We had snow today. Okay, it was very little snowflakes, but the temperature never rose above zero, so it lay round about, crisp and even. It made very satisfying crunchy noises as I walked the roads and footpaths into Tyresö Centrum for my weekly visit. In fact, the snow started as I left the house and didn’t really stop until late in the afternoon.
It wasn’t very cold either – about -3° when I left the house – so there was no need for too much palaver. In fact, on the way back, I didn’t even bother with gloves.
Amongst all the beauty, though, I was reminded of one of the things I don’t like about Sweden. Yes, there are some.
I was sitting at the bus stop, waiting for the bus. I was the only person there. I had a full trolley and, of course, my walking stick. A woman (about 30, maybe) approached the bus stop and stood waiting. When the bus arrived, she just stepped straight on without even a backward glance. I thought this was quite rude.
I would probably have given her the courtesy of getting on before me, had she asked.
The upshot of this was that she took one of the two seats reserved for the less than able. The thing about these seats is there’s enough room for a trolley as well as the infirm. The other seat was taken by a chap who looked like he needed it more than me.
As I entered the bus and started to move down towards the now completely occupied seats, the chap in the second seat asked if I’d like his seat. The woman was too busy looking at her phone to acknowledge my existence. I turned around and thanked the guy and said I’d be fine.
I managed to squeeze into one of the higher chairs and squished my trolley next to me.
I was perfectly fine, if a bit annoyed, but it occurred to me that there are some, younger members of Swedish society who lack empathy. Older people seem fine and are a lot more generous to others. School kids are the worst, but that’s pretty much true in all the countries I’ve visited. Except maybe Japan.
In what is perceived to be an equal society, this lack is strange. I guess there’s an age when people cease to exist as far as younger people are concerned.
Here’s a grumpy old man who doesn’t exist.
Please note that the woman with the kids behind me was not the rude woman.
