Five Weeks

From the beginning of the Omer this year, Egged ran the daily count as part of the inside electronic destination signs, cycling it with the regular information. It was lovely.

Well, as the Sage of Baltimore himself, H. L. Mencken, put it, "Puritanism [is] the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy," and this is amply true of our modern-day Puritans, who are of course to be found on the other end of the political spectrum from their ancestors. Some busybody- just one, of course- made a fuss, and, as is true of all busybodies, managed to impose his will on everyone else. The Omer was taken down, and even Egged wasn't happy, but who wants the hassle? (The literal meaning of "Bolshevik" is "majority," because busybodies always try to sound bigger than they really are.)

Anyway, what was his excuse? First, some mumbling about offended "minorities" (i.e., Arabs). Mind you, he wasn't an Arab himself, and I doubt he asked any, but there you go. (Don't bother bringing up the flag, anthem, or name of the country- or the language the signs are in. He probably thinks all those have to go too.)

Second, some muttering about how the extra line on the sign is an "inconvenience," I suppose because it would take you an extra five seconds to see what the next stop is, and the guy needed to claim standing.

Well, Egged has now added the time to their signs. So you've got to wait another five seconds. Personally, I'm not inconvenienced. I'd prefer the Omer.

Why do we (American universities in the commencement season of 2014, I'm looking at *you*) give in to bullies so easily?

PS: I forgot to mention- a busybody, maybe the same one, tried to shut this series down as well, and got laughed at.