Is Rudeness The New Norm?

Is rudeness the new norm?

I'm afraid so.

The world is changing and it's not just the rude behavior shown during the current Presidential election.  (Can you believe the insults and name calling that's now the norm in politics?)  Rudeness is all over the place.

I used to shop at Baybrook Mall in the Houston area.  It was a nice mall and you could walk around, window shop, talk to a friend, etc.  I was there every day because I walked for exercise before the mall opened and then would stay if I had any shopping to do.  Not anymore. 

You can no longer walk around in peace.  Some aggressive sales people man booths throughout the mall trying to lure you over to buy whatever junk they're selling.  They jump out and interrupt and are just plain rude.  Five or six years ago I wrote the mall off my list of places to shop.  I will go to the anchor stores, but I enter them from the parking lot and do not walk through the mall.  I've found other places to shop where I don't have to be harassed.

I'm amazed at the way people drive in Houston.  There is very little traffic enforcement in the area where I live.  People run red lights and cut each other off all the time.  When there's virtually no enforcement speed limits and traffic lights become mere suggestions.  Once again, rudeness is the norm.

A lot of rudeness today is fostered by social media.  It's just too easy for someone to sit somewhat anonymously at a keyboard and "tweet" insults or post them to a group site.  Then others feel the need to repeat what's said.  It's a vicious cycle.

At one time you could put your phone number on the National and state do not call lists and telemarketers would respect the list and not call.  Now those lists are almost meaningless.  People will call over and over again even if you don't answer.  They don't care if they're bothering you.  I love the way in Texas the politicians that wrote the Texas do not call list excluded themselves so they could call and annoy voters during elections.  It's unbelievable how many calls I get every time there's an election.  Voting early doesn't eliminate the calls.  Talk about rude.  I'd say I wouldn't vote for the rude ones, but that would eliminate virtually every candidate.

We've all been somewhere where someone had to talk on their phone at an inappropriate time.  Ever been in the restroom when the person in the next booth is talking a mile a minute on the phone?  Does anyone besides me think that's pretty rude?

Don't get me going again on football fans.  I wear earphones at Texans games and listen to the game on the radio.  It helps block out what nearby fans are yelling.

There is a plus to all this rudeness.  Now when someone is kind, considerate, and polite it's so much more meaningful.  Have you ever been waiting to pull out of a parking lot and suddenly someone stops and waves you on?  I always give them a big thank you wave.  Little things like that mean so much more now.