I would agree that it is tolerance that is required. Not just by those listening to something they don't particularly want to hear, but by those that may be approached and asked to reduce/cease the particular activity that may be annoying another.
I don't think it unreasonable to ask politely if something is annoying. I think it reasonable to wait for a time to see if the particular noise is going to go on for a long and annoyingly length of time - and then ask politely if it can be either reduced or stopped.
I am mindful of my first camping trip where I was next to someone with a generator. I was put out to put it mildly. They were in a caravan which I am sure had a leisure battery in it. I was so disappointed to have to listen to the phut phut of a generator for breakfast every morning. In the end I moved to another pitch rather than be confrontational. Not sure if that is the right thing to do.
Later on in the year I and a friend were on another site and we had to endure screaming children running around our camper at 12.30 am. We had young kids too that were desparate for sleep and kept getting wakened. When we asked politely if the kids could be kept quiet we were met with abuse for the next two days.
This week I experienced yet another piece of thoughtlessness. A lady who had a friend on another pitch away from her pitch would drive the short distance from her pitch to her friends pitch - right opposite my pitch - each morning and sit there with her deisel engine running for several minutes (more than 10) waiting to pick up her mates kids to take them to the beach to surf.
After about 10 minutes of fumes and engine revving I asked her (politely and with a smile on my face) if she could switch off her engine as I was trying to eat my breakfast and she was filling my pitch with her car fumes. Well I got another load of abuse and a driver revving the arse off her engine before driving away.
I understand that we can all make mistakes and do things without thinking but when it is pointed out to us why can't we accept gracefully and consider other folk's feelings and desire for a bit of peace, quiet and fresh air.
------------- Neelie
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