A 20-something man was observed walking through Luxembourg City on Saturday afternoon while not wearing a Basic Fit backpack.
“Sporting a branded gray backpack with orange trim from the fitness chain is mandatory, if certain criteria are met,” explains social norms expert Thybault Endance. “If you are male, between the ages of 20 and 29, and engaged in non-commuting travel in Luxembourg City, then you have no choice.”
“This young man is obviously very antisocial, the sort of person who shows up late to parties and then refuses to go home even when everyone else has left or is asleep,” he added.
Rowinda Kleen, who spotted the backpackless man through the window of the tram, says we should not rush to judgment.
“Maybe he had just dropped the backpack off at the cleaners, or perhaps it was stolen,” she said. “Sad. I hope his peers don’t mock him and his bare back too severely. That’s how people develop social anxiety.”
Local young man Kevin Hoffmann says that not wearing one’s Basic Fit backpack when out in the city is “weird and wrong,” adding that there is no excuse.
“It’s like forgetting to put on socks or underwear,” he said. “Doesn’t he feel naked?”
