Hi everyone, I’m working on a school project inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience. The goal is to intentionally (and legally) defy unwritten social norms in public spaces and observe how people react, then reflect on conformity, authority, and social pressure.

Here are some examples my teacher gave us:

A kid who rode an elevator up and down and casually talked to everyone inside to break the unspoken rule that elevators are supposed to be silent and impersonal.

Another student challenged norms of authority by addressing teachers only by their first names, rejecting honorifics like “Mr.” or “Mrs.” that he believed reinforced unnecessary hierarchy.

If you have examples of behaviors that make people uncomfortable simply because they go against expectation, I’d love to hear them.

Thanks in advance!