Always talk to strangers

Good article, so true.

Aside from why the article makes good points, my brother find out the reality of "strangers" this week.
For a decade he's commuted through a few routes, always saying hello to a couple of walkers and the park keeper.
This week, when he went down on the slippery bridge of doom shattering his wrist, all of them came to his assistance.
A stranger drove him to hospital, parky grabbed his bike, kept it safe and then (and bro has no idea how they got his address) delivered it home one evening.
Let alone the couple of other folk who stopped to assist.
All now now him by name...
Strangers are ace.

but.....

and bro has no idea how they got his address

I can't imagine how anyone could cut off a conversation with someone because they didn't want to take their earbuds out, (start of the NYT article)

I don't even wear mine when taking the dog for a walk because it would spoil our conversation.

What's the saying, there's no such thing as strangers, only friends you've not met yet.

I have lots of conversations with strangers! When out with the dogs it’s a good starting place as there’s something in common. When I’m on my bike I’ll often stop to have a chat with people. When we’re stopping overnight in the motorhome in free spots then I’ll make a point of talking to as many people as I can so they can put a human and motorhome together. A lot of the time they are quite chuffed that you’ve stopped where they live and you’re taking the trouble to find out about it, and, when you say you’ll call again they’re even more pleased.
Some of my best conversations that I’ve had have been (unsurprisingly) in pubs. A chance conversation at a pub in Berwick Upon Tweed and a folklore tale was confirmed. The chap had been stationed as a paratrooper at Hardwick Hall, he told me that after the pubs closed in Chezvegas that they used to nick bikes to cycle back before their curfew. The bikes were then chucked in the pond so there was no evidence, to this day they’re still dredged up from time to time!
Not everyone finds it easy to chat though, my mate, who works for a large charity and has meetings with ministers and others and is very eloquent, writes books and stuff, finds it difficult to “make the first move”. I just usually dive in with “eh- up you oright pal/duck” and take it from there.
It’s good to talk, good for the soul!

On behalf of the introverts, please don't talk to me. I'm perfectly happy on my own and find random people talking to me quite invasive and disturbing. Obviously you won't know that until you say hello, but if I just nod and keep going it's probably for the best.

Normally I'm the same as thrpurist, introverted and happier in my own little silent bubble. Except when I'm in London and on the tube, then I take immense pleasure in striking up conversations with randoms and watching the whole carriage recoil in shock 🤣

I have lots of conversations with strangers!

On behalf of the introverts, please don’t talk to me

Also, you can be both of these people, at different times. My girlfriend walks the dog, and has loads of other dog walkers that she knows to chat too. But sometimes she's had a hard day at work (hospital, neuroncology) and just wants to go and decompress and not have to talk to anyone for a bit. We live in a city so not like there's anywhere you can go straight out the door and avoid people. She often puts her headphones in as a subtle signal that she doesn't want a conversation. Yet another day, she might come back an hour and a half later having had a long chat to 3 different people.

Except when I’m in London and on the tube, then I take immense pleasure in striking up conversations with randoms

As a Glaswegian I do love that. Usually when I've had a skinful and said randoms would rather die than talk to an inebriated Scot who has to enquire if everyone is ok and where they're off to/how their days been.☺️

I try to smile, nod and say hello to people when I’m out and about. Just seems like the polite thing to do.

I told dofe groups that they should always say hello to folk, especially on the hills, as you never know when one of you might need the other.

I’m perfectly happy on my own and find random people talking to me quite invasive and disturbing.

Thank you for sharing that interesting aspect of your character with random strangers.

Although I appreciate that you would have rather been ignored.

Our small town is a very friendly place. People often chat to me at pelican crossings, looking in shop windows, queuing at the butchers etc. I've even been asked to help an old lady put her card in a cash machine and get her money out, although in that instance she did get a little lecture from me about unscrupulous people.
There have been a lot of people from 'down south' moving into our area and they seem to take a while getting used to the fact we all chat to strangers.
But on a Saturday night if a man approached drunk and out of control, then I'd run.

I'm definitely an introvert, but at today's cafe stop some friendly dogs soon had four strangers talking about a common interest.

Which was nice.

On behalf of the introverts, please don’t talk to me. I’m perfectly happy on my own and find random people talking to me quite invasive and disturbing. Obviously you won’t know that until you say hello, but if I just nod and keep going it’s probably for the best.

Same goes for me, i do not want to make small talk with people just for the sake of it because we are stuck in the same space for a short amount of time due to whatever reason we are in that space

I dont like talking about the weather, my interests are pretty limited (bikes & cars) i dont watch or follow any sport including bikes and cars (F1 is the only exception) and im not really meant to talk about my job (its nothing exciting/dangerous/hush hush, its just company policy) and who wants to talk about work outside of work?

Please just leave me alone and let me listen to my music/look at my phone

It’s usually pretty obvious in the north when people don’t want to talk, I would never think of trying to if I got a monosyllabic answer and no eye contact!
This afternoon was a classic where I regretted contact, said hello to someone and next thing he invited himself to our table together with another bloke. It was no problem as they then realised a common interest between themselves in quantity surveying. Me and my mate carried on chatting and drinking, didn’t involve ourselves, we all left as friends!

I’m sorry @onehundrethidiot what is dofe?

Duke of Edinburgh

i love to talk to strangers. always say hello.
but nowadays, people seem very uncomfortable with a stranger talking to them.

I’m not sure I’d enjoy a conversation with the duke of edingburgh even before he died.. I might be gregarious but I have my limits.

I’m forever talking to folk. If they’re not interested as a few above say I’m happy with that. No judgement either, some people just don’t like talking. There’s always someone else!

While I’m perfectly happy sitting on my own in a cafe or pub reading a book on my phone and listening to music, I’m also perfectly happy to strike up a conversation with any random stranger who happens to sit nearby. I do the same thing at gigs as well; sometimes with the artist I’ve gone to see, which has had one in particular saying to me and my mate, as she started to tell a story, “you two talk among yourselves, you’ve heard this before”, we were sat in the front row, so she could see us. I’ve had Eddi Reader, turn to me after finishing a conversation with someone else, saying “hello, we’ve met before, haven’t we, how are you?”

Had a lovely chat with a random old guy in an electric wheelchair
Turns out he was one of the last mosquito night fighter pilots from ww2.

On behalf of the introverts, please don’t talk to me. I’m perfectly happy on my own and find random people talking to me quite invasive and disturbing.

Read people. If they're sat there looking elsewhere with headphones on, might be a clue that they're not hoping for interaction. Sometimes my Aspie introversion is amenable and welcoming of a random chat; other times, leave me the hell alone. If someone is clearly actively avoiding others, please just let them be.

Thank you for sharing that interesting aspect of your character with random strangers.

Although I appreciate that you would have rather been ignored.

Y'know Ernie, you're very often a really insightful member of this community and provide valuable contributions. But occasionally you can be a right bellend.

I mean, no doubt as can I, I'm sure. But if someone is brave enough to tell you "this is something I find difficult" then kicking them for it for the Internet Point LOLs is a dick move. You're better than that.

Wow

Apologies to thepurist if that's how it came across.

Advice from the late great Ronnie James Dio (which is actually a song about being overcautious)

like the Count, I can be either. Had a lovely chat with a couple on the TPT yesterday as we sat outside the Co-Op. They were cycling to Liverpool on E-Bikes stopping at a B&B and coming home today.  Other times, i would rather not talk to any-one as I'm engrossed in whatever conversations are going on in my head, or just zoned out.

Except when I’m in London and on the tube, then I take immense pleasure in striking up conversations with randoms

I travel on the tube quite a bit between work sites, once got chatted up by a cute blonde* in the middle of the day, I was so surprised when she asked if I was married that I responded "yes" (I wasn't) 😕 instantly realised my error but also that I couldn't believably reel back from my first response 😬

* she wasn't drunk or glaswegian as far as I could tell

Christ it's not that hard to send and receive the right signals re striking up a conversation is it?

I mean, I'll talk to anyone but it only starts with a nod or a hello if we both happen to look at each other at the same moment, feedback is interpreted and either silence or a bit more chat follows.

Apologies to thepurist if that’s how it came across.

TBH ernie I wasn't sure. It could've been a snarky comment or just a wry observation on the difference between 'talking to strangers' on the internet vs in real life.

It was supposed to be the second one thepurist. It didn't occur to me that perhaps it might be interpreted as the first.

No worries Ernie