Anthropophobia

I think there is a little thing inside all of us that makes us all a little anthropophobic... for those of us who are not cool enough to know what that is, it's a fear of people. Every day I see people on the light rail frantically search for an empty seat to make it so no one is sitting by them. I even see people who would rather stand up than sit directly next to someone. Then there is always the person who is sitting next to you and moves the second an open empty seat becomes available. What is it people? Is there some sort of social anxiety that comes up when you are in close proximity to a complete stranger? Or do people just simply smell? Because if I smell, please tell me so I can put on some D/O for my B/O. Maybe people just don't want to have to deal with a possible awkward conversation, they're just content being left alone to their own thoughts. I find myself in that position sometimes, but that doesn't mean you can't sit next to someone in total silence.

Here's my theory, you never know when someone could be sitting there alone on the lightrail and your very presence next to them could give them some sort of peace of mind, some comfort in knowing that they aren't invisible, that they don't smell. And so what if they strike up a conversation with you. There was this guy on the lightrail today just talking away about Phoenix's lack of public transportation, the conversation always came back to that too, it was quite entertaining. He was clearly an Arizona native and thought we were behind on the times, imagining how much transportation we would have if we had put the lightrail in 40 years ago. I could see he just wanted to talk to somebody, he wasn't afraid to either. Then again, he may have been on drugs or an alcoholic or something but that's no matter. He was very welcoming, something you rarely see these days in our anthropophobic society.

How many of you look for a seat away from people on the first day of school? Or in the cafeteria? Or on the light rail? Or in any other part of your life? I think it's time we step out of our comfort zones and not be afraid to be near people, not be afraid to love people even by just sitting next to them. Don't judge, don't be afraid, be the guy who will talk about Phoenix's public transportation system for 15 min.