Remember what your mother taught you
November 6th, 2007Abstract thought of the day: Manners are seriously lacking in this day and age.
Hold the door open for the person behind you. Smile back when someone smiles at you. Say thank you when someone does something for you. Don’t treat your waitress like your slave. When someone asks you how you’re doing, ask them how they’re doing; being polite is not just for customer service personel. Hold back the urge to swear, finger and honk at the driver who might have accidentally cut you off in traffic. Don’t yap loudly on your cell phone like no one is around when in reality, you’re surrounded by people. Refrain from pushing, cuting, or budging.
Be considerate of others, for goodness sakes. It won’t kill you.
I’ve always done these things and yet I’d never consider my self as a considerate person. (The wording of that was all wrong, wasn’t it?) The trouble with smiling at people if you’re a teenager is that they think you’re about to steal their handbag or abuse them; it’s very rare you receive one in return.
Reply: I suppose it depends on what area you live in, but that’s not always the case. I’ve always smiled at people, even if most of them don’t smile back. However, for those who do, I can tell that it makes a small change in their disposition, and to me that’s what makes it worth the risk of being taken the wrong way or “rejected”. Besides… I know that random strangers smiling at me has totally change my day around in the past, so I intend to spread the good act!
On a sidenote, it really says something about society when a genuine smile at someone can translate into “I’m going to mug you!”
November 7th, 2007 at 1:58 amI hate the word “manners”, generally because it’s said in a condescending tone. Courtesy is so much more flexible…being courteous is IMHO, a lot better than being mannerly. The former seems to be more second nature, the latter is more forced by society.
Reply: Good point. In my mind, manners and courtest are essentially one and the same since I have no negative experience with the latter. Either way, that’s what I was getting at. :)
November 7th, 2007 at 5:31 amTotally agree. What happens with people nowadays. Are we so self-absorbed that we can’t be polite and use manners??
I’m a part time waitress, and I hate, HATE when people think we’re their servants, not their waitresses. Gosh, I hate it. There’s never a hello, never a “have a nice day”. I don’t care about what others do, but I care about I come off.
Kids and teens? Don’t even get me started there!
Have a nice day, by the way!
Reply: Aw, see? That totally brightened my day, thank you! (The same to you, by the way!) … I see customers treating waitresses like servants with alarming frequency. It makes me feel so bad to see it, especially when you can tell the waitress or waiter is already suffering under the pressure. It reminds me of this time this guy and his girlfriend were in McDonalds being “served” by a new girl, and he just totally YELLED at her for taking too long. Asshole much? Give me a break!
November 7th, 2007 at 8:04 amHey Chanel, I agree with you that manners are lacking. I see all of the things on your list just about every day.
Reply: I know! Sad, isn’t it?
November 7th, 2007 at 9:28 amI’m glad I was raised not to do any of those things. People really need to realize what they’re doing.
I’ve been making a conscious effort to tell people to have a nice day. Especially bus drivers as I get off the bus.
Reply: Oh, I agree. And that’s one thing I forgot to add - appreciating bus drivers. I always make an effort to ask how the bus driver is doing when I get on the bus and say thank you when I get off. Some of them ignore it, but some of them really appreciate it. That’s awesome that you’re doing that… Not too many do!
November 7th, 2007 at 1:44 pmPeople have almost lost all that was left of manners and politeness :(
November 7th, 2007 at 3:16 pmI agree with you completely, I wish more people noticed this things more often. I specially hate the rude behavior that people adopt when they drive.
Politeness is a dying virtue simply because people apparently don’t have the TIME to be polite these days… which I think it’s a crock of *insert a word that’s usually described as being French but it really isn’t*.
Two seconds to say ‘Thanks!’ is hardly a time-waster…
But then again, I have been guilty of a few things on the above list when I’ve braved going out in public in one of my infamous ‘bad moods’, so I can’t really paint myself as a saint.
November 7th, 2007 at 9:32 pmGah! I totally agree! I may not smile if you smile at me (I may give you a weird look) but I always always say “Thank you” and “Please” and hold doors and all that other stuff. I won’t even talk on my phone if I’m in a public place. Unless it’s really important I’ll just say “I’ll call you back when I get home.” As for treating waiters nicely, I just think to myself “Hey, that could be me working my way through college.” and then I give them extra tip money. XD
And I hear that some girls yell at guys for opening doors for them. I think that’s just mean and stupid. Sure you’re a strong independent woman, but that doesn’t mean someone can’t do something courteous for you. I always say “Thank you” if someone holds a door open for me.
And just to creep you out: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10826.html
Reply: Oh my goodness - that right there is proof that moths are of the devil! Drinking *tears*?! That is beyond creepy.
November 8th, 2007 at 7:03 amI think girls yelling at guys for opening doors for them is ridiculous too. If you’re secure with your “independance”, you’re not going to freak over something that should be done by anyone (the first person to reach the door) anyway. If I got to the door first, I’d hold it open for him - If he got the door first, I’d expect him to do the same.
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November 18th, 2007 at 3:42 pm