A Clear Lack of Courtesy March 10, 2012
Posted by humbug27 in Courtesy, Etiquette, General, Life, opinions, Patience, people, thoughts.Tags: Courtesy, disrespectful, Etiquette, General, Inconsiderate, Manners, patience, Rudeness, waiting in line
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What does it mean to be courteous? One definition of the word courteous is: having or showing good manners; polite. Manners can be defined as: ways of behaving with reference to polite standards. Therefore, we can assume that a courteous person is someone who has good manners and behaves politely. By definition, it’s a pretty straightforward concept if you ask me. It doesn’t seem that difficult to accomplish. In theory, we could all be courteous people who are polite and considerate of others. However, we don’t live in theory; we live in reality. And in reality, there are lots of rude people who don’t give a damn about you, me, or the next guy.
My inspiration for this posting is a woman who I was recently behind at a fast food drive-thru. After this woman ordered, she pulled up just shy of the pay window and stopped. After about 3o seconds, I thought something was wrong with her car. Turns out, I was sadly mistaken my friends. Her car was fine; she just decided to stop and make a phone call. No problem, take your time… it’s not like there’s anyone behind you. Apparently she couldn’t talk and finish her transaction at the same time. Her phone conversation went on for over 2 minutes! That’s an eternity in drive-thru terms. Especially when you consider that she wasn’t waiting for ANYBODY! Now how do you think I reacted to this rude road blocker?
Did I yell at her from my window? No. Did I blast my horn until she moved? No. Did I push her car forward with mine? No. Did I drive off in a huff? No. I’ll tell you exactly what I did. I sat in my car and wondered who she was talking to. I wondered how long the call would carry on. I wondered what kind of phone she had. I wondered what was so important that she had to make that phone call. I kinda felt like I had a right to know. I wondered if she even noticed that I was behind her. I wondered if she wondered why I wasn’t honking. I wondered if she would have honked at me if we switched places. I wondered what food she ordered. I wondered if this was the first time she had done this. I wondered how long I would be willing to wait before I left. I sat there and wondered, patiently waiting for her. I was amused by her lack of courtesy. I couldn’t pull myself away. I had to see it to the end.
The Toggi Bar Thief March 1, 2012
Posted by humbug27 in Ethics, Life, other, people.Tags: candy bars, Ethics, moral dilemma, opinion, responsibility, stealing, sweet treat, thief, Toggi, waiting in line
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Yesterday, I stopped at the video store after work to rent a movie. While waiting in line, I noticed the gentleman in front of me grab a candy bar from the candy kiosk, just feet away from the register. Within seconds of snatching his sweet treat, he tore the wrapper away and began to chow down. At that point I’m wondering why this guy is in such a hurry to eat his candy bar. He proceeded to make quick work of the sweet and finished the bar before advancing a single place in line. When he finished, he still had the wrapper in his hand and I was watching it like a hawk. The entire time he was eating the candy bar, I wondered if he was going to pay for it. Back and forth I debated in my mind. I decided that he wouldn’t pay (just a hunch). My suspicion was confirmed when he took the empty wrapper and casually tucked it into his coat pocket.
When it was his turn to pay, he calmly paid for his movie without uttering a single word about the candy bar. I thought to myself, “Seriously?” It was one of those moments when I fantasized about spearing the guy and revealing the empty wrapper, only to watch the cops haul him away. Yes, over a candy bar! It bothered me deeply, yet I didn’t confront the blockhead. Instead, I kept to myself and chose to let it be. I wonder why?
