[local] Walk left, stand right

[sabotabby]

Spacing Magazine is publishing a book on Toronto etiquette, and they want your help. The responses so far are pretty adorable in their bureaucratic mindset (as one comment points out: "Interesting that the Marrakech and Montreal examples were ones of true social interaction and most of the examples in the comments could be codified into a bylaw. We’re still Toronto The Prim then…")

I really don't think we're as cold and rude a city as people claim (though, of course, it depends on the neighbourhood) but we are long overdue for an etiquette guide. Go forth and contribute! I'm looking especially at you, zingerella.

Comments

[ironed_orchid]

The contributions so far are sort of fascinating, especially the ones where people complain about behaviour which leads me to assume that said behaviour current occurs, like clipping nails and putting on deoderant on public transport.

[sabotabby]

This totally happens. You could fill an entire bookshelf with just stories about the weird shit that people do on public transit.

Though I prefer people putting on deodorant on public transit to people who do not wear deodorant on public transit.

[ironed_orchid]

As long as it's not aerosol, the spray makes me headachey. And while bad smells are unpleasant, headaches require painkillers.

[shelestel.livejournal.com]

Etiquette is undefined in North American cities like temperature is not defined in vacuum.

[lovableatheist.livejournal.com]

As an outsider to Toronto who has moved to the city, I can vouch for the non-cold and non-rude nature of the city. I'd be willing to bet my left nut that a huge majority of people who like to complain about Toronto have never spent more than a weekend here.

As for etiquette, walk right, stand left is a big one. A bigger pet peeve of mine though are those who wait for the bus inside subway stations while everyone else waits outside and feel that they can just come outside and jump to the front of the line when the bus comes (I'm looking at you York students who take the 196 to York from Sheppard!). They've made my short list of people to put up against the wall once the revolution comes.

[bike4fish.livejournal.com]

Just how does one comport oneself when eating cucumber and butter sandwiches with your tea? Any pointers for watercress sandwiches?

(In truth, I've only had cucumber/watercress sandwiches in Windsor and London - I usually was eating Chinese or Indian in Toronto.)

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

Things one ought not to do:

Provide the entire bus with the lurid details of one's sex life. Just because you are using a mobile phone doesn't mean we can't hear you.

Walk three abreast on the sidewalk. Yes children of Market Lane Public School I am talking about you.

Scrape snow off one's BMW onto a homeless person. Yes the camel is ahead of you in the paradise queue.

Take several classes of public schoolers on field trips to the St. Lawrence Market just before Christmas.