Toronto? Courteous? Hmm...?

[rusty_armour]

Apparently Toronto was named the third most courteous city in the world in a Reader's Digest poll. My question is: how? I mean, they couldn't have researched too many other cities (at least in this country) if Toronto managed to attain such a high rank.

Hmm...maybe my opinion is coloured by the fact that I was in a TTC bus yesterday where the driver was threatened with violence (and a bomb) by a man who insisted on a free ride. Fortunately, one lady called the police on her cell phone and they took care of the man. Most of us actually felt kind of sorry for him as he wasn't wearing any shoes and broke down in tears. In fact, he had left the bus before the cops showed up, and I don't think he put up a lot of resistance. Still...it was kind of scary.

I think I'm also feeling kind of cynical because a guy was just shot on Scarborough Golf Club Rd, which is only about a 1-2 minute drive from my parents' house. The media didn't have the full details when I left for work this morning, but it sounds like a cop shot a fleeing suspect.

I guess courteousness is something that has to be measured separately from violence. New York was ranked the most courteous city in the world and it's not as if it's free of violence either.

Comments

[espirk.livejournal.com]

Hmm... I'm a little skeptical of this myself! And New York was the most courteous?!? That is odd. An old co-worker of mine went to NYC and she actually had to warn two girls walking in front of her (who were acting very much like tourists) to play cool like they were from the city because a couple of guys were already tailing them...

BTW, did you get the e-mail I sent you about the link for the Enterprise all seasons screencaps?

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

Yes, I thought it was strange that NYC got the top spot. I mean, the people there have a reputation for being rude or, at least, they used to...

Yes, I did get your email about the Enterprise screencaps. I keep meaning to check out the site. Hopefully I'll be paying a visit soon. :-)

[puckrobin.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about your experience on the bus. That sounds really unnerving.

I suspect that poll was coloured by where Readers Digest has the most readers.

I used to wonder about Toronto's reputation as a clean city. Then I visited Boston and saw all the litter on their subways. It's all relative.

Allen

[rusty-armour.livejournal.com]

The experience was pretty unnerving. However, there were a number of guys standing between me and the, er, action, so I was actually feeling fairly safe. To be honest, I was more worried about the poor bus driver.

I also wondered if there was something behind that poll, like visiting cities with the most Readers Digest readers. Actually, I wondered if it was some kind of attempt to draw tourism into cities that really needed it (like Toronto), though I don't see what RD would get out of it.

Compared to a lot of places, Toronto is a really good city. As you say, it's all relative.