Oblivious

In the past three weeks or so I've had several bad experiences with rude fellow students on campus. First off, I was in the computer lab and this guy walks in and sits at a computer near me. He was listening to big band music on his iPod. The volume was so loud that he might as well not have had ear buds at all; everyone could hear it. He hummed along a little and was completely oblivious to the fact that he was disturbing everyone around him. The other people in the lab were exchanging annoyed and incredulous glances. I finally couldn't take in anymore and rolled over to him, tapped him on the shoulder, and let him know that everyone could hear his music. He turned it down.

Last week I was studying at a table in the library. It is important to know that I was not in the "No Shhh Zone." A girl walked by, recognized the boy sitting next to me, and came over to say HI. A short chit chat in whispers is not exactly encouraged but understandable. I tolerated it for a while. Then she said that she had a story to tell him and took off her backpack, getting ready to stay for a while. I leaned over and asked if they would please have their conversation somewhere else. They left.

Today I was in the library again, sitting in the soft chairs. The girl next to me was having a texting conversation. This wouldn't be so bad except that she had jingle bells attached to her phone. Every time she moved her phone it was like a trip to Santa's Wonderland. Not exactly what I was hoping for when I entered the HBLL. Not too long later she pulls a bag of chips out of her bag and starts chomping away. Not only is that against the rules and a violation of library etiquette, it is extremely annoying. The sound of other people chewing, especially crunchy, smacky kind of chewing is the most annoying sound in the world to me. She got through two chips before I leaned over and asked, in a polite whisper, if she would please not eat. She said "Sure" with an annoyed kind of smile.

Are people really so oblivious that they have no concept of the fact that their actions affect others? Are they really so unaware? Or do they just not care? If they are going to inconvenience me, then I feel justified in inconveniencing them a bit in asking them to stop their inconsiderate behavior.