How to Stay Human

The tram conductors’ charter

The separation, and silence between commuters on public transport used to be considered a classic example of the social alienation of the individual under modernism. But the mobile phone has changed that perception. Its intrusion into this public space—conversations often held at a level louder than person to person interaction—has, by breaking through it, brought into relief a formerly unacknowledged dimension to that experience.  Rather than producing or reflecting alienation, it provides an opportunity for a rare type of being with others, proximity without the necessity to engage, a shared silence, a type of communion.

Traditionally, tram conductors kindled our public spirit in their interactions with passengers. While they were replaced by ticket machines, conductors still function as a lobby for being human. What follows is a guide for city inhabitants in how to stay human when faced with faceless interactions

            How to be Human

            A Connie’s Guide

Left to progress, human interaction will be increasingly mediated by machines. Devices like Walkmans, mobile phones and ticket machines cut people offer from each other. While the big bucks of monuments and great events bring crowds together, a city needs the small change of public interaction in order to maintain its inner life. The small change of weather talk and eye contact circulates in places where strangers spend periods of time together, such as public transport, bank counters, elevators and street corners.

More than likely, these neat machines are likely to remain. Like the telephone, however, we can still develop protocols for remaining human in their presence.