Sit Down, Be Quiet and Polite, Please

I guess the British Tories are a bit upset about one of their members, one Sir Nicholas Winterton, expressing his dislike of standard class travel as opposed to first class travel. Here’s the quote from the NYTimes on what he said:

“Sir Nicholas declared in a radio interview, speaking about the relative ghastliness of people in standard-class train cars. ‘There’s lots of children, there’s noise, there’s activity. I like to have peace and quiet when I’m traveling.'”

And they say that he’s put his “posh foot” in his mouth. Really? Um, there’s nothing worse, in my opinion, that being surrounded by rude, loud people who haven’t a clue that they should keep themselves and their children quiet, well-mannered, and well-behaved when in public, whether that’s on a train, on a plane, on a bus, in a car, in a restaurant, in the park, or anywhere else, thank you. I’m in full agreement with Sir Nicholas. I prefer peace and quiet, too, not screaming kids, blabbering people, blasting music, and people in constant motion, spilling their food and drinks on me and everyone else without a thought to how their actions discomfit me and others.

The majority of people are, as Sir Nicholas said, “a totally different type of people.” They’re rude and could care less that their public brashness makes others unwilling to share the same public space. Public shouldn’t mean cacophony, chaos, and jostling. Public should mean well-mannered and reserved, respecting the space and sensibilities of others around you.