You Don’t Say

One of the reasons I love my Studio City neighborhood is the access I have to transportation. An entrance to the 101 (Hollywood) Freeway is four blocks away, and I can walk to Ventura Boulevard to catch the Metro Rapid bus. Best of all, the Metro Red Line (subway) is only a 10-minute walk from my home.

Since I work in Downtown LA, riding the Metro Red Line makes a lot of sense for me. I get to read, I save money on gas, and I limit the wear and tear on my car.

Last week, while I was reducing my carbon footprint by riding Metro, I heard this announcement on the train:

As a reminder, smoking, drinking, eating, or playing loud music are not permitted aboard the train or on station platforms.

Hmm. Let me think about that. Does the annoucement mean I have a choice of which prohibited behavior to engage in–smoking, drinking, eating, or playing loud music? Surely it was not Metro’s intention to offer us a choice of behavior to refrain from. But the compound subject of the announcement I heard is constructed with the conjunction or, and or implies a choice.

I think the announcement should have said:

As a reminder, smoking, drinking, eating, and playing loud music are not permitted aboard the train or on station platforms.

That’s better; now the message is clear. I can’t do any of those things. While we’re at it, let’s ban grammatically mangled Metro announcements too.