<Rant> Where has courtesy gone?

[Crothian]

WEll, its also parents and watching people, this is learned behavior. If kids see their parents or other people being rude and lazy, then they will be rude and lazy.

 

[BlackSilver]

How can common courtesy compete with the internet?

How can it compete with instant messaging?

How can it compete with the sense of entitlement the typical American has?

Sad to say, that it can't.

We don't correct bad spelling on the net because it would take time.

We're not polite, but direct because it's time saving.

Lose of courtesy if a byproduct of an internet age.

It takes time. We have to want to talk to people in the right and proper fashion. In previous times people practiced at their penmanship so that their letters would look perfect. Of course this was in the top 5% (no exact percentages will be used for this discussion) of society, because the common folk could (for the most part) not write.

A quote I picked up from reveal really helps to make the point here.

Because e-mails don't relay tone, unfortunately. I've seen situations where the sender will type something completely innocent and the receiver will take it a completely different way than intended simply because, in their mind, the "tone" of the words was bad.

Some posts and some emails you can tell that the writer was being quite angry or aggressive, but others you can't tell. Perhaps it would be best if we assume that the writer was being kind in the way they are trying to get their idea across, instead of instantly thinking they are being a jerk or wanting to start a flame war.

It is my belief that Harmon wanted to bring the rudeness to people’s attention, to ask why it was happening, and maybe get a few people to consider their own ways of dealing with people in public.

(The ironic thing is that he left this forum looking as though he was quite rude when he just wanted to repair a broken friendship.)

 

[WizarDru]

Some days people are a constant source of disappointment to me.
Other days people stun me with their generosity, compassion and love.

Crazy old human race.

Hey look, the sun is out today!

 

[caudor]

WEll, its also parents and watching people, this is learned behavior. If kids see their parents or other people being rude and lazy, then they will be rude and lazy.

Very true. My kids are young adults now, but I still influence how they behave...at least when they are around me. However, I know that others influence them too.

After they started hanging around a new group of friends, I noticed they both started using curse words and generally lacking common courtesy. I communicated my displeasure in no uncertain terms.

That seems to have stopped to problem; although, I still often wonder if they continue to act the same way when they are with others or when I'm not around. I've notice they behave differently at times---depending on the social setting.

 

[WizarDru]

That seems to have stopped to problem; although, I still often wonder if they continue to act the same way when they are with others or when I'm not around. I've notice they behave differently at times---depending on the social setting.

Which makes them perfectly normal, doesn't it? I mean, this is a core lesson we drill in children, after all. Certain settings require behaviors once they're old enough to understand that a trip to the Mall, a funeral and wedding reception have different acceptable protocols. I mean, think back when you were their age; didn't you act differently when it was just your friends as opposed to being in your parent presence? When I was 14, I cursed like a red-necked sailor with my friends...if only because I could. I pushed boundaries, until it became clear with my parents (as your kids with you) that it wasn't kosher. Boundary established, life goes on. I didn't look at porn while my parents were around, either (and when my mother found them, they just quietly disappeared).

I'd like to think if you laid the solid foundation, you just have to trust that they are the people you hoped to help them be. But I don't have to face the challenges you face for a couple of years yet, so I dunno.

 

[Ranger REG]

We need courtesy now, especially after seeing New Orleans.

Oh, and please stop shooting at rescue workers. I understand your frustration, but you're not helping trying to hinder rescuers.

P.S. Would it be insensitive of me to observe New Orleans as a model of a post-Apoc campaign? I promise to donate to Red Cross.

 

[mojo1701]

We need courtesy now, especially after seeing New Orleans.

Oh, and please stop shooting at rescue workers. I understand your frustration, but you're not helping trying to hinder rescuers.

P.S. Would it be insensitive of me to observe New Orleans as a model of a post-Apoc campaign? I promise to donate to Red Cross.

I wouldn't mind. I don't think they will, either. The only people who would mind are the looters, who are themselves guilty.

 

[Sniktch]

I saw Courtesy not long ago in a Self Help group with Conversation.

Online, I am not always nice. Honestly, it depends upon the mood I'm in. But in real life, I really try to be - its the way I was raised. And therein lies much of the problem IMHO - mch of the younger generation was raised by their TVs rather than their parents and never really learned proper respect for their fellow man. A little respect goes a long way.

 

[green slime]

See, my dad was born in '24, my mom in '30, me in '69. I know how to be polite, because rudeness was driven far from me, along with foolishness, via the rod of correction.

It was a sad, sad day when Cpl. Punishment had his stripes taken away.

My children are neither rude, nor foolish, neither have they ever been physically punished. Corporal punishment is banned in Sweden, and has been for decades. Its a sad day when a parent knows no other resort than physical violence in order to teach a child empathy.

 

[Ranger REG]

I wouldn't mind. I don't think they will, either. The only people who would mind are the looters, who are themselves guilty.

Riiiight. Like I give a rip about looters' feeling, especially those hauling out Big-Screen Plasma TVs with no working electrical outlet to plug it in somewhere in the disaster zone.