We Share the Space. Do We Remember That?

A recent incident involving a woman biker has been on my mind.

She was chased by a man, hit, and then he simply ran off. But what happened next was what stayed with me. She got back on her bike, followed them, recorded what happened, filed a case, and pursued it.

It was heartening to see a woman who had just been attacked get back on her wheels and refuse to be intimidated.

This is the new world. A world where women share equal space with men. Women may lag behind men in physical strength, but when it comes to mental strength and resilience, there is little that can hold them back.

Yet, there was another question that stayed with me:

Where is our civic sense?

A couple of days later, I saw an advertisement by a four-wheeler brand that said, in essence, to consider the roads as your playground.

I know the advertisement was scripted with good intentions. It was probably about enjoying the freedom of driving. But my mind immediately went back to that man who chased a woman biker.

What happens when people actually start treating roads like playgrounds?

These days, civic sense seems to be twisted around personal preferences.

Who can forget the incident where a large family reportedly brought food containers inside an airplane and started serving food as if they were on their own private flight?

Where was their common sense when they planned it?

What made them think it was perfectly acceptable? And what gave them the confidence to argue with the airline staff as though they had done nothing wrong?

It was only a matter of a few hours. They could have gathered somewhere after the flight and had their meal.

In both situations, there was one common thread. They seemed to believe that what they wanted to do was perfectly fine, regardless of how it affected the people around them.

We are getting selfish.

That, perhaps, is the simplest reason why civic sense is disappearing.

Otherwise, a person would not chase an innocent woman on a bike, hit her, and drive away.

Otherwise, a family would think twice before creating an inconvenience for fellow passengers.

Civic sense is a conscious choice.

It is that little thought we should have before doing something in a public space:

Will this affect someone else?

The space outside my home is not mine. The road is not mine. The footpath is not mine. The airplane cabin is not mine.

They are shared spaces.

And in shared spaces, we have to respect other people’s comfort, safety, time, and feelings.

It applies to everything.

Littering.

Spitting.

Dumping waste.

Creating unnecessary noise.

Blocking roads.

Parking carelessly.

Driving recklessly.

Throwing parties without considering the neighbors.

These may look like small things individually, but together they tell us a lot about the kind of society we are becoming.

It starts with upbringing

Civic sense is a culture, and culture has to be cultivated.

It starts in childhood.

A child who learns not to throw a wrapper on the road learns consideration.

A child who learns to wait for their turn learns respect.

A child who sees parents following rules even when nobody is watching learns responsibility.

We cannot expect civic sense to magically appear when children become adults.

It has to become part of who we are.

The woman biker reminded me that courage is not always about physical strength. Sometimes, it is simply about standing your ground and refusing to accept wrong as normal.

Perhaps civic sense needs the same courage.

Because public space is not personal space. What we do in it affects all of us.