Is the general public rude or polite?

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   rgalloway56posted 11 years ago

   Is the general public rude or polite?
   
   In your daily contact with the general public, what grade would you give them in terms of their manners and politeness; a passing grade or a failing grade, and why do you so answer?
   
   

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   JThomp42posted 11 years ago

   I really think it depends on the location in our country. Not trying to offend anyone, but southerners seem to be the most polite. It seems the farther north you travel, the people seem more rude. Just my experiences.

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      rgalloway56posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That's pretty much been my experience as well.  I live in the Midwest and it used to be that EVERYONE was polite.  But in recent months I have noticed that for many, rudeness is the order of the day.  However, I refuse to let it rub off on me.

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      JThomp42posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Good for you.

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   Old Empresarioposted 11 years ago

   It's a matter of perspective. By 1920s standards, people today are vulgar in the way they engage in what is today considered polite discourse. By today's standards, I rarely run into intentionally rude people. I think we are still "new" as a nation and simply haven't established an agreed-upon set of values and standards for our culture.

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      rgalloway56posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I come in contact with intentionally rude people on a daily basis.  You hold the door for someone when your hands are full, or you pick up something they dropped and hand it to them and they don't even say 'thank you'.  It's bewildering at times.

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      cat on a soapboxposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with your perspective that we have relaxed the standards of courtesy esp. w/ respect to language and treatment of authority/law.  In today's society w/ such cultural diversity, it is hard to have an agreed-upon set of values outside of laws.

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   cat on a soapboxposted 11 years ago

   Generally speaking, most people are civil and polite. Unfortunately rude behavior like bad experiences stays etched in our memories longer. Due to a greater concentration of people fending for space in metropolitan areas like NYC, assertiveness is often viewed as rudeness. Other regional factors may be work stress, traffic commutes, and proximity of living space/ size of property where one can relax in peace. The closer a person's frustration to the surface, the more apt they are to be rude and unkind.

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      rgalloway56posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You have a valid point and definitely one to think about.  Assertiveness can be mistaken as rudeness.  The stress of living in overcrowded cities and working in tiny cubicles can take its toll on a person. It's no wonder that people internalize.

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   mr-vegposted 11 years ago

   Well If I go in by the Image, we have two words here, Please and Thank you Please should come into picture when you need or ask for a favor from someone. Thank You comes after Please, when the favor asked for is fulfilled by the person whom you asked for. So in a way, Until someone says 'Please Open the door for me', they needn't say 'Thank You for Opening the door'. That's just how these words go in . But coming to the fact for a person to be rude or polite gets a total different perspective when we move across cultures, persons, circumstances and expectation. I might expect to shake hands with Jennifer Aniston after struggling for hours through the huge fan crowd, but she might not even look at me when I get to her due to the fact that she got pissed off by a fan trying to kiss her, at that point she might be rude to me but in reality she isn't . But yeah with time people stop thinking about other people and keep running in the race against time to make Fortune, and they leave behind deep mark of rudeness in the hearts of their close by friends, relative and family. And as far as my day to day communications with people is concerned, people do get very rude, but i just ignore it thinking that it might be a bad day for the other guy. And as far as polite goes, even if I don't meet someone polite in a day, I stand in front of a mirro and remind myself that it's my turn to be polite today. !!

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      rgalloway56posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I understand what you are saying and I DO take into consideration that the person could just be having a bad day, since we all have them.  I ignore rude behavior for the most part, but was interested in other peoples' take on the subject.

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      TerryK81posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I have an umbrella to deflect the attempted pissings on my parade

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   donnah75posted 11 years ago

   Common courtesy is dying, or at least it feels that way sometimes. I wrote a hub about it. Check it out on my profile page if you are interested.

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   TerryK81posted 11 years ago

   In consideration of recent tragic events in this nation and of those within the last 15 years, I would have to say (1) depends on where you live and work, and (2) the type of people you socialize with. Not everyone is out to get people, but crime keeps escalating and our leaders who have promised a change that they cannot give due to just not having that type of power to change people, have also lied to us; and then the things that are allowed to be created and marketed; crap-moral values in a lot of homes; The "social" in society has crumbled so much more and when people try to make the world better, then our governemnt and military leaders get involved with other agendas and countries while their very own is suffering. But, it is what it is.

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      rgalloway56posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Social etiquette has deteriorated a great deal.  Because of crime and violence in the world, people are no longer trusting of their fellow man and have a tendency to put up a wall around themselves, instead of reaching out with acts of kindness.

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      TerryK81posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Everyone is a world living in the bigger world; My God says to forgive. Why reflect the negativity that we ourselves do not like? Pride and selfishness cripples many people because they choose to allow it to.

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   Cordelia Bayposted 11 years ago

   There are still those that have been taught proper manners and politeness.....to those I give a passing grade.
   
   However, most of the general public are rude, self-centered and possess a sense of entitlement that they should not. Some are loud and rude and then possess an aggressive spirit or attitude if you just look at them. Others try to be sneaky and think that they are getting away with something....silly them....I might not have seen or know....but, a record is being kept that carries a great weight than my record. To these I give a failing grade.

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      rgalloway56posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You have summed it up nicely!  I have experienced the same behavior.  And as I said in a comment above, I still don't let it change the way I treat others.  My mom always told me "Never give anyone a cause for complaint against you."  Good advice!

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      Cordelia Bayposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks. So much has changed in recent years! It truly amazes me....the lack of respect for self and others that is so present in our world and society.

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      cat on a soapboxposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Great answer!  It's unfortunate that these extremely inconsiderate people force us to change our own behavior by acting so theatening. I don't see more rude people, but I DO see an increase in the degree of rudeness and aggressiveness.

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   Hideki-ryugaposted 11 years ago

   Life is becoming harder for everyone. Losing manners has also become commonplace. The two things are related as frustrated, demotivated, and broken people can hardly manage to bottle up their feelings. They are rude because they don't have time to check what they say or what they do. They are often in a bad emotional state. So I do understand how they feel. Passing a failing grade too quickly may not be a good way to sort things out. Anyone of us can be hit hard one day. And that day, I guess, we won't be in a state of mind to be courteous; that day we will get a failing grade, too.

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