TAXI TELEVISION: Technology for Twitchy Tourists

I read somewhere a couple of years ago that white Americans differ from other cultures because of our desire for privacy in public. Whereas people of other cultures expect to mingle with other humans upon leaving the house, we white folks expect to avoid it, we aspire to being in our own little bubbles, in control of the temperature, the music, and free from interactions with others.

Over time, however, I’ve refined that notion in my mind as being more specifically about folks from car cultures, less about New Yorkers. In general, New Yorkers often seem to enjoy unexpected, incidental interactions with strangers, and the proverbial random acts of kindness that are, for many of us, a fact of New York life.

But nothing exemplifies the “privacy in public” bent as well as a recent Ottawa Citizen article about the makers of those noisy little TVs now found in the back of NYC taxis. Hyping the Canadian company, Mobile Knowledge, the piece quotes a number of high-strung tourists who portray the devices as indispensable during their NYC taxi rides. The TVs are said to relax passengers and take their minds off myriad stresses that arise during the average taxi ride in New York City. And among all the possible stressors, none is as stress-inducing as interacting with the driver: so nerve-wracking!

One woman cited in the article had visited from Atlanta. She describes how the little TVs helped her cope with her taxi rides: “I looked at the screen to avoid looking at the crazy drivers,” as if suffering from some disorder which renders her unable to deal with strangers in public. (Could a mental health professional help the woman? Is there a medication she should start? Or stop?)

Another man describes the devices as “an excellent distraction from the utter insanity” of a New York cab ride. “My wife and I travelled to the city and had at least three near-death experiences in three different cabs. Thankfully, they were all equipped with the monitors that distracted us.”

Now, it’s possible that this man has never traveled on a major thoroughfare in a large city, and has never experienced typical, aggressive rush hour traffic anywhere. But as for “at least three near-death experiences in three different cabs,” and his generalizing NYC cab rides as “utter insanity,” if not an anxiety disorder he at least has an acute hyperbole problem.

Next, “Vancouver native Antony Page, who…travels regularly to New York City…finds the devices ‘absolutely fantastic,’” according to the Ottawa Citizen. He “believes the technology is a big advantage to avoiding cab driver music and providing the passenger with some sense of control.”

How anyone could feel an inadequate sense of control while someone is chauffeuring them around is beyond me. Sounds like another tourist who has issues around interacting with strangers, a palpable anxiety disorder… C’mon folks, how hard is it to ask, “Could you please turn down the music?” Breaking news: cabbies work for tips.

It all reminds me of the last few times I’ve visited my mom in Missouri. I’ve noticed that it’s difficult to interact with strangers in town. For example, accidentally bumping another shopper in the supermarket check-out line doesn’t result in the kind of mutual, perfunctory apology familiar on the east coast. St Louisans seem to stare down at their feet, or anywhere else to avoid eye contact. And the flipside: more than once in NYC I’ve been with a visitor from the heartland who has failed to say “sorry” to someone they’ve accidently bumped, e.g., on the subway.

To be sure, there are plenty of things to love about other parts of the country and the people from there. Of course. However, as the Ottawa Citizen inadvertently reminds us, New Yorkers seem to have a better grasp on the whole carpe diem thing. And we stand out from the crowd by our ability to mutter a friendly “sorry” in a grocery store. And our ability to talk to cab drivers. And even the occasional stranger.

Photo credits: NutsInNY; musiquegirl

© 2008 NutsInNY.com

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Mayor Bloomberg: NY Does Not Exist Til Jess Returns

New York City is missing a nut, and vice versa.

Jess, a 20 year old NYU undergrad, loves Paris but she is homesick for New York. She writes home comparing the two cities, two cultures:

People actually amble when they get off the Metro here! If you do that in New York you get run over or verbally abused. But I think all these things contribute to an attitude that is in contrast to one that people used to living in New York have cultivated. I have no patience, a strikingly entitled outlook (I don’t care how Catholic you are, stores should be open on Sundays!), a hurried, intense way of living and an arbitrary sense of safety even in the most dangerous situations.

The no-24-hour-metro thing is a problem in the sense that I am broke and can’t afford to take a cab home every time I go out. (Not to mention it’s not like cabs swarm the streets like in New York)…

It’s not that I hate Paris: quite the contrary. I love it here. It’s just that New York has been so woven into the person that I am that the very idea of it existing without me makes me homesick. My friends here from NYU and I talk about it constantly, and Parisians or people we know from different schools stare at us like we are legit insane. Perhaps we are. We get this dreamy look in our eyes like we are reminiscing about some long ago high school romance… a high school romance with a 24 hour subway system and an intense delivery network that can allow for anything your heart desires to appear on your doorstep within the hour.

I was browsing through friends’ Facebook albums this morning and saw a picture of someone walking up Astor Place towards Broadway. I suddenly experienced this dramatic lurch in my stomach and felt like I might cry. It’s almost as if I’m in this one sided long distance relationship or something, wherein I desperately miss this place and it just ignores me and continues to spit out pollution and embarrassingly pun-laden Post headlines…

Jess et une amie a Paris

Jess, I think I speak for 8 million New Yorkers when I say it’s just not the same without you here. Hurry home!

Photo credit: Jess and Josh Talk About Stuff

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© 2008 NutsInNY.com

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