I’m coming home from work and just got on the bus. It takes about half an hour. It’s a good time to read a book, but today I just sit and watch people. A guy gets on a couple of stops later. He’s probably a few years older than me, wearing a business suit with a pale blue shirt and looking like he’s had a long day.
About 5 minutes pass. The guy gets out his phone and answers it. He talks fairly loudly so I easily overhear the following conversation. It’s a loose summary:
“Hey mate. Yeah, just left about 15 minute ago. I should be there in about 10…. Haha. Tell me about it! It’s still not finished. We’ll probably have to work this Saturday… Yeah. I know I’ve done my part… but Geoff (boss?) knows I’m the senior so he’s heaped it on me…
Haha… fuck off. I’m not doing that… This isn’t the movies, mate. Haha… yeah well… (speaks more quietly) I’m on the bus. I’ll talk to you later… I know he’s doing something. It’s pretty easy to tell the way he’s so paranoid. Does Stacey come in to chat to you every day?... I know… And Geoff’s put in that new log with the swipe cards. He knows exactly when and who comes and goes. I bet you he… yeah… well remember I told you when I got into one of his folders accidentally?... Yeah, exactly. I bet he watches all the CCTV footage too, takes it home, the freak…
Hahaha… Piss off. That’s just wrong… As much as I’d like to, it’s not gonna happen… I think she’s got a guy already. And how do you expect me to bring it up? Oh. How was your weekend? Ok. Nice. You wanna romp in the back room after work? Hahaha… (looks around and notices me watching him)… Shut up. I’m on the bus, mate. I’m gonna go… No as if! When did she ever give that impression? She probably wants some rich fuck from legal… Did you see Janna with Williams last Friday?... I know. I’ve got no chance… Hahaha. Maybe. You never know. They probably get sick of the guys working with them. You’re right… Ok, mate. I gotta go. I’ll give you a call tomorrow.
So there you have it. An average weeknight bus trip from the city. Normal people coming home after a day at work. Some sit there playing with their phones, some are reading, others are staring out the window. Some guy takes out his phone and has a conversation… nothing out of the ordinary.
Well. Now think about this. That guy. That was me. And there was nobody talking to me on the phone. I just held it up to my ear for 10 minutes during my ‘conversation’. For 10 minutes, I was talking loudly enough for people to follow me. For 10 minutes, I was talking to myself and nobody felt bothered by it at all.
Now take the phone out of the equation. Imagine me sitting there talking to myself. How do you think people would feel? Why?
Should we give paranoid schizophrenics a phone to hold up to their ear? What is wrong with talking to yourself? You know, I was just thinking the same thing. Interesting question.
3 comments:
This seems like a Fight Club style challenge. I think something similar is given by some psychotherapists to people with social phobia -- eg. sing along with the radio on the bus. Was your aim to see how outrageous you could be before something happens?
My aim wasn't to get a reaction from people. I just want to demonstrate the absurdity of the idea of insanity. If something as simple as a mobile phone changes our perception of a person, then something is seriously wrong.
I think maybe people associate insanity with danger. They think that if someone is crazy enough to talk to themselves then they might be dangerous. Personally, I wouldn't mind having a conversation with a schizo. It would be more interesting than a lot of conversations these days.
I'm not sure how this makes it absurd, most equipment changes our perception of a person (eg. a person twitching their index finger in front of a stranger vs twitching the same index finger with a gun around it).
But yes, I think the idea of danger is definitely there as people who behave in ways we deem unusual are seen to be unpredictable and hence capable of anything. That's why one of my favourite bits of advice from the Bible is to do as David did -- if being pursued or in danger and start foaming at the mouth and even hardened killers may back off in disgust!
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