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Almost all the attention has been diverted to issues such as the girl's privacy being violated and the problematic actions of the Xi'an subway security guards. If everyone calms down, please think about these issues:
1. Why did this happen?
2. How did the conflict escalate step by step?
3. Will this kind of thing happen again? If it does, what should be done?
If I were a commentary journalist, I might write an article like this:
The issues and explorations behind the "Xi'an Metro Incident": How to properly communicate about "noise" issues?
1. The cause of the Xi'an Metro incident – noise
A woman was talking too loudly on her phone in the subway, which angered an elderly man, who then verbally abused her. However, the elderly man's reaction quickly escalated the situation out of control.
Refraining from making noise in public places is a basic courtesy for everyone. Clearly, the girl was in the wrong from the start. If the elderly man had kindly reminded her, I believe the girl, as a teacher, would have at least shown that level of courtesy.
(On a side note: the girl's loud voice might also be related to her profession. Therefore, the education department should also consider making changes to the classroom sound environment; teachers' occupational throat problems are really serious.)
2. Is it appropriate to make noise in public places?
Starting December 1, 2020, the newly revised "Shanghai Rail Transit Passenger Code" officially came into effect, which explicitly prohibits playing sound from electronic devices.
A review of reports reveals that, in addition to Shanghai, many other cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Lanzhou, Guiyang, Kunming, and Wuhan, have issued relevant regulations, explicitly prohibiting the use of loudspeakers on subways in the form of "Rail Transit Passenger Codes."
Although the Xi'an Metro isn't listed above, creating significant noise in public is indeed illegal. The woman's loud phone call disturbed other passengers and was inappropriate both legally and morally. As for the elderly man's actions, using insulting language to attack others in public constitutes defamation and is also illegal. Clearly, the elderly man's actions were unreasonable and even more inappropriate.
On another note, it's not just in public places; creating significant noise that disturbs neighbors, classmates, and colleagues during public rest periods is also inappropriate. Neighborhood noise is particularly difficult to handle. Many people, citing the fact that it's in their own home, consider any noise they generate at any time to be normal, believing other neighbors have no right to criticize or reprimand them. This blatant selfishness should be corrected.
3. How to communicate effectively when faced with noise?
This incident also exposes a fact: when dealing with noise, communication problems can easily escalate conflicts.
Taking the personalities of the two individuals in this case as an example, let's make an assumption about "neighborhood noise":
It was 11 p.m. when the girl was on the phone at home, speaking very loudly. She disturbed the elderly man downstairs, who came upstairs and knocked on the door. The girl opened the door.
Old man: Are you a female hooligan? Speaking so loudly so late at night!
Girl: You old man, why do you start swearing as soon as you open your mouth? Can't you speak properly?
Therefore, when facing noise, our first step-communication-is the most important. Here, we need to understand a psychological aspect: why do noise makers often become dismissive or even angry when we try to communicate with them? What are the reasons for their anger? Is it because they feel that being told their house is noisy is restricting their behavior? Or is it because they feel ashamed and resentful that their low-class behavior has been exposed? (I lean towards the latter.)
First, we must understand that using the most vulgar language for personal attacks only serves to "amuse oneself." When you feel the need to determine a winner, the core of the problem has already been ignored. When faced with noise, our initial communication should be as polite as possible, focusing on gentle reminders. For example, in the Xi'an subway incident, the elderly man gently patted the girl's shoulder and politely said, "Young lady, please speak more quietly on the phone; you're disturbing everyone." I imagine that even if the girl had reacted unreasonably and angrily, the online discussion might have been quite different.
When dealing with noise pollution, the initial communication should consider both sides' perspectives: your own-you're being disturbed and need to resolve the issue; and the noise-maker-whether they are aware that their noise is indeed disturbing others. Don't assume you're the only one being disturbed and adopt a completely justified, condescending attitude to criticize others; this will only escalate the conflict.
In conclusion, to prevent similar incidents from happening again, I think Xi'an Metro should also issue some regulations to prohibit noise in the subway, and establish guidelines for how to prevent such behavior: prioritizing harmony and prohibiting insulting language, violence, etc.