Forbidden kidness

This week I decided to break the norm of talking to strangers in bathrooms. As I expected, people were extremely confused and freaked out when I talked to them. If you think about it there really is no reason that people can only talk talk to strangers in specific places (such as work, school, shopping, etc). One of the ironic things about this topic is that on the first day of sociology, when we came in the teacher was quiet and everyone felt awkward and new something weird was happening. People expected this in this environment and found the noise comforting but when I started a conversation in the bathroom everyone thought I was either a creepy or insane. Unfortunately I am also guilty of this absurd way of thinking. If someone starts talking to me at during a class, I do not avoid them but instead try to keep up the conversation and be friendly. If I was in the bathroom and someone began talking to me I would probably briskly answer and leave. It truly is horrible that we decide when we want to make friends, when we want to have a nice conversation, when we want to take time out of our day to make someone else's. If someone was crying in the bathroom would you carry on as if nothing is happening? Most people would say no but honestly would if the situation came up. The thoughts often associated with bathrooms are: dirty, quick trip, silent. Just like any other norm, society is determined to keep this image up in order to feel secure and stable in one's environment.