Rucksacks are immoral

[Pacific231G]

After suffering from them at most exhibitions - most recently Ally Pally- Hadley Freeman's style column in yesterday's Guardian had me laughing my head off. It's still available online.

 

http://www.guardian....k-short-sleeved

 

Here's an edited extract.

"when a person dons a rucksack, they become either completely selfish or oblivious and somehow "forget" that they now have a massive hump on their back and proceed to whack people behind and on either side of them with it as they turn to and fro, willy nilly. In their wake lay literally hundreds of fallen commuters strewn through train carriages, felled by the powerful push of the casually brandished rucksack, and yet the rucksacker carries on seemingly ignorant of the chaos in their wake."

 

So true, and if you were thinking of wearing a short sleeved shirt with a tie you'll probably change your mind.

[Mod6]

We're not going to have another pointless series of rants about rucksacks are we? No.

[dseagull]

I object to button-down short-sleeved shirts full stop, and when I am Queen of the Universe – as shall soon come to pass, it has been foretold in the Book of Grazia – I shall ban them, along with Gerard Butler, adverts starring Martine McCutcheon and the word "ickle".

 

 

Good column, this!

[Leicester Thumper]

thanks for the link i found this quite amuzing

[DavidBelcher]

After suffering from them at most exhibitions - most recently Ally Pally- Hadley Freeman's style column in yesterday's Guardian had me laughing my head off. It's still available online.

 

http://www.guardian....k-short-sleeved

 

Here's an edited extract.

"when a person dons a rucksack, they become either completely selfish or oblivious and somehow "forget" that they now have a massive hump on their back and proceed to whack people behind and on either side of them with it as they turn to and fro, willy nilly. In their wake lay literally hundreds of fallen commuters strewn through train carriages, felled by the powerful push of the casually brandished rucksack, and yet the rucksacker carries on seemingly ignorant of the chaos in their wake."

 

So true, and if you were thinking of wearing a short sleeved shirt with a tie you'll probably change your mind.

 

Short-sleeved shirt with a tie - never quite looks right, does it? Best avoided.

As a frequent rucksack user I do actually bear others in mind when negotiating tight spaces, and in any case (no pun intended), surely the rucksack is the lesser of two evils when compared with the dreaded giant-suitcase-on-wheels, as anyone who's ever had the misfortune to be behind an inconsiderately-handled one (pretty much any time I ever set foot on the concourse at Euston, it seems) would agree?

 

David

[Richard E]

As a user of both rucksack and wheeled case whilst travelling by train I find pros and cons for both. With a rucksack folk walking towards you will often leave minimal space expecting you to turn sideways to present a slimmer profile - Oops, whack, there goes another traveller Of course with the trolley bag there isn't that problem but someone will trip over it because they do not expect you to be trailing a load behind you so they don't bother looking where they are going.

 

There is another side to the trolley bag and that is the person who cuts in front of you without thinking about the bag - sometimes it is base over apex over the bag, other times the bag goes base over apex much to the annoyance of the owner.

 

The crux of the problem in both cases is not just the rucksack or trolley case user, quite often it is both people involved in the incident because they do not pay sufficient attention to what is going on around them.

 

Having got that off my chest I had a good laugh at the news article linked above.

[Robert]

I wear short sleeved shirts with a tie in the Summer - but I don't play Dungeons and Dragons. At least not anymore, I used to years ago!

 

As far as Rucksacks are concerned - they are actually quite useful, but my chosen work bag is a pilot's case from a practicality point of view. I have taken my rucksack to railway exhibitions, but I tend to remove it when I am in a crowd and am careful to avoid bashing people with it. I think when all is said and done it is purely down to consideration for others. Which in many cases is lacking.

 

Hmmmm, short sleeved shirts, rucksacks - maybe I fulfil the stereotype :icon_lol:

[PMP]

Notwithstanding the impoliteness and nil consideration of some people using backpacks at shows, I do wonder if some people are making a little too much of the issue. I seem to recall a member wanting a warning to be put in show guides that 'backpacks are in use', and appropriate caution should be used. As I mentioned at the time, if someone in front of you appears to be wearing a rucksack, then it's a good bet that actually they are wearing a rucksack, and perhaps have a slightly larger 'footprint' than a non backpack wearing person. I find it amusing that the objectors don't complain about 'pie eaters' for example whom also may have a larger 'footprint' than the average person. I've only once had a comment about the pack I wear, bizzarely that came from a lard@rse behind me trying to force his way to the barrier, pushing myself and the guy next to me towards the layout The use of backpacks comes with common sense, yes there are those that abuse them, but the majority don't. I'm also not entirely convinced that backpack wearers are the worst example of antisocial commuting you can find on the urban networks, least of all identified by a Grauniad riter.

 

I'll close with this thought,

 

 

This is Crib Goch, in the wet, wind and low cloud. Anyone who has done the ridge will tell you there are sections that are 6 inches wide or so with either side falls of many many hundreds of feet. Quite literally, life threatening. I'd imagine a high ninety percentile of the people that cross it use back packs, and you get opposite direction traffic crossing too. We seem to manage without complaining, or pushing each other off. It comes down to common sense and consideration from both parties. Food for thought eh?

NB the term 'Pie eaters' refers specifically to those whose body mass issues are entirely self inflicted, and have no medical connections to their size whatsoever.

[Summer_Saturday]

The lengths some people will go to so they can have a garden railway eh? . . .

[Southernman46]

the dreaded giant-suitcase-on-wheels, as anyone who's ever had the misfortune to be behind an inconsiderately-handled one (pretty much any time I ever set foot on the concourse at Euston, it seems) would agree?

 

 

Admittedly, these are far more fun to flip over with a deft flick of the toe when cut-up by one in the tunnels at Kings Cross if one happens to have the misfortune to get caught up in a Eurostar arrival - childish I know but.......