Are some people just rude? Were they just not raised properly? In case people don't realize it when they are doing stupid shit that irritates me, I am offering up some tidbits of what I call life etiquette.
When I eat dinner at home I don't usually set out 3 forks, 2 spoons, and a separate knife for butter and steak. When I am preparing to sit down to a ham sammich and some chips, I don't think it's necessary to have a dinner plate, a bread plate,and a soup bowl. Likewise I don't need a water glass, a wine glass, and a teacup and saucer to drink a can of pop.(beer) Usually a single plate and a napkin are all that is required. I know, I am a total neanderthal.(so sue me Martha Stewart) There are some books available that teach etiquette, but sadly some normal, everyday situations didn't make the list. Here are a couple that come to mind.
First there is the "thank you wave". When I'm blazing through traffic at well over 100mph and I slow down to let Old Uncle Otis crowd into the Nascar race that I call rush hour, he should throw me a thank you wave. "Hey Mark, thanks for letting me in front of you even though you know I'm only going to drive 27mph. And I am going to be getting back off the hiway after 4 illegal lane changes in a 1 mile stretch of road because I am totally lost anyway." Is it really that hard to raise one hand and wave a simple thank you? I think not.
Next we have the "elevator hold". Really lady, how much longer is your trip to the friggin 2nd floor going to take because you let me get on the elevator? You know you just looked and saw me running towards you screaming like a madman to "hold the elevator". Did I scare you? Did you really feel like you were in danger of me mugging you? Did you think the other 4 people on the elevator were my accomplices, or was I planning on taking you all down? Maybe you thought my coffee was going to be used as a weapon...Again, I think not.
How about "please", "thank you", and "excuse me"? These may well be in the existing etiquette books, especially the please and thank you, but "excuse me" has several uses that people either don't know about or choose to ignore.
If someone crashes into you at the supermarket is it too much to ask for a simple "excuse me"?
How about when a fart slips out in the line at Starbucks?
Option A: Keep quiet and pretend I don't know it was you who dropped ass, even though I am standing right behind you and clearly saw your dress poof out 6 inches. Or...
Option B: Say excuse me!
What about the waitress at your local diner who reaches across the table to fill a water glass and dusts your cheeseburger with yesterdays underarm deodorant? Yeah, theres an "excuse me" moment...check please!
I could probably go on all night about this stuff, but I have some other stuff to do today. If you all will please excuse me, I will be signing off for now. Thank you and have a great day!
From One Mother, to Another
1 year ago
14 comments:
Here Here!
Thank you Mark, for that painfully relevant lesson in etiquette.
People to day are so RUDE!
Why, just this morning I took it upon myself to school some asshat in the art of not pissing off homicidal female motorists by cutting them off and driving half the speed limit (or at least half as fast as I was going at the time) by signaling him in such a way as he would know not to do such a thing again ... and did I get a THANK YOU for my trouble? I think NOT...
Great post! I think you should have a public service announcement out there.
Okay...so I'm not sure about all the table setting stuff in the beginning because I pretty much have to beg my boys to use a plate for a sandwich and not just carry it around the house, chomping madly and flinging crumbs. And napkins? Riiiigggghhhht.
I agree that most people are terribly rude. And working retail at christmas time for 10 years? I have seen the worst of the worst in human behavior. All you can do is wonder what their mamas were teaching them, because it sure as hell wasn't manners. All we can do to combat this total insanity is teach our young manners and send them forth into the world. At least that way I know that somewhere, there is a young man holding the door for elderly people, or mothers of small children or anyone who looks as though they need it. Or a girl who will let someone else who has fewer items butt in front of her in a check out lane.
♥Spot
Be careful Danica, one frostbitten finger is mighty painful! LOL
Spot, I really don't use a plate for a sammich either. I didn't want my readers to know how much of an animal I really am!
I've given up on common courtesy. It disappeared somewhere with the Internet, I think.
PS: totally upset you didn't retype your super nice comment (begin incessant pouting...)
OMG! Manners! You had to grow up where I grew up. Between my Mom and my Aunt, I could give Miss Manners a run for her money. Which makes the rest of my family want to stab me with their dinner fork. They will thank me one day for their impeccable manners. I hope. Ok, probably not, but at least I know I tried.
Jessica, thanks for stopping by. I am diggin your new site but alas I only have about 1 nice comment in me per day. Tried it, failed to publish, aaannnnd back to being myself! Hey congrats on NaNoWriMo!
Evyi, I'm no Miss Manners but seriously, common courtesy isn't that hard. thanks for coming by!
Oh, I'm SO THERE. What HAS happened to simple manners?
They seem to have gone south with the economy and my ability to finish a sentence without sneezing.
I still say "excuse me" when I walk in front of someone perusing a shelf of items in the market.
I guess I'm "old fashioned" that way...
Great rant, Mark!
The one that gets me is when you hold a door open for someone and they blank you as if you are not there. If I'm in the right mood I normally respond for them (rather too loudly) which gets me a look like you are an exe murderer. (Just where are those emergency axes when you most need them).
Ooo so many here to comment on. I am always courteous to drivers and allow them through because I would like the same courtesy returned when I can't get out. A wave is expected - absolutely. It pisses me off if I don't get one. I always say please, excuse me, thank you, or even sorry if I have erred, because I was brought up properly. I expect the same in return and if I don't get it, you hear me roar.
The door thing when you hold open a door and you don't even get so much as a smile, gets them a door in the face. I will also be extremely vocal.
Another peeve is people stopping dead in front of you in the middle of the street, making you bang into them, and not an apology or anything. Again, cue loud vocals by me. Hence the reason I detest shopping altogether. My hubby refuses to go shopping with me because I start shouting at people, but they totally deserve it.
Oh dear, that was a bit of a rant! Please accept my apologies. Hi Mark :D
PS I should also have mentioned that I've managed to get 2 people fired for their downright rudeness and disrespect. You shouldn't work in customer service if you can't serve the customer properly. It felt rather good I must admit. Is that awful? I don't care. It was absolutely deserved! Ok I'll shut up now!
Loved your blog. Manners are truly gone. Don't even get me started on customer service in department stores. Come by and visit me sometime, some of my past blogs have a similar tone to this one.
I will be following from now on...
I SO SO SO don't want to even get started on this...
OM freakin' G .. the "entitlement" that people seem to think they have..
My biggest pet peeve in when your driving on a two way street that is OBVIOUSLY not big enough to be a two way street and so one car needs to pull to the side.
Who pulls over first? The one with the biggest car? The one with the most expensive car? Or the one who is SO willing to play "chicken" because if you smashed into their piece of crap clunker, your insurance will only get them a better car??
I hate the suburbs
Oh look. It's how to raise my blood pressure...
(Hey! I didn't know I had a sister but today I learned that Heather and I were seperated at birth. What SHE said!)
Mark, didn't I tell you about a book once that covers all of this stuff - traffic wave, elevator hold, all other manners (well, not yesterday's deoderant thing), etc.?
Anyway, with regard to rude, I go to My Happy Place and kill people everyday. Especially Walmart 'associates'. (Most of their bodies are buried in my neighbors backyard.) They don't have the common sense to get out of my way if I'm trying to buy whatever product it is they are presently stocking? Really? WTF? Who's training these people?
Ok. Calm. Calm. I'm ok. I'm oh-kaaaay...
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