure if they are early or late for their transportation appointments or any other service for that matter.
Competition because China’s population is so big. There can never be enough space on a bus....first come first serve.
France may not have the same problems as China but in the society these folks are from, what you saw are the practices they’ve learned. In their minds, that’s just the way things are done.