Every morning on the Tube I see TFL's posters with inspirational quotes. I have to give them points for effort -- I like the lengths they go to with culture on the tube, from displaying poetry in ad spaces, to these quotation posters that are extracts from a booklet of quotes for Piccadilly line staff share with passengers.
According to TFL's own press release the booklet "aims to generate a more positive atmosphere during peak times." It apparently also "encourages the many voices of the Tube’s staff to re-enter the environment of the network, bringing some of the personalities which have made it famous to the forefront once more. Coming from a wide range of philosophical, political and historical sources, the quotes provoke thought on life in the city, especially as heard on the London Underground."
My trouble with them though is that they are so safe, and uninteresting. Gandhi. Nelson Mandela. Great men, but who can really argue with them? Although I did actually meet a man recently who thought Gandhi was bad, but that's not really the point.
I appreciate that the quotes are meant to be uplifting, inspiring even, and optimistic -- but wouldn't it be more interesting if they could prompt some discussion? Maybe they want to stay away from provoking debate when people are tired and packed into crowded trains that are frequently dirty and often subject to delays and mechanical failures. Would you really want an argument breaking out in a stifling hot tube carriage when there is nowhere to escape?
At the bottom of the posters is a web site address where you can submit quotes. I amuse myself thinking of inappropriate submissions of quotes from people like the radical Edward Abbey who offered thoughts that should be embroidered on cushions, like “Anarchism is founded on the observation that since few men are wise enough to rule themselves, even fewer are wise enough to rule others.”
And who can forget the timeless wisdom of the great Hunter S. Thompson, the pioneer of "freak power"? It is next to impossible to choose just one quote from the man who felt the same way about disco as he did about herpes, but my favourite is "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro".
The author Chuck Palahniuk is one of my favourites, and he denies that he is a nihilist -- instead saying he is a romantic. Either way, as a former journalist and compulsive blogger, I find this thought fitting: "The best way to waste your life, ... is by taking notes. The easiest way to avoid living is to just watch. Look for the details. Report. Don't participate.”
Also making my fantasy list of submissions would be:
"If I were a medical man, I should prescribe a holiday to any patient who considered his work important" Bertrand Russell
"Work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do" Oscar Wilde
Wouldn't these give you something more to think about on your way to work each day? So, share with me your quotes. Not your uplifting and inspiring mantras -- but the unconventional, nihilistic and anarchic that wryly amuse you.
Here in Melbourne, Australia, the ordinary folk are invited to submit their own poetry for inclusion on the walls of trams and trains.
ReplyDeleteThose whose work is accepted consider it a great honour. We commuters therefore get to read our contemporaries, rather than the thoughts of the famous, and thoughts from the past.
Does it make a difference, I wonder? I suspect it does.
That is pretty much exactly how it goes in Winnipeg - they do try to incorporate 'culture' into the commute but it's all so safe. Baby steps, I guess.
ReplyDeleteApparently, Nelson Mandella is a controversial figure in South Africa. One of my good friends was raised there and I'm not exactly certain of the reasons anymore, but apparently he was not the blameless figure he is seen as over here. Weird, huh?
"Politics is but the common pulse-beat, of which revolution is the fever-spasm." - Wendell Phillips
ha i like chuck's quote! and what's bad about gandhi?
ReplyDeleteParadise was unendurable, otherwise the first man would have adapted to it; this world is no less so, since here we regret paradise or anticipate another one. What to do? where to go? Do nothing and go nowhere, easy enough.
ReplyDeleteE. M. Cioran
— The Trouble with Being Born
Haha :)
"And it really doesn't matter if I'm wrong, I'm right. Where I belong I'm right, where I belong."
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have a migraine. Sorry.
Haha, i had the exact same thought today! Except the one by Goethe is actually pretty good...if only I could remember it.
ReplyDeleteI think the best quote when it comes to the commute is the (horribly tacky) Ikea-influenced 'Travel is a means to an end...home'
Although, it's only ever when I'm commuting that I feel that way haha.
Yeah the Palahniuk quote is great, as is the Bertrand Russell one.
My favourite for the underground system would be from Lewis Carroll:
'But I don't want to go among mad people," said Alice. "Oh, you can't help that," said the cat. "We're all mad here".'
I enjoy the graffiti myself, but inspirational quotes are ok I guess, better than boring old advertising.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I just commented and now it's gone! Gah. Anyway, I prefer to read graffiti, as long as it's not those boring tags that are popular now. What happened to the good old fashioned "For a good time, ring Kelly, 0402589614"??
ReplyDeleteElisabeth: I like the idea, but I'd be worried the judging panel would select the pretentious and the vain. But I do love Melbourne's trams, so maybe there is a better mix to be had?
ReplyDeleteJodes: I think Nelson Mandela was very radical, and perhaps in his youth and by today's standards he would be considered a dangerous terrorist -- but I have nothing but respect for him, and I think perhaps some parts of South Africa still have a way to go before they are free from their past? Anyway, I liked that quote a lot -- very appropriate.
Floreta: I never asked why this guy didn't like Gandhi, I think his comments were off-topic and I didn't want the session derailed and I can also imagine I didn't want to get riled up which I know I would do. But I am curious as to why anyone dislikes Gandhi...
Mae: Oh definitely, that quote should be used on the Tube, without a shadow of a doubt!
Becky: No need for apologies, I liked that -- where is it from? I hope your migraines aren't too frequent.
Radiogael: I think the Lewis Carroll quote would again be an inspired choice for London, and for the Underground. I don't think I know the Goethe one? I don't go to the same station any more now, so I've stopped seeing the posters.
Steph: You did comment, but there's comment moderation activated which is why it didn't show up right away. Anyway, I called that number and Kelly said she doesn't do that shit any more. What are the unconventional, nihilistic or anarchic quotes that wryly amuse you that we can submit to Transport for London? I'm sure you have some!