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I'm not the OP, but have to jump in. The OP and I have no "right" to privacy when eating out, and I'm sure he'd agree. Neither he nor I ever said that.
It's not about whether the annoying people have the "right" to sit near me. It's that they have a lack of courtesy or a weird affinity that causes them to sit too close to people who are already seated.
It's like if you get onto a train, and there's only one person in the whole car sitting alone and reading, and you go and sit right next to them. That's just freakish. Do you have the "right" to sit there? sure. But why would you?
This is a pet peeve of mine. Almost always without fail, when I go alone to an empty or near empty fast casual food establishment I sit in an obscure, empty corner by myself.
Then, out of nowhere, another patron by themselves or a family decide to sit directly in front of me or next to me making face contact even though they had the entire restaurant to choose a table from. I don't sit near the registers either, they had to walk out of there way to get close to my table.
When this happens, I usually get up and go to another table. Same thing if I am in an empty movie theater.
So what is more concerning, the folks who go out of there way to sit right next to a stranger or someone like me disgusted by the act and relocates?
Edit: This just happened again as soon as I posted this. Empty McDonald's, someone decides to sit directly in front me making face contact. I'm moving.
I wonder what would happen if I decide to stare at them, maybe they would feel uncomfortable enough to move.
Perhaps not eating in public will help you maintain privacy and the same can apply to watching movies, stay home.
I'm not the OP, but have to jump in. The OP and I have no "right" to privacy when eating out, and I'm sure he'd agree. Neither he nor I ever said that.
It's not about whether the annoying people have the "right" to sit near me. It's that they have a lack of courtesy or a weird affinity that causes them to sit too close to people who are already seated.
It's like if you get onto a train, and there's only one person in the whole car sitting alone and reading, and you go and sit right next to them. That's just freakish. Do you have the "right" to sit there? sure. But why would you?
They have as much right to sit where they want as you do and it is not strange nor freakish it is just their choice and why wouldn't they sit where they want?
Do you ever sit by yourself at a 4 seater table when there are plenty of 2 seater tables around? Cause that's what I always see, there's a whole bunch of 2 seater tables and only a very few 4 seater tables, and some loner will sit at one of the 4 seater tables and take it up, so that those of us with larger parties have to stand and wait or split up. When there's plenty of smaller tables you can take. Arg, drives me crazy.
But I bet you don't even notice the size of the table you sit at, or how many of that size there are? Right? It doesn't even occur to you that it's even a thing, right?
That's how everyone else feels sitting near you. They don't notice, or realize it's a thing. They are just sitting at a table to eat with no regards to you or your desires, because no one really cares. And why should they? You don't care about their preferences either, right?
This is a pet peeve of mine. Almost always without fail, when I go alone to an empty or near empty fast casual food establishment I sit in an obscure, empty corner by myself.
Then, out of nowhere, another patron by themselves or a family decide to sit directly in front of me or next to me making face contact even though they had the entire restaurant to choose a table from. I don't sit near the registers either, they had to walk out of there way to get close to my table.
When this happens, I usually get up and go to another table. Same thing if I am in an empty movie theater.
So what is more concerning, the folks who go out of there way to sit right next to a stranger or someone like me disgusted by the act and relocates?
Edit: This just happened again as soon as I posted this. Empty McDonald's, someone decides to sit directly in front me making face contact. I'm moving.
I wonder what would happen if I decide to stare at them, maybe they would feel uncomfortable enough to move.
You are definitely weirder; you don't own the corner just because you are sitting there. Jeez.
In a restaurant, take a good book or any book or magazine or even a laptop with you. Look busy, look deep in thought and don't look up. When you see people coming in, bury your nose in whatever you brought, and hopefully they'll take that as a sign you don't want to be disturbed or friendly.
For a movie theatre, go 5 minutes before the show begins, wait until you hear the opening music/talking, walk in and choose your seat away from everyone else.
My peeve would be someone tall sitting in front of me in a nearly empty theatre. Like, "take a hike, bud" lol
My peeve would be someone tall sitting in front of me in a nearly empty theatre. Like, "take a hike, bud" lol
That happens to me too! Once in a while I'll escape from the world and go to a non-crowded movie alone. Most of the time, someone else comes in and sits in my same row, or right in the row in front of me.
Do you ever sit by yourself at a 4 seater table when there are plenty of 2 seater tables around? Cause that's what I always see, there's a whole bunch of 2 seater tables and only a very few 4 seater tables, and some loner will sit at one of the 4 seater tables and take it up, so that those of us with larger parties have to stand and wait or split up. When there's plenty of smaller tables you can take. Arg, drives me crazy.
But I bet you don't even notice the size of the table you sit at, or how many of that size there are? Right? It doesn't even occur to you that it's even a thing, right?
That's how everyone else feels sitting near you. They don't notice, or realize it's a thing. They are just sitting at a table to eat with no regards to you or your desires, because no one really cares. And why should they? You don't care about their preferences either, right?
I can only speak for myself, but I never take up more space than I need. If there are smaller tables, that's what I take. Of course it's a known "thing." Bigger parties will need that bigger table, so why on earth would I sit there?
It's not about caring for the preferences of people who like to be alone, but about what possesses someone to intentionally sit near a stranger when they have the option to sit farther away?
They have as much right to sit where they want as you do and it is not strange nor freakish it is just their choice and why wouldn't they sit where they want?
Of course the have the "right" to site where they like. No one is disputing that. It's not about rights. you responded to my post that said exactly that, so you obviously did not read it.
I guess there are two kinds of people in their world:
1) The people that would get onto a nearly empty train car, or enter a nearly empty fast food place, and see one person already there, and sit as close to them as possible
2) The people that would get onto a nearly empty train car, or enter a nearly empty fast food place, and see one person already there, and sit as far from them as possible
1s probably think 2s are weird. 2s think 1s are weird.
I'm a #2.
They have as much right to sit where they want as you do and it is not strange nor freakish it is just their choice and why wouldn't they sit where they want?
I don't believe they're sitting where they want... they're needy. They're choosing to sit, deliberately, where someone else is. I think they are people with a herd mentality and are huddling together to be as close to the next human as they can. I think it's a need, as much as it is for me, and the others here, who like to surround ourselves with personal space as much as we can.
I think these are the same people who tailgate you on the highway as if you're not going fast enough for them, and when you move out of their way, they don't go any faster. Turns out they just wanted to 'cling' to your behind.
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