Community.
As I sat in a moderately busy Starbucks, sipping my black tea and typing up a letter, I began to feel someone's attention focused in on me. Cautiously, I looked up. Sure enough, a lady was staring me down. I had a table, and she was sitting on a stool against the wall, clutching her red cup and not removing her gaze. Realizing I needed to head home, I stood up. Before I had picked up my empty La Boulange bag, she started making her way over. She rushed past me and immediately staked a claim on that table. I began to wonder about how the community we have cultivated. See, I would have happily shared my table with the other lady. We could've had a brilliant conversation, or quietly respected one another's space. It would seem that we (as a culture) have decided it is more comfortable to be passively rude than to risk another person rejecting us or being actively rude in response. So we throw nonverbal signs at people to influence their behavior toward us. What