A tap on the shoulder. A request that he lower his voice, while speaking on the cell phone in a bus. The bus Uncle starts screaming at the young ‘tapper’, offering commentary on life, pressure, etiquette all in obscenity laden stream of consciousness invective.
The infamous Hongkong video, captured by a fellow passenger, has already spawned remixed versions, art, commentary and much else. Eugene Robinson has an OPED in the WAPO that you may want to read:
Internet sensations have a brief shelf life, and “Bus Uncle” doesn’t stand up to repeated viewings. It does make a couple of extremely valuable observations about modern urban life, though.
For one thing, Bus Uncle speaks an unassailable truth: “I face pressure. You face pressure.” We all face pressures at work and at home. We all have deadlines to meet and bills to pay. We handle our pressures because that’s what being an adult is largely about, managing pressures so they don’t end up managing us. But we all have those days, don’t we, when it feels like a losing battle.
And then all it takes is an innocent tap on the shoulder at just the wrong moment. I’m not talking about “intermittent explosive disorder,” which is the clinical term that encompasses road rage. That’s an actual condition that can be treated with therapy and medication. I’m talking about that rare instant when someone inadvertently touches your very last nerve, and Bus Uncle escapes his restraints.
The other lesson from “Bus Uncle” is taught by its very existence. A student sitting across the aisle happened to see the confrontation and decided to record it with the camera in his cellphone, which was able to take still pictures or video. It’s amazing that in nanoseconds, a slice of Hong Kong life can be experienced in Washington, Johannesburg or Moscow.
I don’t feel like recommending you watch this video. It made me feel sick but this is also the sad reality of present day urban life. Something we can not run away from.
I was also reminded of some of our neighborhood fights when we were kids. But that story is for another day.
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