Saturday, April 19, 2008

Commenting on comments

It's about a year ago since I've blogged here. Why should I take it up again now?
Well... about a year ago, I disabled the comments on this blog after I got really annoying reactions after I'd translated a magazine article about extreme violence on Antwerp public transport.
One year later, I've come to the conclusion that taking the public transport in Antwerp is no picknick ...
One year ago, a man died after what seemed to be a trivial tiff...
There was much a do about the deadly incident in the media, one paper taking sides in favour of one party, another magazine taking sides in favour of the other party. In the end, the result is the same: a man died for no reason.

In the seventies and eighties, I used to be a keen fan of our public transport. During the nineties, my appreciation slowly but surely changed.
People seemed to have changed. Though there was less harassment and violence than today, I felt less at ease while taking a tram or a bus. I could feel the tension between travelers, whether old or young, local or foreign and drivers seemed to be extremely tense while driving ...

Just a few days ago, I called someone on her cell phone. She was sitting on a bus while answering my call. I could hear a man making totally unnecessary comments on the conversation we were having, he was interfering to the extend we had to break off our conversation!

Now, I am asking myself, in what kind of world are we living?
I count my blessings, being able to drive my own car, enabling me to arrive at my destination unstressed.