Dear Annoying Metro Riders

[Anonymous]

Some people are really testy about being told they don't know how to operate the metro gates very well... What's up with that?

[Anonymous]

People get awfully riled up about a person saying "asshole".

It 's whatever. Who cares if it takes an extra second or two to get through the gates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You do NOT have to wait for the gates to close from the person before you before you use your card to exit. Standing there, waiting for the gates to close, then using your card only slows things down and makes you look stupid.
Thanks.

Tough isn't it, when you are so important and you are made to wait one second. Tough toodles. You don't get to tell people what to do when riding Metro. Get up a hour earlier and then the extra seconds won't keep you from all your important meetings, saving the world, creating world peace. Perhaps the Nobel Committee will take notice of your seconds lost and will bestow all Nobel prizes to you for 2011.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You do NOT have to wait for the gates to close from the person before you before you use your card to exit. Standing there, waiting for the gates to close, then using your card only slows things down and makes you look stupid.
Thanks.

Tough isn't it, when you are so important and you are made to wait one second. Tough toodles. You don't get to tell people what to do when riding Metro. Get up a hour earlier and then the extra seconds won't keep you from all your important meetings, saving the world, creating world peace. Perhaps the Nobel Committee will take notice of your seconds lost and will bestow all Nobel prizes to you for 2011.

It was a public service announcement, trying to get you to stop looking like the stupid person that you are just standing there, staring at the gates, waiting for them to close. It was an effort to help you, and therefore all of your fellow riders behind you that actually know how to make the gates open who are moving forward, crashing into me while I wait for you to find your brain to move on through. But feel free to continue to stand there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:eh, i've ridden for years and had a smartcard since they came out, and some of the changes they've made recently have made it so that you have to wait longer before your card registers. I got whacked in the hip twice in the last two weeks by gates that didn't open all the way, so I'm trying to be more patient from now on.

This. Geesh.
Sometimes the cards don't work fast enough. Just the way it is. So, I slow down now. Well I did before I got fed up with Metro and went back to driving.

[Anonymous]

I slow down too. Hit too many times by the gates. Not fun.

The other morning a whole bunch of high school tourists were all standing nicely on the right side of the escalators while metro regulars rushed by on the left. Kudos to whoever told them ahead of time. Yay!

[Anonymous]

Anyone read the story about the metro pervert they caught recently? Put him in a cell with some big lonely men so he can see what it's like being on the receiving end. Turd.

[Anonymous]

I used to get riled up about this kind of stuff too -- cursing at other drivers, getting annoyed at people talking on the phone while driving and not paying attention, etc. And then I realized it was really negatively affecting the quality of my life. I would arrive at work already irritable and cranky. And what for? What did my anger serve? Was my honking and gesturing actually changing anyone's behavior? No. All it did was hurt ME. So I just decided to let it go and let things roll off of me. It was a conscious choice and one that was really easy to make. Now I am much happier. Try it OP. You can't and won't change them; only your own reaction. Detach and go forth in peace with a little love and forgiveness in your heart for the imperfect ways of your fellow (wo)men.

[Anonymous]

I agree with 22:24. On Metro I would find myself clenching my jaw, giving dirty looks to other people and muttering expletives under my breath. I would get crazy mad and stressed, which set me up for a grumpy day. What's the point? I had to save myself. Breathe, and as PP said, detach during that time. It's not worth it. If you get stressed out about (pretty much) inconsequential things it's bad for your head and your heart.

[Anonymous]

"Sure, Jim Bob and Betty Sue, who stop at the bottom of the escalator with their bemulleted offspring, trying to figure out which direction to move are mildly irritating."

It is probably good to take a deep breath and remember that Jim Bob and Betty Sue and their bemulleted relatives help to subsidize the Metro, the monuments, the Smithsonian museums and the zoo, same as you. And while sometimes tourists might seem annoying, if you didn't grow up here, try to remember the first time that you, too, first came to Washington and for a moment recapture the same sense of pride and wonder about the city that first-time American tourists often feel.