Politeful Ignorance

I was getting my nails done at my usual place the other day, and as I was drying tham it struck me that we, as a race, are getting very close to perfecting the art of, what I have termed, Politeful Ignorance.

You know what I'm talking about. You're in an elevator and someone gets on. Immediately he or she moves to the opposite end of the lift and you both spend the rest of the ride staring at the flashing floor numbers. Politeful Ignorance. Or let's say there are ten people on that elevator. You're all squashed together, sardines in a tin style; The person next to you is so close you can hear him breathing in your ear; It's a stressful situation! The tension in the air could be cut with a kinfe because, let's be honest here, it's alot harder to practice politeful ignorance when you're pretty sure you can accurately guess what the guy next to you had for breakfast! Still though, you persevere, and all ten of you somehow manage to angle your heads in such a way that you can all safely stare at the flashing floor numbers and pretend that noone else exists. Politeful Ignorance.

So there I was, my hands and feet stuck into these dryers they have along the walls, pretty much immobile for twenty minutes at least, and do you think I said a word to the girls on either side of me (who I must add also had their hands and feet stuck into the wall) ? Not a word! Not even a hello! I know, it's terrible isn't it? There we were, three women in search of the perfectly manicured nail, making the rational adult decision to pretend we didn't notice each other. So 'engrossed in the latest going-ons of "Fashion TV" we didn't notice somone sit beside us'. So intent on 'positioning our fingers and toes in such a way as to get the optimal blast of hot air' that we didnt notice someone else next to us doing exactly the same thing. Politeful Ignorance.

It's a funny world isn't it when you feel that others would be happier to be ignored. Granted half the time most people would be happier just left alone. I know that sometimes I just don't want to talk to anyone, that sometimes it physically pains me to have to make small talk, although luckily I seem to have been born with the ability to talk about the most trivial things for long periods of time with complete strangers! I think that's why cab drivers love me. I can talk about the traffic, the weather, and the state of the roads almost as much as them!

Today's society does not encourage people to interact face-to-face. Most of the time there's some medium the conversation must flow through. A telephone, a text message, the internet, television, the foggy smoke of a nightclub, a mirror. How many times have you gone to the hairdressers and had a conversation with your stylist through the mirror? He may have been standing next to you but for some reason if felt more comfortable if you both looked at each other in the mirror and talked.

I ask the question, Have we spent so long interacting with the "absent person" that we've forgotten how to deal with the real thing?