[ExI] The American Doorway

[Rafal Smigrodzki]

So they say you are supposed to hold the door for other people. The
pro-social, astute and polite citizen traversing a doorway with a
non-powered but self-closing door should stop in said doorway and hold the
door open for approaching humans, especially if they are members of various
vulnerable or downtrodden groups. Failure to do so is gauche, culturally
insensitive and subject to gossip and other sanctions.

So you are supposed to stand in the door, and not only lose precious
seconds of your life but also force others to slow down on approach, so
they can negotiate passage through a doorway that is partly blocked by you
and take hold of the door from you, which is a clumsy exercise made worse
by the need to express gratitude for the disservice provided. Clearly, a
lose-lose proposition.

As an efficiency-minded individual I approach such doors in stride, not
slowing down. At the right moment I extend my arms and push the door,
without slightest hesitation and I pass as quickly as possible, studiously
*not* looking back, so anybody behind me can move in the same efficient
way, not helped but also not impeded by me. Everyone is free to continue
their pursuit of happiness at their own speed, just as the Founding Fathers
intended.

So am I right? Am I a stalwart defender of the Constitution who implements
its tenets even in the mundane act of walking through a door? Or am I just
another asshole?

Rafal
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