Pretty certain it's just an asshole thing and there are soooooo many assholes in the world ~ self-absorbed and inconsiderate, always have been, always will be.

I don't know, I've been to lots of cities and for such a small city, Portland sure has a large share of assholes. So many of the people here are just apallingly rude, ill-mannered, and inconsiderate. Is this just the social legacy of this town or is it a more recent thing? And yes, the millenial brats who've never known a life pre-internet/smartphones are among the worst offenders.

@3 People in Portland have always been self-centered, passive-aggressive assholes, they just got away for decades with pretending they were "nice" compared to the "transplants" because there was enough room for everyone to spread out and not bump into each other constantly.

This happens everywhere there is transit, and especially when the transit is crowded. Go to any city with a subway system (LA, Chicago, NYC), and watch riders try to push on immediately after the doors open instead of letting those people out who are getting off at the stop. It's endemic to the human condition.

This is every public transit system in the country. Take the F train, and the earbuds/book combo is known as the "studio apartment." It isn't new.