Started a conversation with a stranger on the bus and got totally shut down

So I'm on the 47 bus in Pittsburgh last Tuesday, and this woman next to me is reading a book upside down... I mean literally upside down. I leaned over and said 'hey, is that some kind of brain training thing or did you just lose track of which way is up?' She just stared at me for like 5 seconds, then got up and moved to the back. I was just trying to be friendly, but now I'm wondering if I broke some unwritten rule about minding your own business on public transit. Has anyone else tried talking to a stranger in a quiet setting and gotten the cold shoulder like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_pat1mo ago

I read somewhere that folks who grew up in bigger cities have this social code where you just act like nobody else exists on the bus, so her reaction might be more about that than anything you said. In Pittsburgh, people are usually friendlier than that, but sometimes a person is just having a bad day or doesn't want to talk. It sounds like you made a harmless attempt, so I wouldn't take it personally.

eva9081mo ago

Wait she got up and MOVED? That's kinda wild, what a strange reaction to a simple joke.

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daniel8575d ago

Yeah, @eva908, I've had this happen before and it's usually not about you at all. Sometimes people just have their own weird boundaries (like not wanting to sit next to anyone) and moving is their way of dealing with it without making a scene. My advice is to brush it off and try a joke with someone else next time, maybe in a different setting like a coffee shop where people are more open. It's easy to overthink these moments, but most of the time they're just random and forgettable.