Slugging

I heard a piece on NPR this morning about "slugging"....essentially, sharing rides for the High Occupancy Vehicle lanes in Northern Virginia. It was really depressing when they got to the point about one of the informal rules being that no one ever gives their name.

Perhaps I am alone, but I think the pendulum has swung way off to one side when it comes to how we treat other people on various modes of conveyance. When was the last time you introduced yourself to someone sitting next to you on on bus or an airplane or a train of any kind, or standing in a long line for something.

How did we get to the point where people react with annoyance to any effort to say hello beyond a forced smile?