Originally Posted by
heraclitus
If someone makes a polite request I would have no trouble obliging them. FT culture is a bit weird in that polite requests are taken as an affront... it's not like the woman tried to rip the ipad from the OP's hands. She just asked if he would switch to another way of passing the time.
That said, one could also decline the request graciously. I don't see what insults or petty sitcom-style zingers add to the situation. Not everything is an attack on your personal liberties and freedoms.
It's not that the woman was rude, it's just sooooo weird. If someone asked you to change pants because they didn't think that it matched with your shirt, and being a fashion designer, it bothered them. Would you think it a bit odd and uncalled for? Even if they asked as nicely as possible? Or perhaps a slightly better example. If you were a woman wearing a professional dress that showed a hint of cleavage, and the mom asked you to put on a sweater, how would you feel then?
Chris