Musical Courtesy and Public Space

Music, because of its abstract nature, offers us some interesting perspectives on social matters. For example, at the very beginning of the long series of novels about the friendship of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin there is a scene that recounts their very first meeting. They are attending a concert at the Governor's House in Port Mahon, Menorca, at the time, during the Napoleonic Wars, a possession of the British Empire. The performers, Italians, were playing a quartet by Locatelli and Jack, a passionate music-lover, became so caught up in the music that he began beating the tempo on his knee and at one point even started humming along with the cello. Alas, this was not taken kindly by his neighbor:

"a small, dark, white-faced creature in a rusty black coat – a civilian"

Aubrey was at the time a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. His neighbor, Stephen Maturin, a surgeon and natural philosopher, elbowed him in the ribs and shushed him emphatically. Both men were at a rather low point--Aubrey was awaiting a long-delayed promotion to his own command and Maturin was at the end of his resources, broke and without any employment. In the social context of the early 19th century a gentleman could not suffer a blow like that without asking satisfaction in the form of a duel. Luckily that did not come to pass as Aubrey received notification of his promotion on return to his boarding house and when he next met Maturin he greeted him with apologies for his behavior in the concert which were returned by Maturin's apologizing for his short temper. They shared a love of music and became great friends. But it could have easily gone another way. A gentleman (and all officers are gentlemen by default) must behave in a civilized manner in public and must not suffer public insults as well. These things were usually settled promptly with pistols or swords which at this point in history were not ceremonial.

One episode of Firefly features a duel treated with comic effect. Now, let's set this aside a recent incident in Toronto: Screaming man chases and attacks TTC passenger for asking to turn down music.

A shocking video emerged on social media showing an altercation that left a TTC passenger shaken and in tears, all because they asked another rider to turn down their music.

The video shared by Instagram user brampton__wasteman shows an enraged man screaming at a female passenger, asking, "what did you say to me on the bus?," the two having apparently just exited a TTC vehicle at the corner of Sherbourne and Carlton.

“I don't know who you are,” shouts the female passenger in response. The aggressive male passenger continues yelling, repeatedly asking, "what did you say about my music?" while moving toward the retreating female in a threatening manner.

Next, the female explains that she simply asked the man to turn down his music, before the video cuts out. The clip resumes with the pair again angrily exchanging words, and the female passenger being escorted onto a streetcar as bystanders separate the two. Once safely on board the streetcar, the woman can be heard breaking down in tears.

On the one hand we can criticize the barbaric practice of dueling, but on the other hand, this incident is barbaric in an entirely different way and, to my mind, not a whit more civilized--quite the opposite. It is entirely unsafe to offer any criticism of this sort to anyone in public. In many cities you could get shot.

So, you might ask, how civilized is our contemporary society?