Pushing Buttons

Issa Rae says, “I hate when people press the elevator or crosswalk button right after me. You think you press buttons better than I do?” The flip side is the annoyance when someone has not punched the button and you show restraint, assuming they have. Or they do not move their car forward enough to trigger the stoplight. Some people think pressing the button over and over will affect how quickly the light will change. If that were true, you could make a case for multiple people pressing the button. Some people probably press buttons out of compulsion or obsession like popping bubbles in the bubble wrap. The best example I have of button pushing assumptions involves a busy Seattle intersection with multiple lanes going both ways. Before a Mariners game, a policeman is on duty to make sure pedestrians and traffic keep moving efficiently and safely. I was at the back of a crowd quickly growing to about 100 people swarming the corner to cross westbound. The noise of the traffic and the buzzing of the crowd made it difficult to hear the police officer. He was apparently trying to coordinate with the automated system and was yelling, “Somebody press the button!” Only the people close to the button could do it and they were engaged in conversations. Eventually enough frustrated pedestrians got someone’s attention to push the button. That was a perfect example of a mob either assuming the policeman was over-riding the system or assuming that someone else surely must have already hit the button. So if in doubt, I say just press the button even if Issa Ray is going to make fun of you.