Courtesy Is Contagious...Or Not

People say New Yorkers are mean and cold and unfriendly. As much as I would like to say, "No we're not, we're just as nice as the rest of you," I can't. The announcements on the subway have to tell us to be courteous and remind us that the elderly and disabled need a seat more than us able-bodied, sleepy, cranky individuals who are late for work because we overslept. Of course, I'm one of those cranky individuals every morning, extra cranky on the days that a crying baby ruins my extra 20 minutes of sleep on the train.

When I was in DC a few summers ago, a random person on the street actually asked us if we wanted her to take a picture for us. We New Yorkers were shocked to say the least. I work in tourist-infested midtown, and the only feeling I have for them is annoyance. Do you really need to stand in the middle of the street to take a picture JUST as I'm about to walk by? More importantly, you're on 34th street, HOW can you not see the Empire State Building? (I cannot count the number of times someone asked me to point them in the direction of the Empire State Building) I guess all this just proves that we are a rather unfriendly lot. Can you blame us? We're very busy and we live in a very expensive city which means we MUST stay busy if we want to pay rent and get everything done. But that should be no excuse to forget our manners. The English don't forget propriety, and we can definitely learn a few things from them.

I am ranting about all this because I got a taste of the New York rudeness today. My neighbor was locked out of her apartment and her child was inside. She was telling him to unlock and open the door, but being that he is 2 or 3, he didn't understand what was happening. All this was happening as I was waiting for the elevator, so as a good neighbor I asked her if she was locked out and my following question would have been, "Can I do anything to help?" I thought she might need to make a phone call or something. What I got in return for my neighborly niceness was a few rough words screamed at me. A simple "Yes" would've sufficed. I guess I learned my lesson: when in NY, do as the New Yorkers do. Don't love thy neighbor. Courtesy is definitely not contagious. The disembodied MTA voice lied to us.