Ericj32
Well-Known Member
It absolutely goes both ways. I don't know the exact experiences that you're talking about, but as a taller person, I can attest that shorter people can at times be frustratingly oblivious and selfish in similar settings for very different reasons. My comments thus are not directed at @Joe Mac but at people I've encountered in my own experience as a taller person who rides public transportation and goes to concerts.
I'm only 6'2" (188 cm) but I marvel at shorter people on public transportation who have no need to hold onto anything to keep from falling but will stand right under the only grab bar within my reach. The grab handles and bars hanging from the ceiling are safety mechanisms meant to be grabbed and held. The fact that not everyone can reach them does not mean that they are purely decorative. Taller people have a higher center of gravity and thus are more likely to lose their balance if they are standing while the vehicle is in motion. Taller people are also more likely to cause injury to others when they fall because they weigh more. People grab onto the grab handles and bars for their safety and the safety of those around them, and, depending on the vehicle, there may not be grab handles or handrails conveniently located for every standing passenger to use. If the person grabbing the bar above your head has other options for where to hold on, that's on them and they're invading your space unnecessarily, but if you have no need to grab the bar that you're standing under, and that's the only place for someone else to hold on, then their only options are to grab the bar above your head or risk falling on top of you. It may be worth asking them if they'd like to trade places, because they'd probably prefer not to have to reach over you if you have no need to hold on to the ceiling bar.
As for concerts, as much as I try not to block anyone's view, it's not realistic or fair to expect taller people to only stand at the very back of every venue as punishment for their genetics, so that shorter people can have freedom to stand wherever they please and be guaranteed to have a clear of the stage at all times. PSA to shorter people: if you are continually backing up to put more distance between you and the person in front of you to enhance your sightline of the stage, at some point, people will see the 6 feet of empty space in front of you and will come and stand there because they see that empty space not as your personal domain, but as empty space. They will think that that empty space belongs just as much to them as it does to you, and they're right. Anyone who does so isn't maliciously trying to ruin your night - they are just look for a place to stand to watch the show. If your enjoyment of the show is dependent upon an unimpeded sightline, move up closer to the stage or stand at the rail of a balcony or move to spot where you can see - do NOT expect strangers to bend over backwards to create a special experience for you - they have just as much of a right to their own special experience. If you're going to stand near the back of a crowded venue and leave tons of empty space in front of you because you don't like crowds - you're creating your own problem by not giving other people much of a choice of where to stand other than in front of you. It's also worth remembering that tall people, too, often have their sightlines ruined by shorter people holding up their cameras, or people who decide to fully extend their arms straight up in the air and just hold them there - unlike those people, tall people have no control over their height.
I try to stand behind other tall people, I slouch and try to make myself shorter, and I try not to raise my arms for any reason and I try to stay in the same spot without moving much, so people standing behind me can pick a spot where they can see past me and just stay there for the rest of the show....but the number of people who, in spite of all of these efforts, still have yelled at me and shoved me and threatened me with physical violence like they own that part of the floor while also refusing to just stand in front of me just make me want to stand up straight in front of them and raise my hands in the air like I really just don't care about blocking their view - because I really do not have any responsibility to cater to them and their desires just because I decided to attend a show. If there's nowhere else where they can move to see the stage, then their expectations of being able to view the show are objectively unrealistic and blaming me won't change the fact that I'm no more at fault than every other person in the venue who would be blocking their view simply by existing and attending the show. The idea that you can rudely dictate to strangers where they're allowed to stand in a general admission venue for a show is just delusional.
