Reply to: Unusual two minutes silence

[NotAllThere]

I think that even for English people it should be a personal choice. If you want to observe the silence, I shouldn't have to leave or feel peer-pressured into it.

If you stay and chat you are being very disrespectful to the people for whom the silence is important. You are saying that your right to talk for two minutes is more important than their feelings. Since shutting up for two minutes is hardly a massive burden, you are effectively saying that their desire to remember the dead of all wars through two minutes of silence is insignificant.

Causing offence just because you wish to demonstrate you have a personal choice is the action of a boorish man.

[meridian]

I think that even for English people it should be a personal choice. If you want to observe the silence, I shouldn't have to leave or feel peer-pressured into it.

In this case though, your personal choice is impacting on others. Sort of like if you're a smoker and blowing your unasked-for second hand smoke over people.

[d000hg]

It is disrespectful to your colleagues observing the silence to continue talking. It's a choice between behaving decently and being an ignorant git. Or do you think that honouring others' cultures when you're in their own country is just being intolerant?

I think that even for English people it should be a personal choice. If you want to observe the silence, I shouldn't have to leave or feel peer-pressured into it.

[NotAllThere]

It's a choice. Like wearing a poppy. As pointed out their nation fought too, is it simply not the Indian custom - if so do they have another custom instead?

It is disrespectful to your colleagues observing the silence to continue talking. It's a choice between behaving decently and being an ignorant git. Or do you think that honouring others' cultures when you're in their own country is just being intolerant?

[d000hg]

Didn't you feel it would have been reasonable to walk over them and discretely tell them to stop being so disrespectful and STFU?

It's a choice. Like wearing a poppy. As pointed out their nation fought too, is it simply not the Indian custom - if so do they have another custom instead?

[fool]

We had an email this morning mentioning the two minute silence at 11am

Then at the appointed time, when I wasn't expecting anything in particular except a quiet time to discretely continue typing, a load of whistles sounded over the intercom, like the end of Blackadder series 4.

Quite evocative, but not enough to persuade a couple of thoughtless tits to stop rabbiting away behind me for the whole two minutes (Indians as it happens, without wishing to sound racist as over a million Indians fought in WW1 and 74,000 were killed )

Had same here but without any announcment that normally happens, it took me a few seconds to register what it was.

[suityou01]

SY02 and I ceased work at the allotted time and began to observe the silence. About 20s in the phone went. It was a pimp.

I silenced the call, let it go to voicemail. Time was added on for the interruption.

[NotAllThere]

...
Quite evocative, but not enough to persuade a couple of thoughtless tits to stop rabbiting away behind me for the whole two minutes (Indians as it happens, without wishing to sound racist as over a million Indians fought in WW1 and 74,000 were killed )

Didn't you feel it would have been reasonable to walk over them and discretely tell them to stop being so disrespectful and STFU?

[darmstadt]

As usual, the 11/11 at 11:11, its the start of Karneval season here which means, primarily, nearly everyone in Köln and Mainz went on the razz

[OwlHoot]

How is that considered silence?

In a word - multitasking

(Getting some work done, but at the same time reflecting on all those who fell in the World Wars ..)

[MicrosoftBob]

In an office of ICTs here, so they were all busy typing away

No announcement, but everyone else refrained from working (But being public sector that wasn't a big ask)

[NibblyPig]

Myco had a 2 minute silence where the entire office held their breath hoping that nothing cringeworthy would happen such as someone blundering in on their phone

[Dactylion]

Total silence. No-one even typing.

Quite!

..... a quiet time to discretely continue typing......

Dick!

[DaveB]

Announcements over the PA system here ahead of time, followed by another at the appointed time and another 2mins later.

Total silence. No-one even typing.

[FatLazyContractor]

We had an email this morning mentioning the two minute silence at 11am

Then at the appointed time, when I wasn't expecting anything in particular except a quiet time to discretely continue typing,

How is that considered silence?