Recently I was sitting on the outdoor terrace of a coffee shop, drinking a cappuccino and reading a book. At a nearby table was an overweight man and a woman. He appeared to be an advisor of some sort, judging by the way she just listened while he talked, seemingly at great length about matters of grave importance.
At another table was a man tapping at a laptop, with a white poodle at his feet. I'll call the poodle 'Paul'. Paul had organized himself on a towel laid down for his benefit, and was surveying the scene around him. Evidently the scene did not impress him much, because after a while Paul started tugging at his lead, pawing at the towel and yapping at passers-by.
"SHUT UPPPP!" This came from the advisor man, who obviously didn't appreciate being interrupted while dispensing wisdom. Paul looked at him irritably, trying to decide if the man was of any use to him at all. He thought not, and continued yapping. The man tried a theatrical "ssshhhh", Paul was not convinced, and his owner remained engrossed in his laptop.
The man went to the washroom. He took a few minutes and reappeared looking grim, in a way that made me sympathize with the mother and son going in after him. He glowered at Paul, and continued to hiss and shout until, having lost the flow of their advisory session, he and the woman finally gave up and left. Paul at last persuaded his owner that enough was enough, and they left too.
What struck me about this was how unafraid the man was to make a scene over something that annoyed him. As an Englishman, I might whisper to my friend about the wretched dog ruining our coffee break, or complain at length when I got home, or let the irritation fester inside me for a few days. But shout, and get emotional in public? That would just be too embarrassing, surely?
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