PASSENGER SHAMING – PICTURES OF THE RUDEST AND GROSSEST PASSENGERS IN THE AIR

So yesterday, Yahoo! ran the above article about the rudest and grossest passengers traveling by air. They are calling this “Passenger Shaming”, which if you look at these images you’ll see why. Most of the individuals have their shoes off. I can relate to this since I’ve ran across a number of shoeless people in public places in Sweden. I don’t know if it is a cultural norm or if these people are just not well mannered, but it is a little unnerving and grosses me out. I’m a very hygienic person to the point that I’m a bit OCD (obssessive compulsive disorder). Poor Linda had to eat cookies over a trash can because I was afraid of crumbs. Everyone has their thing… and mine is about cleanliness.

Now, I don’t mind it when people take of their shoes when entering a home. I grew up in an Asian household so that is normal and respectful not to track in outside dirt into a home. But what I’ve seen here in Sweden is a bit different. Example #1: I was out to dinner with some girlfriends in Malmö at a chic restaurant called OCCO. My gaze happened to wonder to the table dining next to us, it was a group of nicely dressed men and women. I’m not sure what made me look down, but upon doing so, I saw one of the nicely dressed ladies had removed her shoes. We are in a nice restaurant where people are eating and she felt the need to remove her shoes. I was totally appalled by this and lost my appetite especially since she was seated closest to me.

Example #2: On the train to Stockholm the lady sitting directly across from me decided to take of her shoes and rest her feet along the doorway which was right in front of my face. She kicked me while stretching out trying to reach the doorway with her feet. This was a 5 hour train ride and I really wish I would have said something to her. Not only was removing her shoes bad enough, but she was now invading my personal space with her feet.

Example #3: Walking around exploring Stockholm with Linda was so much fun. We were in a new city that neither of us had been to so we took lots of pictures. I noticed a lady dining at a cafe on the side of the street with her shoes off. I had to take a picture because after what I had been through on the train, I needed proof that people of Sweden love to take off their shoes, everywhere.

Lastly, example #4: This I see everyday at the gym. In Sweden you have to bring an extra pair of shoes to the gym. Because of the weather, they do not want you to track in your muddy shoes. Totally understandable. But it’s the people that remove their shoes and work out in their socks that worry me. In the US it’s against any gym policy to have people without shoes. The only time that is allowed is if you are taking a yoga class. Imagine if a weigh falls on your toes? Also, at the gym you sweat a lot and you have other people’s sweat, why would you want to absorb that into your socks? It is totally disgusting and I don’t know why people do it. Yesterday I saw a couple doing squats on a heavy machine both were in socks.