Age of Rudeness???

Currently Reading: Steamy Encounter is another Recommended Read! Now, on to Thin Ice. This one's over 300 pages, so it will take me several days.


When did common courtesy and politeness leave society?

Friday night, Mom and I were watching HGTV, specifically House Hunters. We witnessed two women treating their spouses with what seemed to be utter contempt, and absolutely no respect.

One woman told her husband 'Well, here's my bathroom; you can have the one in the hall.' The other remarked that her husband's choice was 'outdated' and 'You're stupid if you think I'm going to live here.'

They also nit-picked on some of the smallest details in the house, from the chandelier to the wallpaper. One even said the laundry room was 'too small'. Let me tell you, it was about the size of a small bedroom.

My mother turned to me and said, 'I can't believe the way they talk to each other! No wonder to divorce rate is so high!' and went on to relate some other comments she'd observed in other shows.

I replied, 'And people wonder why kids are so rude and disrespectful...'

I had the misfortune to run into three rude individuals on Saturday.

The first two were behind the counter at Dairy Queen (college students). I asked if they sold sweet tea; the one young man said yes. I paid for it, and he flagged down his buddy to fill my order. I decided to taste it first, since I've run into some 'sweet tea' that isn't exactly sweet. I sipped it and said, 'This isn't even close to being sweet.'

Moron #1 said, 'Oh, we don't have sweet tea.'

Me: 'But you told me you did.'

M1: 'You didn't ask for sweet; you asked for iced tea.'

Moron #2 decided to add his two cents: 'McDonalds is over at the Student Union. Go over there and get it.'

Me: 'Please tell me you have Sweet-N-Low?'

M1 (points to free-standing soft drink counter: 'Over there.'

I take my drink and locate the sweetner. As I'm stirring, I notice the ice has melted. I return to the counter and politely ask for more ice.

M1 is busy, so M2 gets a cup of ice and starts to pour the ice into my full cup. I stopped him, and poured the liquid over the ice, preventing the splash.

M2: 'Oh...that's how your supposed to do it.'

I took a firm grip on my temper and just walked away.

Rude person #3 appeared later that day. I had observed him with a cell phone and walked up to him to inquire politely if I could please use his cell phone.

He turns to me. 'What for?'

I was taken aback, but replied, 'I don't have a cell phone, and would like to make a 30-second call. You can even dial it for me, but if you'd rather I not use it, I understand.'

He heaved a huge sigh, but asked for the number. I made my call and thanked him when I was finished. But the entire time, he looked extremely irritated with me.

It just rubbed me the wrong way. #1, if I ask to use a person's cell, I want to make a call, not to text, take pictures, or check my email! And #2, if you don't want me to use your phone, all you have to do is tell me no; I'm not going pitch a hissy fit!

And I saw on the news this morning that since emailing and texting have gotten more common, people are forgetting the basics of greetings and endings. I see this in my own kids; several times they answer their phones with 'What?' or 'Yeah?' and rarily say goodbye; 'Later' is usually heard before they click it off.

What the hell happened to 'Hi, how are you?' and 'See you later' or 'Bye'? I've even gotten on a couple of teens for speaking disrespectfully to their parents, or even hanging up on them!

I insist my kids answer the home phone in an acceptable manner, and be polite. And my 5-yr-old is even learning this: He answered the phone the other day with a cheerful 'Heeeeeelloo!'

Now if I can just get him to give me the phone, or at least tell me who's on the other end...he spoke to my Ball State Alumni Association for several minutes before I came upstairs and found him chattering away about SpongeBob. I hadn't even heard the phone ring! Thankfully, the person on the other end had the patience to wait:)