The other day while riding the Muncie Indiana Transit System bus, I experienced something that had me in utter disbelief. While stopping to pick up students, a young woman entered the bus through the side entrance and not the front. She wasn't trying to be funny or get attention; she was just closer to the side door and figured it made more sense to enter through it. I would have done the same thing. Anyway, she climbed through the side entrance and sat down. The bus driver stood up, turned around and told the woman to get off and enter through the correct door. Her face turned a deep red and she quietly asked, "Are you serious?" The bus driver proceeded to raise her voice as she repeated herself. The young woman reluctantly got off the bus and re-entered through the "correct" door.
This story does not do an accurate job displaying the embarrassment the woman felt and the flat-out cruelness the bus driver demonstrated. I am assuming MITS requires students to enter through the front door so they can make sure everyone is either a student who can ride for free or a passenger who must pay. However, I have never had anyone ask me to provide an ID card while riding, and for all they know I could simply live in Muncie and not attend Ball State University.
There is no reason for anyone to be that rude and embarrass another person so bluntly. Just politely say, "Next time enter through the front." Don't call someone out in front of 30 other passengers - that is not tasteful and does nothing but embarrass a student who was simply trying to save time by entering through the most convenient door.
I am not saying this was the most cruel or malicious situation I've seen. However, it did shock me and made me feel genuinely sorry for the young lady who had to get off the bus.
This is not the only unkind situation I have witnessed in the last week. I often park in the metered parking lot by the Teachers College for my night classes. The parking lot is often full and I will have to sometimes circle the parking lot in order to find a space. Well, I saw a space and quickly turned on my turn signal to let the car coming down the aisle know I was turning in. This did no good whatsoever because the driver blatantly ignored my turn signal and whipped right into the space. Then the driver had the nerve to smile at me after getting out of the car and walked through the parking lot while I was still circling the parking lot. Seriously! This situation does not bother me quite as much as the first, but it still makes me marvel at how people can be so blatantly selfish and just plain hostile sometimes.
I simply do not understand how people can be so downright rude and inconsiderate of others' feelings. Kindness is a virtue everyone should possess. Please don't be rude just for the sake of being rude, but instead think how others will feel. This is something we all learned in elementary school, and apparently some of us have forgotten.
Write to Jessica at jemohr@bsu.edu
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