Decline of Manners

[thalassa]

Re: Decline of Manners

Every generation always thinks the next generation is less (enter good stuff here) and more (enter bad stuff here).

People are just people. Some are rude, some are not. Some are cruel, some are not. Some are kind, some are not. Some are courteous, some are not. I'm willing to bet that there hasn't been all that much deviation from the socially acceptable norms of behavior--you just notice it more. And times change in terms of socially acceptable and unacceptable behaviors.

I work with the public at a museum--85% of the people I interact with are polite, 10% of them are super-polite and engaging, 4% of them are polite but sort of brusque, and the remaining 1% are downright assholes. Kids are a different matter--not all of them have great attention spans, not all of them are interested, not all of them have great verbal skills for expressing what they actually want or need from their parents...and a lot of parents are distracted.

I think the biggest problem with today is probably that right there...distracted. Ipods, Iphones, Ipads--there are too many distractions from giving one another our full attention. But stuff like yelling at people walking by? That's been going on forever. My great-grandma had a story about walking to school next to a foundry--got yelled at every day. Or treating the guy behind the counter like crap? Thats been going on forever too...

[DanieMarie]

Re: Decline of Manners

I do kind of think part of it is getting older. I never used to be bothered by the manners of others, not even when I first moved to Berlin (Berliners are notoriously rude and Canadians are known for being polite). Now it drives me crazy. I've even caught myself saying "kids these days!" I'm ready for my cane and porch any day now.

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Few things get on my nerves more than people who treat retail workers like dirt. I was once in line at the pharmacy and a man was yelling at the woman behind the counter because they didn't have all of his medications available right away. I understand that that would be annoying, but some people act as if workers can twitch their noses and make their every wish come true. If he had gone on much longer I was prepared to tell him to STFU.

I always do...people hate it. I used to work retail though, and I know what it's like. People like that need to be called on their behaviour...especially if they get downright abusive.

[Plenilunium]

Re: Decline of Manners

When people will cuss out me and my fiance while we're walking from their cars. What do you get out of cussing out 2 people you don't know?

I hate when people don't get up for older people on the bus! I mean seriously will it kill you take your 20 year old arse a little further back for someone who has a walker?

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Decline of Manners

Gay bashing will not be permitted on Pagan Forum.

MaskedOne: removed reference to a post that will never see light again.

[MaskedOne]

Re: Decline of Manners

As a reminder to all, Yes you are in the rant section and yes we provide extra freedom here. We don't provide absolute freedom here.

I've placed two posts in moderation. One of them will never see the light of day again. The other is a direct reply to the first and while not in error, is less useful on its own. V's post accurately states policy on both gay and all other mass forms of bashing. As this is rants, and it is a first offense, I won't press for significant penalty. This lenience will not occur twice.


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People, when I kill your post and all reference to it you sit down and shut up. You do not try to argue with other members about the deleted post. Thread sealed until I have patience. Don't push it.

[MaskedOne]

Re: Decline of Manners

Re-opened. If your post is missing then it is dead and to stay that way. Referencing it or any other dead post will be grounds to kill this thread permanently.

[lillywolf]

Re: Decline of Manners

I find the adults are just as bad as the children....its probably where the children learn the behaviour from :/

It is because children are having children and are not mentally mature enough to show right from wrong to an impressional child. I have seen it first hand. Women teaching their kids to shop lift,swear, be violent, have no respect for authority, the list is endless..........and it makes me cringe. It makes it hard to raise your own child too as the bad behaviour rubs off on your own too.

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Decline of Manners

You know how at banks, stores, etc. the employees are there 1/2 hour before opening to set up & stuff? I once had an early customer yell and scream at opening time because we were in there and why couldn't she pick up her order.(We'd called and told her it was ready, and what our hours were, the day before.) She threatened to write to the owners and get me fired. I said, with a smile, Please do write them and tell them I opened exactly on time.
This was pre-caller i.d. & pre-internet. Back in the good old days when you could prank-call someone's phone, and/or have random pizzas delivered to their house 1/2 hour apart for 5 or 6 hours. Just sayin'.

[Maria de Luna]

Re: Decline of Manners

on occasion, I have wanted to slap some full grown people across the back of their head, do really need to speak to the person cooking your food that way? I have wanted to tell off so many of the nasty people who speak to the food service people in the cafeteria here, it is so disrespectful, whatever happened to treating other people like people? I really hate people sometimes....

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Decline of Manners

I'm always careful when talking to a company representative to include a disclaimer like "When I say YOU, I mean the company, not YOU personally", or "I know YOU'RE doing your job and I'm not blaming YOU personally for this problem". Just because I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of wrath about a situation I was powerless to repair. It's been DECADES and I remember.

[jcaternolo]

Re: Decline of Manners

Once I saw someone roll her cart into an empty parking spot then turn her back and walk away. Little did she know that it was gaining momentum and heading towards a car. I come out of the store after cooling off and I suddenly see this. I run towards the cart and just barely manage to stop the cart with a split second left, hurting one of my hands and one of my ankles in the process.

I was half tempted to blurt out a "are you crazy?!" but I value my job. It's sad that we can't give people like these a piece of our mind because they're the customers and customers are treated like royalty >.<

Also, I've seen a long line of vehicles plow straight through a red light.

[lillywolf]

Re: Decline of Manners

I think the worst case of bad manners, actually it was not even that, it was just dam right disgusting was I was in a supermarket in the UK and a group of mentally disabled children were in with their teachers, they were all at the checkout and one of the children starts to throw a tantrum. Everyone turned to look,as you do, but there was a group of men in their 20's just started laughing and pointing at the little boy ( the boy looked about 10) no one said anything so I did. i called them all the names I could think of that were not swear words (but I did want to swear at them, and hit them if I am honest) and said to them "how would you feel if that was your child or sibling and some prat was making fun of them? you should be ashamed of yourself" Most of them said sorry but 1 was a total plonker and just smiled and walked away...........well he was obviously not standing in the morals, respect or brains dept when he was created, come to think of it, he looked like he had fallen out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down too so I don't know why he thought he could laugh at someone else.

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on occasion, I have wanted to slap some full grown people across the back of their head, do really need to speak to the person cooking your food that way? I have wanted to tell off so many of the nasty people who speak to the food service people in the cafeteria here, it is so disrespectful, whatever happened to treating other people like people? I really hate people sometimes....

It is the same in telesales too, I actually got death threats, and I was trying to sort out their problem ( I was customer service) it happened more than once and some of them knew where the office I worked in was, which was terrifying

[Doc_Holliday]

Re: Decline of Manners

The biggest thing I hate is bad road manners. If I'm on a motorcycle, don't try and push me out of my lane, thats how you get me killed. If I'm on a motorcycle, and your front bumper is touching my back wheel, there may be a problem with how close you're getting to me. Motorcyclists, and car drivers die every day because people don't look where they're going, don't leave enough space between themselves and the car in front of them, don't signal. Its ridiculous to me.

[Maria de Luna]

Re: Decline of Manners

It is the same in telesales too, I actually got death threats, and I was trying to sort out their problem ( I was customer service) it happened more than once and some of them knew where the office I worked in was, which was terrifying

I worked in the credit card rates/complaints department on the phone for a large bank... I ended up in the hospital I was so messed up after that job... they don't recommend you do it for more than 6 months, I did it for a year and a half... badly

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The biggest thing I hate is bad road manners. If I'm on a motorcycle, don't try and push me out of my lane, thats how you get me killed. If I'm on a motorcycle, and your front bumper is touching my back wheel, there may be a problem with how close you're getting to me. Motorcyclists, and car drivers die every day because people don't look where they're going, don't leave enough space between themselves and the car in front of them, don't signal. Its ridiculous to me.

What is this road manners you speak of? I have never witnessed this elusive beast.

But yes people need to pay friggin attention! and motorcyclists are just extremely susceptible to the worst people can have happen to them if some other F***bag is not paying enough attention to what they are doing.

[Ophidia]

Re: Decline of Manners

I can't believe I haven't chimed in - bad manners are my favorite pet peeve, lol! My manners were beaten into me.

I hate, absolutely hate, how people act when getting on or off of an elevator. For one, people seem to feel it necessary to stand right in front of an elevator's doors while waiting. Then, when the elevator stops, they immediately push onto it, not thinking about the fact that you still have to get off of the elevator. While I was working for the local government, I saw people in wheelchairs getting completely ignored or even shoved aside so able-bodied grown people could get onto an elevator first. One morning, I was so fed up by it that I blocked an elevator door so an elderly man in a wheelchair could maneuver into it - but before he could wheel 3 feet across the lobby, a woman actually moved my arm and pushed me so she could get on first. I flat-out told her exactly what kind of human she was, too (my patience is limited, and getting the old guy on the elevator used up about 99% of it). I don't even remember my parents giving me elevator-manner beatings, it just seems like common sense.

I also get a little ticked when I'm walking relatively close behind someone and they go through a door and let it slam behind them. I always look behind me when I'm walking through a door. No one wants to become an unsuspecting door-person to a crowd, but when it's only 2 or 3 people in an area, hold the damned door!