Recycle or Die!
Fucking computer…ate my first draft of this post. I’ll start again.
The doors on some T train cars have little stickers that say, “These doors do not recycle” on them. While I was curious for the first second or so, I very quickly caught the meaning and the joke and then spent most of the ride chuckling to myself about how clever the sticker was.
Today, when I got onto the Red line, I noticed a companion sticker underneath. “Know what this means?,” it asked. I read on to see if maybe there existed somewhere a large landfill full of T doors and I was just mistaken. The sticker, placed there by some community group, explained that the recycle comment meant that the doors lacked sensors to detect objects and would not open again once they closed.
~Good.~ I thought to myself, having guessed correctly. The authors of the sticker, however, are outraged by this fact. They claim that the stickers are unclear and too difficult to understand. They also castigate the MBTA for not replacing the unsafe doors (as they planned to do, apparently).
My only concern with the stickers is that they were only in English (as were the community group stickers); they should be in Spanish as well.
Some points:
Though it may well take a moment to understand the stickers, it doesn’t matter. What fucking useless jackass is standing in the way of the door? Does anyone NEED TO BE TOLD not to stand in the way of a closing metal door? If it is crowded in the car, you keep moving in and pushing or you get out and wait for the next train. Duh.
Is there some group out there devoted to the trivial and pointless…I feel as though the same type of person who put the hot coffee in her lap and then sued McDonalds because it scalded her and came with no “coffee is hot” warning brings this to us.
The doors with sensors aren’t perfect either, folks. Just a reminder. They often “recycle” when there is nothing in the way and delay the train.
You may point out that these doors are unsafe. No, they are just less safe than the ones with the sensors (and less safe for idiots who need to be taken out by natural selection anyway). Unsafe doors would have big holes, close fast without any warning or delay, or have giant sharp teeth to increase the pain of getting caught. (Actually, those teeth are a good idea…yeah, retractable. Flash them occasionally to keep people several inches from the doors and moving quickly)
What about children, you ask? Well, if they are too small to read, it doesn’t matter (and if Dad/Mom isn’t paying attention and they get caught in the door, too bad for them. They only have themselves to blame for the child). If they can read, but just barely, an adult should still accompany them. If they are old enough to take the T by themselves, they are old enough to not get stuck in the doors.
I have compassion for lots of people. People dying of starvation or disease around the world. Even people who make poor decisions and need our help to get back on their feet. I would feel bad for someone who got caught in the doors, yeah. I wouldn’t stand there and say “Oh well, your fault.”
Basically, it annoyed me that some group of people wasted time on such a trivial issue (What is the fatality rate here? Has anyone been seriously injured in the past five years? One, maybe two people? A couple of briefcases and a newspaper?).
Focus, people! Sigh.
The doors on some T train cars have little stickers that say, “These doors do not recycle” on them. While I was curious for the first second or so, I very quickly caught the meaning and the joke and then spent most of the ride chuckling to myself about how clever the sticker was.
Today, when I got onto the Red line, I noticed a companion sticker underneath. “Know what this means?,” it asked. I read on to see if maybe there existed somewhere a large landfill full of T doors and I was just mistaken. The sticker, placed there by some community group, explained that the recycle comment meant that the doors lacked sensors to detect objects and would not open again once they closed.
~Good.~ I thought to myself, having guessed correctly. The authors of the sticker, however, are outraged by this fact. They claim that the stickers are unclear and too difficult to understand. They also castigate the MBTA for not replacing the unsafe doors (as they planned to do, apparently).
My only concern with the stickers is that they were only in English (as were the community group stickers); they should be in Spanish as well.
Some points:
Though it may well take a moment to understand the stickers, it doesn’t matter. What fucking useless jackass is standing in the way of the door? Does anyone NEED TO BE TOLD not to stand in the way of a closing metal door? If it is crowded in the car, you keep moving in and pushing or you get out and wait for the next train. Duh.
Is there some group out there devoted to the trivial and pointless…I feel as though the same type of person who put the hot coffee in her lap and then sued McDonalds because it scalded her and came with no “coffee is hot” warning brings this to us.
The doors with sensors aren’t perfect either, folks. Just a reminder. They often “recycle” when there is nothing in the way and delay the train.
You may point out that these doors are unsafe. No, they are just less safe than the ones with the sensors (and less safe for idiots who need to be taken out by natural selection anyway). Unsafe doors would have big holes, close fast without any warning or delay, or have giant sharp teeth to increase the pain of getting caught. (Actually, those teeth are a good idea…yeah, retractable. Flash them occasionally to keep people several inches from the doors and moving quickly)
What about children, you ask? Well, if they are too small to read, it doesn’t matter (and if Dad/Mom isn’t paying attention and they get caught in the door, too bad for them. They only have themselves to blame for the child). If they can read, but just barely, an adult should still accompany them. If they are old enough to take the T by themselves, they are old enough to not get stuck in the doors.
I have compassion for lots of people. People dying of starvation or disease around the world. Even people who make poor decisions and need our help to get back on their feet. I would feel bad for someone who got caught in the doors, yeah. I wouldn’t stand there and say “Oh well, your fault.”
Basically, it annoyed me that some group of people wasted time on such a trivial issue (What is the fatality rate here? Has anyone been seriously injured in the past five years? One, maybe two people? A couple of briefcases and a newspaper?).
Focus, people! Sigh.
posted by Sarah at 7:39 AM
2 Comments:
followed a universal hub link to come read this. Actually, I think it is bizarre that they would use the term "recycle" on their sticker because the vast majority of us associate the term with "reduce, reuse, recycle." I would have stood there pondering "Hmmmm. So this door doesn't give a shit about our environment and throws its newspaper into the trash! That rat bastard!" Instead of the term recycle (which also made me think of revolving doors, and we all know these doors don't revolve) they should have use the word "reopen" followed by "especially if your fat ass is stuck in it or your arm is sticking out while you squeeze your honey's hand goodbye again..."
Language is an amazing thing. Your entries portray you as someone who likes language, understands words, and you had to stand there and THINK about what the term meant. Not only do non-english speakers have to struggle with terminology like that, but the lower than average IQ owning person or tourist from Alabama or Kentucky won't have a flippin' clue.
I love language, I hate when things are dumbed down for joe six pack... but to be honest, I'd much rather see a sign which communicates its meaning clearly, without me having to struggle to decypher what the hell it is getting at.
Good entry -- glad I stopped by. Feel free to come over and visit me too at http://www.amusings.net/clg
--christine
I wouldn't mind seeing clear signs on the T either. Something like "Please stand clear of the doors" on every door. (Though, as a note about all door stickers, you can't see them until after the door is on your foot)
What bothers me is that some group ISN'T successfully lobbying for those changes; they're bitching about crappy public transportation service with STICKERS.
And I still maintain that not only are the stickers not that hard to figure out, but that a person either gets stuck by accident (so then what help is the sticker...they clearly aren't paying attn. to the doors in the first place), or because they know no better than to stand in the way of closing doors (and no matter what language you speak, most people know enough to know that)...and, at that point, I'm not sure a sticker is going to help.
Post a Comment
<< Home