Is Common Courtesy Dead?

[glennbad]

It's a constant battle to swim against the tide of instant gratification. I see people that freak out if they have to wait 2 minutes in line for something.

I just hope that I taught my son well enough, so he can try to set a good example for other people his age. In the end, I don't think they'll get it though.

I feel your pain John...

 

[Mack]

Looking around at the fine people of this community, I can say that it isn't completely dead. That said, in most places it is.

If anyone ever finds me to be discourteous, please let me know and I will do my best to fix the problem.

 

[daisy cutter]

Imagine what I deal with every day

 

[mykel m]

It's not dead as long as I'm alive dagnabit!!

But then there are some people I wouldn't give the time of day to......

 

[Rockywolf]

Hope is always alive...

I work in retail too and it is a mixed bag: some people love to point out how they are owed "extra" because of their long loyalty and I like to point out that all customers are treated alike....no company owes loyalty to a customer. The customer buys a product or service and the company provides it. End of story.

Complaining about things and non courteous behavior is a daily norm. Raising your voice and getting angry gets people "their way" and sadly, is all they give a damn about. Pisses me off when managers give in to such childish tactics. One of my bosses asked if I really thought going against the rudeness was going to change the person's behavior. I responded, "No, I expect they will still act like jerks with others, but they won't act like one with me". Line in the sand...and hopefully they will think about their behavior before another tantrum...(that hope thing pops up again)

 

[1066vik]

it's not dead, just not very common.

 

[91a2jettavr6]

I like to call what the OP is talking about "ME-osis". It's reached epidemic proportions. What can you do for me? What about me and my needs? Why aren't you listening to me? What have you done for me lately?

 

[Ajsam]

After reading all the post with examples and knowing there is truth in each story, I thought back to this past Friday. I wanted to share a moment where my 7 year old son gave me another reason to be proud of him. We stopped Friday evening to pick up a pizza for our family night. As we were walking out, my son walked ahed of me and opened the door. I walked through the door and told him thank you. My son then stood there and held the door for an older gentleman and then two ladies to walk out. He just stood there with a smile on his face.
I felt so proud of him!!!!
And I told him how courteous that was for him to do.
He has many times opened the door for his mom, whether getting in the car or walking in to the house.
Kids grow up so fast, use the time you have.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

Not just courtesy, but friendliness. I'm 25, young by most of your standards, and in the time I've grown up people have changed. Walking through my town, I used to smile and say hello or hi or something when walking by someone. Now, I either get ignored or looked at like they have no idea why I was greeting someone I don't know. The other day at the bank, an older woman walked up the the stairs that lead to the door. I walked out, saw her and held the door while she walked up the stairs. She seemed shocked. Does nobody look out for one another anymore, or lend a kind hand out to anyone? I don't want to see what the world will be like when I decide to have kids. A

 

[Chris Larrikin]

Common courtesy isnt dead, it's just thrown into the irrelevant pile along with resilience, perseverance, self reliance and personal accountability. Here at least not only is Common Courtesy alive and well, but it's armed with 9 inches of shaving sharp 5160

 

[digdeep]

To see lack of courtesy at it's highest (or is it lowest?) just travel the highways.

Two examples I'll never ever forget:

Bumper to bumper traffic slowed to a crawl and I let someone in from an entrance ramp. The guy behind me leans on his horn for almost a minute.

Bumper to bumper traffic again but different day and different highway. Again, someone is trying to enter from an entrance ramp and I slow to let the young lady in. Instead of waving she gives me the bird as if I did her a disservice for being a gentleman.

End of rant.

 

[Steven65]

I think for those of us who treat everyone with manners and respect it is more of a sting when we encounter those who do not have any sense of common courtesy . I was recently in the States for a month and I must say that by and large people in the US are very polite. I only found one or two incidents where people behaved questionably.
Certainly I find people in the States far more polite than in the UK.

Baloney. Every generation complains that the courtesies of the last generation have disappeared. There are, as always, courteous folk and folk who are out for only themselves. It's pretty much always been this way.

I disagree with you. The modern generation of youngsters are growing up with less and less input from their parents. This is as a result of increasing financial and sociological forces on modern families. Parents are working longer and are relying on outside means to take care of kids between school and dinner and also kids are being asked to amuse themselves more and more with video games, the internet and other non interpersonal means.

Parents are also more selfish constantly looking for "me" time rather than truly giving proper quality time to their kids doing activities like camping, shooting, hunting and sports.
Why are we then surprised that when a kid spends no time interacting with real people in a proper way that they have development and interpersonal problems?

The modern world of technology and a huge increase in population have led to this situation. One not faced at any time before.