Pondering Armrest Politics

Ok, I admit, the leprechaun plot caption was just to get your attention, but stick around anyway :)

Well folks, lets be honest here. Though most of us would like to think that our lives are governed by free will, and that we are independent. Neither of these statements are true. Most of our interactions are governed by rigid, unspoken social rules which are taught to use through observing others as we grow up. This is evident whenever we are in a situation which we don't consciously know the correct action for. I'm going to talk about of a situation we've all been in multiple time before, and I'll list the things that you, I and everyone else did (and continue to do).

The Situation: sitting next to a stranger. Between the two of is a single armrest. Seemingly, only one of you can have that extra measure of comfort that comes with having the shared armrest.

Options:

A: Put your arm there first, and keep it there, in case the person next to you decides on option C(see below)

B: Give it up to the other person; Why even try?

C: Engage in a game of cutthroat armrest chess. Snatch it when the other person reaches for popcorn, discover that he reclaimed it as you were stretching. Repeat the process. If this option is chosen, I can guarantee that even if that armrest changes possession 20 times over the course of the movie, flight or whatever, neither of you will speak to the other regarding the armrest. It's an unspoken rule, closer to a law, really. You will both leave where ever you were with a deep feeling of resentment toward the other person, and will proceed to complain to your friends about him/her.

D. The thing where you kind of share a armrest, but no one is really satisfied. One persons elbow goes on the back half, while the other persons forearm rests on the front.

E: Most people will never have to experience the freakiness that is option E. Option E is not so much a option(read: Choice) as a surreal experience that you have been sucked into.

Examples of E type incidents :

1. http://youtube.com/watch?v=k1MHY_AFNAM

2. Having someone choose the urinal next to you when there are 5 other urinals not being used.

3. Someone completely circumvents the list of options for the armchair situation, and does something odd instead, like puting his hand on the other persons leg when the other person holds onto teh armrest(I know someone who has done this), or having a stranger ignore the generally obeyed concept of persona space and put their arm over yours when you have the armrest(this has been done to me)

4. Or my personal favorite, someone spontaniously break into song. Not just a singing it quietly to themselves either, I mean full blown musical theatre in public(This has happened to me).

This is a pretty good example of it - "Food court musical" (My favorite part is when the janitor arrives)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkYZ6rbPU2M


Anyways, I'm finishing this up after I started it a while ago, so I forget what my original purpose to writing this was. I'm pretty sure it was well thought out and even possible interesting.

Oh well, See you folks later

Tory