Buses on rainy days

Since it has been non-stop raining, I have had several encounters with some of my favorite but forgotten absurdities. And ONE of them are rainy days on the bus.

We all know the rules of lines. If not, let me be clear. If you are first in line, you are FIRST to enter whatever it is you have stood in line for. Now, at a bus stop, there is a hodgepodge of politics. There are always the people that get there really early, the ones that are getting there right as the bus is getting there... it is hard to really know who is first. And, to make matters even trickier, it all also depends on your strategic stance and where the driver decides to stop. Now, when it is raining and MORE people than normal are riding the bus, everything about the rules of lines and buses increases exponentially! And by that I mean, peoples' attitudes and determination.

Overcrowded buses are already annoying, but when its wet, its almost a guarantee that the bus is going to be crowded and gross (and if you've ever met me, you will know that I have an extreme hatred for being UNNECESSARILY wet). And for some reason, when crowds compound with wet and you add this all to a bus, you get the following......

The Sitters: The seated people on crowded buses, especially on rainy days, all of the sudden become the better human beings, above others if you will. They managed to make it on time or beat the crowd and therefore look at themselves as equivalent to Manhattan's Upper East Side elite. They look down upon those who have to stand & hold onto the rails for dear life. They also tend to make comments about "the standers" - that they need to keep moving back to make more room or that they just hate when the bus is THIS crowded.. The sitters are united under a common coalition: The Standers are gross, wet and below them. They want to get off the bus as quickly as possible. OH, and if a stander dares to lose their footing because of the quick and sudden braking of the bus, SHAME must be inflicted upon them with a quick glare or snarl.

The Standers: The standers on these days are not very in tune with the snooty sitters, other than the fact that they want one of their spots. Their politics is much like that of people waiting to find a parking spot in a crowded parking lot. They are in competition with each other and will do anything to be the first to get that one seat that opens up. If you watch, their eyes dart around in the direction of those who will be their greatest competition for the next open seat. The standers do not want to be on the bus anymore than the sitters, but their focus is first on finding a seat and second on getting off the bus. Which leads me to my next point. Once a stander becomes a sitter, they immediately take on the sitter characteristics, as if they hadn't JUST been standing. It is QUITE amazing how quickly it happens.

WHAT is the perfect word to describe this human interaction?

What is PETTINESS, Alex.

<3