Starfishing

I guess I will start with a rant.

I commute to work in Manchester everyday. The trains get busy. So do the trams. And yet, I feel it is only polite to stand back and allow people to disembark before I try to get on. Sometimes I have to stand up, but not often.

Why on Earth do the majority of people think that it makes any sense to stand right in front of the doors on the platform as they open? They are actually slowing down the whole process. People can't get off, so they can't get on. I call this phenomena 'star-fishing', as it seems that they may as well stand there, arms and legs spread.

Often, when waiting on the platform I feel an urge to cry out, 'Quick! Train's coming! Push everyone out the way, if we don't get on we might never get home!'

When getting off a train and this occurs, I pick a spot and just walk. If this means walking through someone then so be it (as long as it's not an OAP or pregnant woman or what have you).

It seems that there are certain instigators of this process, the same people every day who jog alongside a train door to make sure they are in the right spot. Then there are those that follow, not quite confident enough to lead, but unwilling to simply wait. Then there is me, who stands there and wonders at the nature of people.

Anyone else think this is odd, or annoying?