Well, I feel sorry for this
woman who has misophonia, it sounds like a shitty condition. But she's dreaming if she thinks that she can make the public walk on tiptoes around her:
Quote
She hopes the study she took part in will eventually lead to new treatments. But also looks forward to a day when more people know that the condition exists.
"If I could just ask someone next to me in the theatre, 'I'm sorry, can you just try to not do that noise, I have misophonia,' and they would be like, 'Oh I'm really sorry'."
It reminds me of those awtism breeders who think they can bully the world into adapting to Precious's sensory issues. You're not going to get a silent world for your benefit, especially when you're talking about the kind of small noises that even people who are trying to be considerate might make, like sniffing or taking a sip of coffee.
And suppose we do accept that people ought to try to be considerate of others occupying public space, will others show us the same respect? Not a chance of it. Suggest that maybe people with small children don't really
need to fly, causing suffering to the child and those around them, or that the public doesn't have to be assaulted by meltdowns in the grocery store, you'll get a chorus of "You were a kid once too!" and "He can't help it, he's a child!" and "Children exist and have the right to be in public spaces, get over it!"
I'm all for a compromise in public spaces that involves generous amounts of courtesy to minimize effects on others, as well as compassionately overlooking rare breaches. Anyone who looks upon an adult having an epileptic fit and complains that the person is blocking the sidewalk is an asshole. But when someone has already ensured 20 minutes of listening to a woman yell into a cellphone and a spoiled brat having a temper tantrum and two teenagers watching a video on a phone without headphones, and an undisciplined dog sniffing at their crotch - well, that person isn't going to have the patience to deal with the baby that starts crying or the retarded man pulling on their sleeve to excitedly point out a tree to them.